Oscar Quincy smiled.
“Maya Rivers, I’m really glad you asked me.
If it’s not enough, I’ll give you more.”
Maya Rivers’s mind was a complete blank.
‘I was just joking, and Oscar Quincy actually lent it to me?!’
She wanted to return the money immediately, but her hand, clutching her phone, wouldn’t move.
It would have been one thing if she hadn’t gotten the money, but now that she actually had it, she couldn’t bear to give it back.
Because she needed it for Morgan Carter’s medical treatment.
That was just how she was: she wasn’t afraid of bad people, only good people.
Oscar Quincy had lent her so much money so readily that she was moved to the point of tears.
Her nose stung and her eyes reddened.
“Oscar Quincy, thank you, really.
I’ll write you an IOU.
I promise I’ll pay you back within three years, interest included!”
Oscar Quincy maintained his gentle smile.
“What’s all this?
Are you crying?
You silly girl.
Of course I trust you, what do I need an IOU for?
Even if you really didn’t pay me back, I wouldn’t mind.”
He reached out and wiped away a tear that had slid down Maya Rivers’s cheek.
“Is our three years of friendship as classmates not worth 200,000?”
As his skin touched hers, Maya Rivers instinctively jerked her head away, making her position clear.
“I…
I may have borrowed your money, but that doesn’t mean anything is going to…
happen between us.”
Oscar Quincy pulled his hand back, looking apologetic.
“I must be drunk.
I crossed a line.
It’s just that seeing you cry made me upset, and I couldn’t help myself…
Haha, forget it.
It’s hard to explain.
Stop crying.
If our classmates see, they’ll think I’m bullying you.”
The two of them returned to their seats together.
Everyone gave them strange looks, then broke into knowing laughter in unison.
A male classmate asked, “Oscar Quincy, what were you two doing behind our backs for so long?”
Another immediately chimed in with a suggestive wink, “Do you even have to ask?
Deepening their connection, obviously.
Have you forgotten?
Oscar Quincy had a secret crush on Maya Rivers back in high school.”
Maya Rivers’s expression darkened.
She hated these kinds of jokes.
But Oscar Quincy just laughed it off.
“Alright, stop joking around.
I don’t mind, but Maya Rivers is a girl.
She gets embarrassed easily.”
Someone else heckled, “Tsk, tsk, still so protective of Maya Rivers.
We’re all adults now.
If you like her, just go for it!”
Expressionless, Maya Rivers picked up the glass in front of her.
“I’ll finish this drink.
I have something to do, so I’m leaving first.”
She tilted her head back and downed the entire glass.
Just as she set it down and grabbed her bag, June Carver approached with a glass in hand.
“Maya Rivers, leaving so early?
That’s not very sporting of you.
We did spend over ten thousand on you today, after all.
Come on, have a drink with me.”
Maya Rivers had made money off them today.
Leaving now would be rude.
She could only pick up a glass again.
Hilary York snatched the glass away.
“Maya can’t drink.
I’ll do it, I’ll do it!
Just watch, I’ll drink you all under the table today!”
But Maya Rivers took the glass back, glaring at her reproachfully.
“You’re trying to get pregnant, what are you doing drinking?!”
Hilary York really couldn’t drink.
She looked at Maya Rivers, concerned.
“But you…”
Maya Rivers forced a smile.
“It’s only been a few glasses.
I won’t get drunk.”
She had never been drunk before, so she didn’t know her limit.
Her head was a little dizzy now, but her mind was still clear.
However, after she finished the drink with June Carver, other classmates swarmed her.
Maya Rivers could only drink glass after glass, until her phone rang.
Seeing the call was from Morgan Carter, Maya Rivers, already dizzy and disoriented, beamed and held up her phone.
“My husband’s calling!
I really have to go now!”
Hearing the word “husband,” everyone was stunned, then looked towards Oscar Quincy.
Maya Rivers answered the phone in front of everyone.
She had planned on making up an excuse to slip away, but to her surprise, Morgan Carter actually said, “Big Sis, I’m outside the restaurant.
What floor are you on?”
Maya Rivers was quite surprised.
She hurried to the window and, sure enough, saw Morgan Carter with his head tilted up, searching.
She waved her hand.
“Morgan!”
When Morgan Carter saw her, he immediately broke into a smile.
“Big Sis!”
Maya Rivers shouted, “I’m coming down!”
She hung up and said to the group, “Sorry, everyone, I have to go home.
You all carry on, please, carry on.”
June Carver teased, “Maya Rivers, I can’t believe you got married in secret and didn’t tell anyone.
Were you afraid we’d all show up for your wedding banquet?”
Maya Rivers waved her hand dismissively, her eyes hazy from the drink, her tone of voice changed.
“We just registered the marriage, we haven’t had the banquet yet.
Get your wedding gift ready, and I’ll be sure to invite you then!
You guys carry on, I’m outta here…”
June Carver blocked her way.
“Since your husband is already here, why don’t you bring him up so we can all meet him?”
‘Maya Rivers is in such a sorry state these days, her husband must be a total loser!’
‘Back in school, they couldn’t compare to Maya Rivers.
But now, whether in their careers or their marriages, they were all doing much better than her.
Of course, they had to seize this chance to laugh at her expense.’
But Maya Rivers shook her head, refusing.
Her vision was starting to double, and all she wanted was to go home and sleep.
Besides, her Morgan Carter didn’t like crowded places.
Hilary York tried to intervene.
“There will be plenty of other chances to meet him.
Let’s do it next time.
Maya drank too much today.
I’ll take her downstairs.”
‘Everyone had made fun of Maya enough tonight.
If Morgan Carter showed up, who knows what kind of ridicule she’d have to face.’
‘Hilary couldn’t just stand by and watch her best friend become a laughingstock.’
Unexpectedly, Oscar Quincy chimed in, “No time like the present.
He’s already downstairs.
It would make us look rude if we didn’t invite him up.
Right, Hilary York?”
Hilary York stood up to support the unsteady Maya Rivers and glared at him.
“Rude my ass!
Can’t you see Maya’s already drunk?!”
Maya Rivers leaned on Hilary York, pointing at a chair.
“Bag…
bag…
my bag…”
Hilary York grabbed her bag as well.
Among all the people sitting there, no one offered to help.
Hilary York’s small frame was nearly crushed under the load.
She picked up both her bag and Maya’s, and just as she turned, she saw a tall, handsome man walking toward them.
“Big Sis!”
Seeing the unsteady Maya Rivers, Morgan Carter quickened his pace, came over, and pulled her against him, his eyes filled with heartache.
“Big Sis, are you drunk?”
He was dressed in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, an ordinary outfit completely out of place in such a high-end restaurant.
But his sharp, handsome features, as exquisitely carved as a work of art, made every other man in the room pale in comparison.
The female classmates couldn’t help but let out quiet gasps of admiration.
Oscar Quincy looked at the man before him, his brow furrowing slightly.
‘He felt that this man looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he might have seen him.’
Morgan Carter’s face was so striking that it sparked a surge of jealousy in Oscar.
He stood up with a smile.
“You must be Maya Rivers’s husband, right?”
Morgan Carter didn’t understand the word “husband.” He had heard Oscar Quincy’s voice on the call with Maya earlier.
Now, looking at the deceptively respectable man before him, his face filled with hostility as he declared, as if staking his claim, “I’m her hubby!”
Looking at the earnest Morgan Carter, Hilary York thought to herself, ‘No wonder Maya can’t let him go.
He’s handsome and so fiercely protective.
Who could resist that?’
Oscar Quincy said, “We’re all Maya Rivers’s classmates.
It’s rare for us to get together.
You should sit down, too.
Let’s all get to know each other.”
Morgan Carter held Maya securely.
“I need to take Big Sis home!”
But Maya giggled, pinched his cheek, and made the introduction.
“This is Oscar Quincy.
A great guy.
You…
you should toast him.”
Her words made Morgan Carter angry.
“Big Sis!
It’s time to go home!”
Maya Rivers frowned and pouted.
“You’re not going to listen to me now?”
Morgan Carter didn’t dare disobey.
He helped Maya sit down, then picked up a glass of wine himself and gave Oscar Quincy a cursory toast.
“To you!”
With that, he downed it in one gulp!
As he spoke a few more words, everyone slowly began to sense that something was off, but they couldn’t quite put their finger on what it was.
Only Hilary York was secretly breaking out in a cold sweat for Maya, afraid that Morgan Carter would reveal his true, simpleton nature.