"Miss Rovella, can I hug you?" Linda asked, her voice thick with emotion.
Janelle opened her arms. Linda gently embraced her.
"Miss Rovella, we will get Blue Whale back." Everything Madalyn had suffered, they would make sure was repaid tenfold.
Janelle patted her back. "Thank you." Thank you for choosing her so steadfastly when she had nothing.
Linda shook her head against her shoulder. "I'm the one who should thank you." She had always wanted to do something, but her own strength was too weak. Thankfully, Miss Rovella had returned.
Linda and Kevin needed to head back to the office. Jiang Chao took a call and left shortly after. Only Erik remained beside Janelle.
"I'll take you to Sara." A lot had happened today. Tonight, she would likely need to be with Sara.
"Hmm." Sara had been through an ordeal. Janelle needed to check on her.
Erik took her hand, drawing her into his embrace. "A true friend will only feel heartache for you." He knew she worried about Sara. But if Sara was afraid of her because of the gunfire, then she wasn't much of a friend.
Held by him, Janelle suddenly felt a surge of strength.
Erik drove her to Sara's apartment building. "You can go back. No need to wait for me. I don't know how long I'll be."
"Hmm, go on." He said it, but Erik didn't leave. He stayed parked downstairs. The chance was small, but he remained. If Sara truly couldn't understand, he could still offer her a refuge.
Janelle knew Sara's door code, but this time, she didn't enter directly. She rang the doorbell instead.
Sara hadn't been sleeping well. Hearing the bell, she paused, then went to open the door, finding Janelle outside.
"Janelle, why didn't you just use the code?"
"I was afraid I'd startle you." She had lost control in front of Sara today. Would that version of her frighten Sara? She didn't know.
Seeing her expression, Sara knew she was overthinking. "Janelle, stop it. I'm not afraid of you. My heart just aches for you." Sara gently pulled her into a hug. "Those five years on the border... you must have endured so much hardship. And I couldn't do anything to help." Sara's eyes welled up. Her Janelle, the one who used to cry for days over a dead cat... life had forced her to become this. Yet, perhaps it wasn't all bad. At least now, no one dared bully her.
Janelle hugged her back. "Sara, I'm fine. Really. You've already helped me so much." Sara was just an ordinary girl; she'd done everything she possibly could.
"How did the project go? Did I... cause a problem?" They'd kidnapped her to threaten Janelle, after all.
"The project is ours. Don't worry." Relief finally brought a smile to Sara's face. "That's wonderful! After working so hard, you finally got what you wanted!" Sara was genuinely thrilled for her.
"Are you hungry? Should we go out to eat? Or do you want to eat here?" They had planned to celebrate together tonight.
"Just the two of us? What about Erik?" Sara asked. Wasn't he sticking close on such an important day?
"Don't worry about him. You're the most important person right now."
"..." Sara could see Erik truly cared for Janelle. It was just that Janelle didn't believe in love.
"What?"
"Nothing. Let's go! Hotpot! I haven't had it in ages." Sara went to change clothes.
They went downstairs and spotted Erik's car parked by the curb. Why was he still here?
Janelle walked over. "Didn't I tell you not to wait? Why are you still here?" Was the man really that idle?
"It's fine. Where are you headed? I can drive you. I promise I won't disturb the two of you." He was being remarkably well-behaved and considerate today.
"Why don't we all have dinner together tonight? Hotpot is more fun with more people!" Sara suggested. It was a day worth celebrating. She understood Erik wanting to be with Janelle.
"Would that be okay?" Erik looked at Janelle, hopeful. Of course he wanted to celebrate with her, but he wouldn't push if she refused.
"I want to have dinner alone with Sara tonight." It was sister time; his presence would be awkward.
"Alright, I understand. Let me just drive you there." Surely that was acceptable? Getting a taxi now would be difficult.
"Get in." Erik got out and opened the car doors for them. With Sara there, Janelle didn't take the front passenger seat; she sat in the back with her friend. Seeing the two interact seamlessly, without any apparent rift, Erik finally relaxed.
He dropped them off at the hotpot restaurant. True to his word, Erik didn't linger. "Enjoy your meal, ladies!" He drove away.
Sara looped her arm through Janelle's slender waist. "Erik really is an excellent boyfriend." He treated their Janelle so well.
"Come on, aren't you hungry?" They had reserved a spot, but it was peak dining time. A large crowd already waited outside the popular hotpot place.
"Are you sure about hotpot?" Janelle asked, eyeing the queue. "It's packed. Who knows how long we'll wait?"
"Maybe we should go somewhere else..." Sara hesitated, seeing the crowd.
Just then, the manager personally came out to greet them. "Miss Rovella? Mr. Lorenz has arranged everything for you. Please follow me."
"Erik arranged this?" Sara whispered. Even with a reservation, they'd expected a wait. Yet Erik made one call, and the manager came personally?
"Hmm." Janelle didn't question it. Whether as Erik of the Grand Court Group or Mr. Lorenz of the border, arranging this was effortless for him.
"Let's go. I'm seriously starving." Sara stopped overthinking. It made sense; Janelle wasn't the same person she was five years ago. Having someone like Erik by her side wasn't strange at all.
The manager led them to a large private room, attentively pulling out their chairs.
"You don't need to personally attend to us," Janelle said, dismissing him.
"Janelle," Sara began once they were alone, "Erik isn't ordinary either, is he? He seems to genuinely like you, arranging everything so perfectly."
"Should we... invite him to join us after all?" The large room felt too empty with just the two of them.