That night, Dylan gathered everyone in the living room because he wanted to talk about the house renovation. He had secured a contractor willing to do the work with help from George, his former project manager at the construction company where he used to work. After stating his intention,
"Ellie, sorry to ask, but while this house is being renovated, can we all stay at your place so we don't have to rent another one?" Dylan said.
"No problem, I'd actually love that," Ellie replied enthusiastically.
"But my school and Fiona and Iris's school will be far," Aaron said.
"It's alright, we'll just leave really early using a ride-share," Dylan replied.
"Why don't you just get a car, babe? After you drop them off, we could go to school together," Maya suggested.
"I have a car at home, an old one my grandpa left. Grandma doesn't use it. I'll try talking to Grandma to see if we can borrow it," Lena added.
"You can drive, right?" Amy asked Dylan.
"Hmm... I can learn, I guess. To be honest, I've never driven anything but a bicycle," Dylan answered.
"Okay, then that's fine, I can drive," Amy replied.
"Huh... you can?" Dylan asked, surprised.
Amy opened her smartphone case and pulled out her driver's license, then handed it to Dylan.
"Wow, you can actually drive a car. (He turned to look at Ellie, Maya, and Lena, who looked completely unfazed) You guys already knew?" Dylan asked.
"Yep, she drove us once when we went out together using Lena's grandma's car," Ellie replied.
"That's right. No need to worry about who's driving. It's better than constantly ordering ride-shares... that's wasteful," Maya added.
"True, but once Amy's belly gets big, she won't be able to, though," Lena said.
"When does the renovation start, Big Brother?" Aaron asked.
"Next week, when I and the others start our break and are just waiting for graduation," Dylan answered.
"Hmm... okay. I, Fiona, and Iris will still be in school then, but if it's definite, it's fine too," Aaron said.
"Great, so it's settled, and everyone is okay with it," Dylan replied.
"Yep, all set," Ellie replied.
Suddenly, "Driiing... driiing," Lena's smartphone rang. She immediately looked at the screen. Lena's face, which had been normal, suddenly turned pale and frightened when she saw the display. Ellie, Maya, and Amy immediately shifted to see Lena's smartphone screen, and their faces instantly changed too. Dylan, curious, stood up and walked behind Lena. He saw the name "Papa" appear on the smartphone screen.
"You're not going to answer?" Dylan asked.
"No... I don't want to talk to him," Lena replied with a shaky voice.
The ringing stopped and immediately started again. Lena switched her smartphone to vibrate so it wouldn't be noisy, then put it on the table. Besides her father, her mother and grandmother were also calling her. Finally, Dylan sat down next to Lena.
"Okay, we're not borrowing the car after all. Tomorrow's Sunday, so we'll go look at cars," Dylan said.
Aaron, Lena, Ellie, Maya, and Amy immediately turned to look at Dylan as if Dylan had just said that the sun would rise in the west and set in the east.
"Huh... really?" Aaron asked.
"Yep, really," Dylan answered.
"But where are we going to put it? Our house doesn't have a garage," Aaron replied.
"At Ellie's house is fine, so don't worry about it. (He turned to look at Lena, Amy, Ellie, and Maya) You all agree, right?" Dylan asked.
"Y-yes, whatever you want. I have an empty garage at my house," Ellie answered.
"Okay, I'm fine with whatever you decide," Maya added.
"Same... I'm staying out of it," Amy added.
"But you'd be spending money... it's okay, I'll just talk to Grandma later," Lena added.
"No, if your father, mother, and grandmother are bombarding your phone right now, there's definitely something going on, and it's probably not good for you," Dylan said.
"That's true. I actually changed my number when I started high school, and the only people who know my number are Grandma and you guys. I saved my parents' numbers so I wouldn't accidentally answer... but if they're calling my new number, they must have gotten it from Grandma," Lena replied.
After the vibration ended, Lena's smartphone was immediately bombarded by vibrating message notifications again. It turned out they called five times and sent four messages from her father, mother, and grandmother. The first message asked Lena to come home to her grandmother's house. The second message was from her grandmother, saying that her mother and father were now at her grandmother's house. Lena's face drastically changed when she heard her parents were at her grandmother's house now.
The third message was from her mother, which only said she missed Lena, wanted to rebuild their relationship with Lena, and wanted Lena to come back and be with them. But what stunned Dylan, Lena herself, Ellie, Maya, and Amy was the fourth message, which came from her father's smartphone and read,
"Lena, I know you probably don't want to see us again, but you have to understand, your mother and I are starting a very profitable new business that could change our lives forever. For the capital, I've already spoken to my investor friend so he'll loan us some money and become a partner. But to make the agreement stronger, he has a son who is 20 years old and unmarried. Would you marry him so our agreement becomes strong? You want to help your mother and me, right?"
"What do they think I am?" Lena muttered, her hands trembling.
"Just ignore them, Lena. Leave it alone," Maya replied.
"Seriously, they don't care about you, so you don't need to feel guilty about ignoring them or turning down their request," Ellie added.
"That's why you ran to this city, right? Just don't engage. And if your grandmother is welcoming them, it means they've successfully sweet-talked her, so you should probably keep your distance from your grandmother, too," Amy said.
"Drrrt," another message notification came in. A follow-up message appeared on Lena's smartphone screen, and she immediately opened it. Lena's eyes widened when she saw the message because there was a photo there with a caption:
"How about him? He's handsome, right? I already told his father you would agree."
Lena immediately showed the photo to Maya, and Maya's eyes suddenly went wide as her mouth dropped open. Then she snatched Lena's smartphone and stared at it with an angry look.
"What?! Are you serious?! No way!" Maya yelled, standing up, looking extremely annoyed.
"What's wrong?" Dylan asked.
"This... look who Lena is supposed to be marrying!" Maya shouted, handing the smartphone to Dylan.
Dylan looked at the photo and was instantly shocked because the photo was of Mike, Maya's older brother, whom he had met in front of the school and who was his opponent in the martial arts tournament final. Maya immediately made a phone call, standing with her hands on her hips and a furious expression. Then she put it on speaker.
"Hello Maya, what's up?" Mike greeted.
"Big Brother... you're going to marry Lena? Lena's dad just told us that you're going to marry Lena and that other guy!" Maya replied.
"Huh... what? No way! Since Mom went to the hospital, I haven't had any communication with him. I'm marrying Lena? What does that mean? You know I have a fiancée—her name is Carla, and she's living with me now, right?" Mike asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Mike, this is Dylan. Do you have time tomorrow? I think we should meet up to talk. I'll accompany Lena and Maya to meet you," Dylan replied.
"Huh... Dylan? Oh, okay, bro. Just tell me the time and place," Mike replied.
Dylan hung up the phone and asked Maya to text him the meeting location. After that,
"We'll get everything straightened out tomorrow, so just relax," Dylan replied, reassuring Lena and Maya.
"Yes, we'll clear everything up tomorrow," Lena replied.
"Same here, I want to know what this is all about too," Maya added.
"Ellie and I are coming," Amy said.
"Yep, you have to," Ellie added.
"Okay, tomorrow we'll go right after we buy a used car so we can use it immediately. Please organize that, Maya," Dylan replied.
"Consider it done," Maya replied, giving a thumbs-up.
Dylan sat back down in his chair and took a deep breath, then leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
"Ready for action, C.A.T.S.?" Dylan asked in his head.
[Always ready, sir.]