Chapter 5

Calista answered the call. On the other end came Noah's friend's commanding voice. "Calista, Noah's drunk. Bring some hangover medicine over. We're in private room No. 5 at Nightfall Bar." Before she could respond, the call ended. It was as if they were certain she would come. Calista didn't want to go at first. But then, she remembered some of her things were in the storage room. Noah had the key with him. If she wanted to clear everything out completely, she'd have to get it. After thinking for a moment, she dragged her tired body out the door. … As soon as Calista opened the private room door, she heard Noah's friends laughing mockingly. "She actually came. See? I told you she would! With Noah here, how could she not come?" Noah, seated at the head of the table, lazily took a sip of his drink. He pointed at the person on the couch and laughed. "Looks like I won this round," he said. "You lost, fair and square. Don't forget to cover the tab for tonight. You bet against me on a sure loss. What were you thinking?" Hearing Noah's words, Calista instantly understood what was going on. He wasn't actually drunk. The only reason they asked her to bring hangover medicine was that the group had made a bet on her. They were betting whether she would show up. This wasn't the first time Noah had played such games with his friends. They had bet the same thing last time, telling her Noah had been in a car accident. Calista had rushed over in a panic, only to find Noah standing there completely unscathed. His group of scummy friends had burst out laughing at the sight of her trembling with rage. Since then, all of Noah's friends loved using her to make bets. She'd fallen for it again and again, so they probably didn't understand why she would still come tonight after being tricked so many times. The loser of the bet lay groaning on the couch and turned to Calista. "How are you this pathetic?" he asked. "You're like a dog. Just one call about him and you came running. He added, "It's already midnight! You're so desperate it's disgusting. Do you even have any self-respect?" "Hey, that's a little harsh," another man chimed in mockingly. "You can't talk to a woman like that. Everyone knows how much Calista loves Noah. She has been chasing after him for over ten years. Calling her a dog is kind of mean." Then, his tone abruptly shifted as he added with a sneer, "She's more like a simp." The group burst out laughing, their eyes full of disdain and mockery as they looked at Calista. Noah sat quietly watching the whole spectacle, making no move to stop it. He was expecting Calista to tremble with rage again, just like always. He had already prepared a few comforting words to coax her with. But Calista simply took a deep breath and looked at Noah, who was calmly sitting there. "I can't find the key to the storage room. If you have it, please hand it over." Noah frowned at her words. He didn't reach for the key. Instead, he tried to make small talk, getting up and walking closer to her. "Are you mad? You're not showing anything on your face." He then paused for a while before adding, "My friends were just messing around. Don't take it seriously. They don't mean any harm. If it bothers you, I'll have them apologize. It's really no big deal." "Oh," Calista replied flatly. She gave no real reaction. Noah froze for a second. He turned to wave over his group of friends. "You see that? Cali's mad. Get over here and apologize." The group shuffled over, laughing. "Come on, Calista, just forgive us already. We're sorry, okay?" Though they were apologizing, there wasn't the slightest bit of sincerity in their words. They were just brushing it off casually. Calista's expression didn't change. She simply looked at Noah and asked, "The key?" Noah was caught off guard by how calm she was. It felt as though she were a different person. But the more he thought about it, the more he figured that Calista had been into him for so long. There was no way she could change this drastically. Convincing himself he was overthinking it, Noah took the storage room key from his pocket and handed it to her. Calista took it and turned to leave. The moment she stepped out of the private room, she heard one of Noah's friends' voices behind her. "Noah, why'd you make us apologize to that simp?" "You don't get it," someone replied. "Calista's been chasing Noah for years. If Noah kept giving her the cold shoulder, it would crush her self-esteem. To keep her longer, you have to bruise her a little, then give her something sweet after, right, Noah?" "Yeah."