Chapter 80
Chapter 80: “Beep”¦!”’ The line buzzed with several busy signals before the call finally connected. “Hello?”’ A man’s voice, cold and detached, answered from the other side. “Belinda Nelson.”’ Belinda clutched her phone tighter, parting her lips to respond, but a sharp pang of pain silenced her words. After an awkward pause, the man’s voice grew edgy with impatience. “You stayed silent when we met earlier. What makes you call now?”’ Summoning her strength, Belinda uttered, Before she could say more, Maggie’s bubbly voice burst through from the background. “Who’s next? Cathy, it’s your turn!”’ Then came Helen’s chuckling tone. “Cathy, who’s your choice for a partner?”’ “Do we really need to ask? She’s definitely choosing my brother. Who else would Cathy kiss?”’ Maggie interjected. Amidst their laughter, Cathy’s playful protest filled the air. “Oh, stop it! Do I have to play? I don’t want to kiss anyone in front of everybody”¦ Kristopher, what do you think?”’ The surrounding noise suddenly fell silent at her command. Belinda sensed Kristopher’s presence diminish as he closed the door of the private room and left. In the newfound silence, Kristopher’s brow furrowed, his voice laced with annoyance. “Belinda, can’t hear you. Speak up!”’ Belinda released a mocking chuckle and ended the call abruptly. No more words were necessary. Find your favorite stories at g ln ð’s., conn For three long years, Kristopher had been her everything, her sole emergency contact. Should she make it through this crisis, her first act would be to erase him entirely from her life, starting with her emergency contacts. Just then, her phone erupted with the ringtone she had assigned to Kristopher. With her eyes shut tight, she lay on the floor, clutching Fluffy, as the ringtone played on repeat, unanswered. Time passed indeterminately before the ringing ceased. Fluffy squirmed free from her embrace, leapt onto the coffee table, and sent a cup of tea crashing to the floor. The tea, originally poured for Madisyn, had long since cooled. The spill of cold tea drenched Belinda, jolting her back to reality. She pushed herself off the floor, offered a weary smile to the ragdoll cat, and murmured, “Thank you, Fluffy.”’ She hesitated for a long moment before finally reaching for her phone. After scrolling through her contacts, she selected Darren’s name and pressed call. The phone was answered almost instantly. Background chatter from a lively social gathering reached her ears. Darren was clearly at a party. He excused himself from the private room. “Belinda, it’s quite late. What’s up?”’ Belinda nervously bit her lip. “Darren”¦”’ “What’s the matter?”’ Hearing the strain in her voice, Darren’s demeanor shifted to one of concern. “Where are you right now?”’ “I’m”¦ I’m at home.”’ “Stay there. I’m on my way!”’ Darren said firmly, ending the call before dashing out, not bothering to bid farewell to his colleagues. As he hurried down the stairs, he accidentally bumped into a man. “I’m sorry,”’ Darren muttered hastily, barely slowing his pace. However, the man grabbed his arm, stopping him. “Mr. Wright, such a rush? Watch your step.”’ Darren stopped, recognizing the voice. “Kristopher?”’…