Chapter 106: The Truth Unearthed
Three and a half hours later, in a cafe located on the ground floor of Tower A, Eric sat at a window table with Caleb across from him. Caleb was just wearing a jacket, a t-shirt, and jeans, but the dark circles under his eyes showed he’d been pulling serious overtime at the office, and his stubble looked a bit neglected.
After the waiter dropped off two cups of black coffee, along with cream and sugar on the side and walked away, Caleb took a sip and stared at Eric.
"Why do you look like a total mess?" Caleb asked, eyeing him.
"It is what it is," Eric replied casually, leaning back in his chair and looking down at his clothes.
He was wearing a stained hoodie, cropped pants, and white sneakers that had turned brown. To top it off, his cologne was competing with the smell of burnt smoke clinging to him.
"Cooking disaster?" Caleb asked.
"Not exactly," Eric answered, looking down.
"And is that why they’re here again?" Caleb asked, gesturing with his thumb toward the next table over.
Eric turned to look where Caleb was pointing. Sure enough, Emma, Monica, and Heidi were sitting on one side, with Priya, Chloe, and Laura right across from them. All of them had their hair thrown up in messy buns, except for Laura, and their faces still bore the signs of the battle that had just gone down upstairs.
They were happily enjoying their cakes, pastries, and lattes, completely ignoring Eric and Caleb at the next table.
"They tried to bake cake again... and since they still wanted cake, now they’re eating pastries and cake down here. Makes sense, right?" Eric said.
"So your apartment is getting deep-cleaned again?" Caleb asked.
"Pretty much," Eric replied.
"Hmm... okay, I get it," Caleb said, taking another sip of his black coffee.
"So what’s really going on with Jade?" Eric asked.
Caleb set his cup down and stayed quiet for a moment. Then, he pulled out his smartphone and opened up his chat history with Mike. Inside were the screenshots of the Instagram posts Caleb had mentioned on the phone earlier.
As Eric scrolled through, he also read Mike’s venting messages to Caleb, realizing the Instagram photos were just the tip of the iceberg. Jade had also been draining the money from their joint account, funds originally meant for buying a house and their future honeymoon, spending it on things like designer clothes, luxury bags, and other useless high-end items.
On top of that, she was out of the house way more than she was ever home with Mike. The final message in the chat history was Mike asking Caleb to meet up and talk.
Eric slid the smartphone back over to Caleb, who turned off the screen and placed it back on the table.
"Now Mike is completely done... he tried to have one last talk with Jade, but instead, Jade dragged him along to see you the other day with Ruby and Anthony," Caleb said.
"I see. By the way, who exactly is Anthony? What’s his connection to Ruby, Jade, and Mike? How did the three of them end up coming together?" Eric asked, his curiosity piqued since Caleb brought up the name.
"He’s Mike’s biological older brother," Caleb said.
"Oh... so that’s the connection. Okay, got it. So what’s the rest of the story? Whose apartment is Jade staying at right now?" Eric asked.
"Mike is the one whose name is on the lease, and he didn’t renew it. That’s why Jade panicked and ended up moving in with Ruby at her apartment," Caleb answered, looking completely drained just explaining it.
"Ah, that makes sense. No wonder she showed up with Ruby today," Eric replied.
"Yeah, pretty much... my dad told her to come back home, apparently, and she asked me for help to talk to him. But you know how it is, ever since I turned 18, I hasn’t spoken to my dad a single time, and I’m not about to start now, even if it’s a request from my own sister," Caleb replied, rubbing his head and leaning back.
"Yeah... I get it," Eric said casually, taking a sip of his coffee.
Caleb studied Eric’s blank, calm face, seemingly searching for something in his expression.
"Since when do you care about Jade?" Caleb asked, finally choosing to just speak up instead of staring at Eric’s face.
"I wouldn’t exactly say I care, I was just curious. Because when she met with me earlier, it felt like she wanted something from me... that’s why I put my guard up. Turns out she just split up with Mike," Eric answered casually. "I’m just surprised she came looking for me of all people, that’s all," Eric added.
Caleb fell silent again. He picked up his cup and took another sip of his coffee, his eyes still locked onto Eric. Then, he let out a heavy sigh, as if finally letting go of a massive burden.
"There’s something I need to tell you, Eric," Caleb said.
Eric lifted his head. He didn’t speak, but he was clearly bracing himself for whatever Caleb was about to say.
"Jade isn’t actually my biological sister. She’s the daughter of my mom’s younger sister, who died in an accident with her husband right when Jade was born. Then my parents agreed to adopt her, and she became my sister. So, in reality, she doesn’t share a single drop of blood with you... and... you aren’t actually your dad’s biological kid either," Caleb said.
Eric stared at Caleb’s face. He never expected Caleb to know his true background. He leaned his body forward.
"You know I’m not my dad’s kid?" Eric asked to make sure.
"Yeah... I know. And I’m not the only one," Caleb answered.
"Who else knows?" Eric asked seriously.
Caleb paused for a moment. He looked at Eric, who was now staring back at him with a completely serious expression.
"Jade... and Jason," Caleb said, locking eyes with Eric.
The air between them instantly went dead silent. The mystery of why Jade had come to him and tried to seduce him the moment she broke up with Mike was completely solved. Jade knew perfectly well that they weren’t blood relatives, which was why she was desperate enough to make a move on him.
But what actually shocked Eric was that Jason, his own older brother, knew about it too. Eric was completely baffled as to how Caleb, Jason, and Jade had all found out.
"How on earth did you, Jade, and that guy find out?" Eric asked, completely curious.
"Because your mom paid my dad to keep his mouth shut. It just so happened that me, Jade, and Jason were playing together at the house and overheard their conversation. Judging by what they were saying, who knows how long they’ve been doing business together—probably before you and Jade were even born, I guess. Ever since then, I’ve hated my dad and your mom," Caleb answered, laying it all out.
"Hmm... I see. What did my mom bribe your dad with? Money?" Eric asked, completely calm and curious.
"Sorry... I don’t really want to go into that story. Bottom line is this: me, Jade, and Jason accidentally stumbled onto a scene that we definitely shouldn’t have seen. You get what I mean, right? If it weren’t that bad, there’s no way I would’ve run away from home. I just couldn’t carry all of that around... I mean, just imagine catching your dad with your aunt doing it, and you’re can’t told a soul... it was like that," Caleb answered, trying to explain something he desperately wanted to avoid explaining.
"Ah... okay, I pretty much get what you mean," Eric said, relaxed and collected.
"Hold on a second... how are you completely fine hearing that you’re not your dad’s biological kid?" Caleb asked, baffled by Eric’s casual attitude as he leaned his body forward.
"Oh... I already knew. Ever since I first moved to this city," Eric replied casually.
The table fell dead silent again. Caleb once more studied Eric’s blank face, searching for any emotional crack, but Eric remained entirely composed. Seeing how unfazed Eric was, Caleb finally leaned back in his chair again.
"Does this have anything to do with why you changed your last name?" Caleb asked.
Eric didn’t say a word, but he smiled and looked right at Caleb. Caleb naturally took that as his confirmation. He let out a sigh and looked visibly relieved.
"Well, it’s good that you already know. But... just be careful with Jade, okay? You know how she is. When she wants something, she has to get it by any means necessary. Don’t go falling in love with her."
"Don’t worry about that," Eric said with a smile, lifting his hand to point his thumb over at the next table.
Caleb turned to look at the six girls, who were chatting away cheerfully, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Their table was already piled high with dishes because they kept ordering more without stopping, and right now, a waiter was standing beside them, happily taking down another order.
"My head hurts enough dealing with them, and there is no way in hell I’m going to add one more to the mix, especially not if that one more is Jade. You feel me?" Eric asked.
Hearing Eric’s words, "Hahaha!" a roaring laugh burst out of Caleb’s mouth. For the first time since he walked into the cafe, Caleb actually laughed and smiled, and the tension finally melted from his face, even though he still looked exhausted. He flashed a thumbs-up to Eric, grinning.
