Joshua understood. "Well, I'm at Orchid Private Club. I gotta go. Talk to you later," he said to Sheffield.
"All right."
When Joshua arrived at Room 888 of the Orchid Private Club, Carlos had just opened a bottle of red wine.
Joshua's heart caught in his throat. Carlos was way too intimidating, even in pleasant surroundings like this. But right now, he had to face him. He greeted Carlos respectfully, "Hello, Uncle Carlos."
Carlos poured a glass of wine and handed it to him. "Hello, Joshua," he said, betraying no hint of emotion.
"Thank you, Uncle Carlos," Joshua said as he took the glass. Carlos sat down on the leather couch. "Have a seat," he said to Joshua.
"Thank you, Uncle Carlos." His responses were measured and polite. He knew a lot was riding on this meeting. Joshua sat opposite Carlos.
Carlos was never a man to beat around the bush. As soon as they sat down, he went straight to the point. "You need to marry Evelyn."
After a short pause, Joshua refused, "I'm sorry, Uncle Carlos. I can't—"
"Or tomorrow," Carlos interrupted. "Tomorrow everyone will know you were the one who chased Evelyn and went back to her apartment with her."
"Does Evelyn even know about this?" Joshua asked anxiously.
"She doesn't need to know. You just need to tell me yes or no."
"I'm sorry, Uncle Carlos. There's no way," he apologized.
He promised Sheffield he would break up with Evelyn. If he got engaged to her, Sheffield would kill him.
Surprisingly, Carlos wasn't upset. Instead, he asked, "Is it because you like Terilynn?"
He didn't expect that Carlos would know anything about that. Was it that obvious? So he decided honesty was the best policy. "Sorry, Uncle Carlos. I meant to talk to you about this later, but I guess there's no time like the present. Yeah, I like Terilynn. Evelyn and I aren't good together. We were looking for a reason to break up."
Carlos stared into his glass, swirled the wine around the goblet instead of taking a sip. "Get engaged to Evelyn, and then I'll give you the green light to woo Terilynn." He would take care of these two brats one by one!
Joshua was taken aback. 'Get with Terilynn after getting engaged to Evelyn? That's nuts!' "Uncle Carlos, all you're doing is hurting Evelyn."
"Don't worry about it. So tell me—yes or no." Carlos thought Evelyn might get hurt now, but if he didn't do something, Sheffield would hurt her even more later on.
Not knowing what was on Carlos' mind, Joshua changed the subject. "I guess you know about Evelyn and Sheffield. I don't know why you're so dead set against them as a couple. Sheffield might not look like much to you, but to me he's a pretty amazing dude! More importantly, Evelyn likes him. He loves her, too."
As time wore on, he was smart enough to see that Carlos didn't approve of Sheffield.
Carlos cast a cold glance at Joshua, and the young man trembled. "What do you know, anyway?" Carlos barked.
Joshua was confused. 'Does he know something I don't?'
"He doesn't deserve Evelyn, so I won't allow it! And if you don't agree to get engaged to her, I'll find someone else. If I do, you'll never see Terrilyn again."
"Sheffield's my bro. I'm not going to mess up his chances with Evelyn," Joshua replied with a smile. He and Sheffield were even closer than biological brothers.
If he betrayed their friendship, Sheffield wouldn't be happy. He wouldn't be happy, either.
"It's okay. I won't force you." Carlos calmly took out his phone and made it obvious he was dialing a number. "Get rid of Sheffield. Make sure it looks like Joshua Fan did it."
Joshua wanted to remain calm, but he knew Carlos was ruthless and capable of doing exactly that.
For the next few minutes, he was on pins and needles. His mobile phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Carlos didn't stop him from answering. He was pretty sure he knew who was calling.
As soon as Joshua slid the answer key, Sheffield's voice came from the other end of the line. "Hey, you okay?"
"Have you left yet?"
"Yeah. Your assistant said something happened to you. So I'm on my way downstairs!"
"No! Listen to me: go back to your apartment!" Joshua warned. He lowered his voice and tried to prevent Carlos overhearing. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
"It doesn't matter. He'll have to come out of his apartment sometime. If not today, then tomorrow," Carlos said.
Upon hearing this, Joshua got angry. He hung up the phone and looked at Carlos. He balled his fists. "What the hell do you want, old man?"
"I want you to get engaged to Evelyn." Joshua was Sheffield's best friend. It had to be him.
"I'm done playing games with you. I won't do it. I'll let Sheffield know, while I'm at it. You might want to think twice about who you send to deal with him. Peace out." He stood up from his seat and was going to find Sheffield.
"What if I tell him that something has happened to you and Evelyn?"
"Isn't that underhanded? Even for you?" Joshua turned to face Carlos, with anger in his eyes.
Looking at a spot not far away, Carlos answered casually, "I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Whatever I have to, for Evelyn."
While walking towards the door, Joshua added, "You have my answer. I won't betray my best friend. Please excuse me, Uncle Carlos. Goodbye!"
However, before he could get out of the room, a bodyguard stepped in his way.
Too late for him to say anything. The bodyguard took out a handkerchief and pressed it to Joshua's face. The young man struggled but was eventually overtaken by vertigo. At last, he fell unconscious.
Sheffield could tell his friend was upset. Panicked, even. He took in his surroundings and saw suspicious-looking men at different points. He darted into the shadows and seemed to lose them—for now.
After making sure he was safe, he called Joshua again, but he got a message saying that the subscriber was not accepting calls at this time. He must have turned his phone off. But why?
Worried Joshua was in danger, Sheffield went back home and opened an app on his phone. He entered his friend's details and tried to figure out his friend's last location. It wouldn't tell him where he was now, because the phone was off.
Amazingly, the app managed to find him. He was at a large hotel. While he was pondering this, his phone rang. It was Dollie. He wasn't in the mood to talk to her, but she kept calling again and again. Finally, about the fifth time, he picked up.
He answered the phone impatiently. "God, finally!" she said. "You need to hear this! I just saw Joshua. He rented a room with Evelyn."
"What are you talking about, Dollie?" Sheffield got even more upset when he heard what she said.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me. There's a large hotel next to Orchid Private Club, Room 909, 9th floor. Just go there and see for yourself." Once she said that, Dollie hung up the phone.
