Chapter 4

Enid's father often gave her an angry lecture because of this. "You won't give our family business the time of day, but you'll help an outsider with hers? You're turning your back on us, young lady! Are you trying to kill me here?"

"Sonia's not an outsider. Her business is mine," Enid would say flippantly.

I hadn't realized before, but looking back, Enid was far better at problem-solving than Caleb. She could work through any prickly issue and resolve it with a snap of her fingers. She was on par with, if not more brilliant than, Caleb in that regard.

Half a month passed. I spent each day poring over work, and I'd almost forgotten about Caleb until he called Enid.

Enid so happened to be busy setting up the grill and tossed her phone at me. I thought it was the food delivery guy at first, but when I answered, Caleb's deep, magnetic voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hello? Is Sonia there? Could you please pass her the phone?" He was as courteous as ever.

My brows furrowed. "How did you get Enid's number?"

Enid had always been somewhat critical of Caleb, so they never exchanged contacts.

"I had someone dig it up for me," Caleb replied smugly, as if he were doing me a favor by going to great lengths to find me.

I snorted. I had to admit, I never thought he'd look for me.

Once, I went abroad on a work trip for our companies' business collaboration, only to lose my wallet on the return trip. I was also stranded at the airport because there'd been a problem with my passport.

When I called Caleb for help, he rejected my call without hesitation. My phone died just as I was about to call him again. I didn't speak the local language and couldn't find help. I ended up spending a night at the airport.

Fortunately, Enid got worried when I didn't return home as scheduled and asked Caleb where I was. After that, she hurried abroad and brought me home.

Later, Caleb explained that he had an emergency when I called him for help. He claimed he tried to call me back, but my phone was switched off. I only found out he'd brought Naomi back to our new place after I looked into what he'd been doing.

While I was stranded, scared, and hungry beneath an overpass outside the airport, he and Naomi were getting warm and cozy at home, eating fruit and playing games on my new console.

The reasons he gave me were barely more than lame excuses. He simply didn't care about me enough.

"You've been staying at Enid's for long enough now, haven't you? When are you coming back?"

I might have imagined it, but I thought I heard mild exasperation and affection in his tone.

"Mom told me what happened at the hospital. The anesthesia hadn't worn off, and I was spewing nonsense. Don't take it personally, Sonia. Naomi and I are just friends, and we don't plan on getting back together. Don't get the wrong idea.

"You stayed away the entire time while I was unwell. Naomi was the one who took care of me, but you're my fiancee at the end of the day. If word about this gets out, I don't care how it reflects on me, but it'll look bad for you."

I laughed, then scoffed. "Don't make this about me. You nearly died in the hospital because you took a knife for your first love. If word of this gets out, it'll have nothing to do with me."

Caleb seemed to go still at my retort. "Are you still jealous of Naomi? You have no idea what it was like to be caught up in that kind of danger. If I hadn't stepped in—"

I cut him off. "Stop. I'm not interested in how you saved a damsel in distress."

"You—"

Before he could finish speaking, I heard Naomi's soft voice in the background. "Don't get worked up, Caleb. Maybe I should explain things to Ms. Carter."

Caleb sighed. "Sonia, I've already apologized to you. Besides, you and Enid have already given Naomi a piece of your mind. She even cried for days because of what you two said. Let's just say we're even."

"Alright, then. We're even." I wasn't angry. I even let out a curt laugh. I didn't bother waiting for him to speak before continuing, "Our families should talk about calling off the engagement. We'll be even that way."

Caleb's words were edged with frost. "I'm giving you one last chance, Sonia. Stop being unreasonable. If you're angry because my mom slapped you in a fit of panic and anger, I'll apologize on her behalf, but calling off an engagement is not as simple as it sounds."