As I was gradually struggling to comprehend the reality of the situation, another message arrived.

!@#$%^&*: [Hey.]

My first reflexive action was to block the number, but then Nicole flashed in front of my eyes. Had I forgotten someone else? Fuck. That was quite possible, actually.

Obviously, it was a poor excuse I used to distract myself from the weird reality. Then again, I had nothing against Olivia befriending Helen, or vice versa, for that matter. In fact, I was all for it.

A decent chunk of whether this arrangement would work depended on girls’ interactions with each other. Oh, sure, I could—and would—try to steer it in the right direction. The right in my interpretation, of course.

But doing it all the time, only to fail because of some issue that would crop up at a time when I’m not around to deal with it, would be frustrating, to put it lightly.

Meanwhile, I tapped on the profile of that unknown number, trying to find some sort of information that would help me confirm or deny my previous involvement with them.

Well, the answer came right away, in the form of a profile picture in which Lyta was very happily hugging Bella. I fought down the wave of jealousy.

Ugh.

Me: [who the fuck is this?]

I failed to convince myself completely. Which resulted in this rude message. I still added the number to my contact list for future convenience.

Bella’s Side Chick sent a voice message.

The fucking dare of this bitch… I calmed myself down once again and tapped the icon to listen.

“Um. This is Lyta. I apologize for leaving so abruptly this morning. Can we talk?”

Me: [if you send me another voice message, I swear to heaven I’ll block you]

Who the fuck did she think she was? Even Bella, for all her hatred of typing, never did that. I did another round of breathing exercises.

I was unfair in my judgment and all kinds of petty as well, but I couldn’t be arsed to be impartial. Fucking hell, this girl really had an uncanny ability to get on my nerves.

Chill the fuck out, me. She still had her uses.

Speaking of which...

Me: [if you want to talk]

Me: [come to Bella’s place]

This wouldn’t be the worst place to have this talk. A moment later, I sent another important message.

Me: [and bring something to eat with you]

Bella’s Side Chick: [???????]

After the series of question marks came a flabbergasted emoji.

Bella’s Side Chick is typing...

I stared at this line on my screen for a whole minute or so, patiently waiting.

Screw this.

I tapped the call button. Luckily, I managed to avoid the video option. Exactly one beep later, the personal assistant of my special woman picked up the call.

“Hey.” A very unsure greeting followed from the other side of the line.

Why the fuck was I doing this again? Oh, right.

“If you want to talk, grab some food and come to Bella’s place.” I repeated my earlier words.

Silence fell. I could hear breathing, so she didn’t just end the call.

“Why?” My favorite question appeared before me. Again.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“It’s a good opportunity to get this talk out of the way.” I responded. “Bella just came back, so I would rather get this done asap.”

A pause.

“What should I bring?” There were signs of defeat in her tone.

This was actually a good question.

“Get Bella’s favorite and triple that for me.” Our food tastes were actually pretty similar as well. “Preferably something that would be fine to eat cold or reheat. She is currently asleep, and I would rather keep it this way until she is fully rested.”

A hum of acknowledgement came from my conversation partner.

“Call me when you arrive; I’ll let you inside.” I finished my instructions.

“Fine. Be there soon.” Lyta acknowledged.

“Cya.” And I ended the call.

Hm. time to get dressed, I suppose.

***

I got myself something casual enough to wear at home after scouring that walk-in closet of my dear’s.

Helen sent another photo in which a mostly naked Olivia was getting a massage from a masseuse. Another one, in which they switched places, arrived shortly after.

I refrained from sending anything back.

The message I sent to Claire still hasn't been delivered. Counter Girl, just how fucking rural was the place you were currently at?

I read a few messages from the Su clan’s first young lady. Most of them were various excuses. Hm, maybe I overdid it a bit with the poor girl?

I still had a lot of bias toward Su’s first bitch, but Su Yin, friend of my silly girl, had left a mostly positive impression on me so far. Well, her reactions to being teased were also adorable overall.

After mulling it over for a while, I decided to ask for Olivia’s opinion on what I should do in this case.

An incoming call took me back to reality. ‘Bella’s Side Chick’ was written on my phone’s screen.

“Here.” Lyta.

“Coming.” My response.

I ended the call and picked up my wallet to take the key card out. A couple of minutes later, I was already on the first floor.

The food delivery girl was standing outside the glass doors leading into the foyer. I tapped the key card on the reader and let her in.

“Yo,” I greeted Lyta, extending my hand to take the food bag.

“Hey,” she said, greeting me back and giving me the bag.

“How much?” I asked about the price of the food order.

“Don’t sweat it.” She shook her head, declining.

Eh, this worked for me just fine. Or I could just ask Bella to slip a few hundred extra as a bonus into her next paycheck.

And the conversation died down just like that as we got into the elevator.

I looked into the bag to kill some time, and, just like I thought, it was Mexican.

“I hope you can deal with the spice,” the assistant of my special woman commented with a cheeky grin.

I shrugged, taking the jab in good spirit.

“Just know that I’ll force-feed it all to you if it’s at an inhuman level,” I warned the cheeky girl.

She shook her head, not showing any reaction either.

After this exchange, we left the elevator. I tapped the key card on the reader and opened the door for Lyta.

After a few moments to take off the shoes, I went back to the kitchen. I was still feeling hungry.

“The one with an ‘L’ on the lid is mine,” my guest commented offhandedly, joining me in the kitchen.

I took out containers, sliding the one she told me about towards her side of the table.

Meanwhile, Lyta was busily rummaging through drawers, looking for something.

“It’s empty.” I warned, taking out cutlery.

“There should be some tea,” she replied without looking back. “Oh, there it is.”

With those words, she fished a tin can from somewhere I overlooked earlier.

“Want some?” Another question followed before I could say anything.

“Yep.” I nodded. “I kind of drank enough coffee for today already.”

Lyta snickered at my words and put a kettle on the stove and took a teapot and two cups out of the cupboard. She clearly knew her way around this kitchen. Not that surprising, I decided.

I looked at the four containers, trying to decide which one I should pick.

“The top one is exactly as Isabella likes it. The other three are milder spiciness-wise.” I heard another comment. “I asked to pack sauces separately, in case you want it spicier.”

How thoughtful of her! No wonder Bella used her as an assistant for so long.

“Thanks.” I voiced my gratitude, putting the top one aside and picking the second.

I took a bite, and it was indeed on the milder side. After tasting the sauce as well, I added about half of it to the dish.

I was neutral about the spicy food. It didn’t really matter all that much to me as long as it was tasty.

For a while, I was eating in silence.

“So, what are we going to talk about?” Lyta asked, putting a cup of tea in front of me.

“Let’s finish the food first, ok?” I responded, taking a sip.

It wasn’t on the level of the Lady in Black, but I had no complaints either.

“Fine.” My conversation partner agreed.