Noah's voice poured out from the phone, "Carla, it's time for you to come back, right?"
His tone was warm but somehow, Carla felt burdensome when hearing his question. When she remained silent, he continued, "I have prepared everything here. Our engagement banquet will be held at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning."
No matter how gentle Noah's words were, Carla felt like they were a death warrant, making her break out in a cold sweat. His voice that used to bring her comfort was now giving her anxiety.
For the past days, she felt so happy being with Terence that she almost forgot that she was going to be engaged to Noah.
"Noah, I haven't been feeling well recently. Can I...can we...postpone the engagement for a few more days?"
Carla uneasily asked while biting her lips.
It was Noah's turn to be silent for a while.
And then he said, "Carla, you know that our family is well-known. Once the news is released, it cannot be changed overnight, otherwise, it will cause unnecessary gossips."
Noah paused for a while, waiting for her reaction. When she didn't, he continued in a gentle tone, "I know you don't want to be separated from Terence, but our engagement is only a ceremony. We're only going to do it for formalities' sake."
Finally, he said, "Once our engagement is finished, you just need to stay here to accompany our mother for a few days. Then, no one would be on your way in going back to Terence."
Carla slowly closed her eyes. After a long time, she could only say, "I know."
Noah took it as Carla's acceptance of the whole situation so he became relieved for a bit. Then he said, "Okay, I'll arrange for someone to pick you up."
"No, I don't need it, Noah. I'll be back by myself early tomorrow morning," Carla immediately said. Contrary to what she had just said, she couldn't even get up from the bed at that moment because of what happened last night. How could she even go back to HA City?
She could only lie on the bed and wait for the pain to recover a little until the next day. Then, she would have a chance to be able to go back to HA City.
"Okay, the engagement will be held at 10 o'clock. Don't be late," Noah said, emphasizing the time once more. Then, he hung up the phone.
Carla's heart uncontrollably beat quickly. Her mobile phone slipped out from her palm. Ignoring it, she leaned on the bed while she began to massage her aching temples.
At that moment, every fiber of her being was in a real turmoil. She had no idea what she could do.
How could she tell Terence that she was going to get engaged to Noah? She didn't want to hurt Terence. She didn't have any courage to face his disappointment.
But she thought, 'If I don't tell Terence today, the news will reach him one way or another after our engagement party tomorrow.
It would be too late by then to explain my side, especially if it came from a stranger or anyone else but me.
I should tell him today...'
Meanwhile, Terence was busy in the kitchen.
He was cooking with his white sleeves rolled up. Numerous cooking pots and pans were in front of him while he continued to slice up the ingredients. He looked at that time and turned his usually elegant demeanor to a more approachable and down-to-earth one.
Sophie was helping him do some trivial things.
"Mr. Terence! Mr. Terence!"
Rainer shouted as he ran quickly from the outside.
"What's the matter?" Terence asked after seeing how disheveled Rainer looked. Terence was tasting the soup with a spoon at that moment so he put down the spoon and shifted his attention to Rainer.
"Mr. Terence, you'd better come out. I have important news!"
Rainer exclaimed after noticing that Sophie was also in the kitchen. It wouldn't be appropriate to tell Terence such a piece of critical news within Sophie's earshot. Moreover, there was stewing soup in the kitchen which posed a danger. So he thought that it was not a good place to tell Terence that in case he would lose control.
Terence frowned but his interests perked up. He wiped his hands with the towel and then walked outside.
"What's the matter?" Terence asked again once they were outside.
Rainer appeared to be nervous. He couldn't even breathe properly. He was actually afraid that Terence would do something extreme after hearing the news. Hesitating for a while, he stuttered, "Mr. Terence, a piece of news came from HA City. There will be an...an engagement banquet in the Hua family."
"Engagement banquet? Tell me more," Terence stated.
Terence's frown deepened. He felt a little anxious when he noticed that Rainer was unusually nervous.
"Mr. Terence... The Hua family hid the matter very well. We sent someone to investigate but a lot of people in the Hua family didn't provide us with enough information. Either they had no idea or they didn't want to spill anything about it. But fortunately, we have people who work for us in the Hua Group. After a meeting, he heard some shareholders said that...that they were going to Mr. Noah's engagement banquet tomorrow!"
Rainer said anxiously, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead.
"Noah's engagement banquet? Who is he going to be engaged to?" Terence asked, slightly narrowing his eyes.
Rainer didn't have the courage to say the name out loud. He quietly bowed his head and pointed upstairs.
Terence looked to where he was pointing at and immediately seized his collar. He then exclaimed, "Tell me! Who?"
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