Chapter 515

Michael's heart was thumping like crazy, excitement bubbling up inside him.

Seeing the spark in his eyes, May kept pushing, "Look, I'm her sister. I know her better than anyone. Susan's got a thing for you, trust me."

Michael shot back, "But we've been apart for ages. How could she... She didn't even like me back then."

May rolled her eyes, "You're such a doofus. People change, dude. A few years ago, you guys were just kids, clueless about everything. But now, after all the stuff you've been through, you've both grown up. You know what you want now. So stop acting like a scared little kid. If you like her, just tell her, or someone else might swoop in. I've done all I can. It's up to you now." She gave Michael a pat on the shoulder and walked off.

Michael was a mess of emotions.

After helping Oliver with his bath, Susan came downstairs to hang out with Michael. Seeing her laugh so freely, Michael started thinking May might be onto something.

They chatted until after ten, and Susan walked Michael out.

In the yard.

"Well... I guess I should head back." Michael didn't really want to leave. Today had been the best day he'd had in years, all thanks to Susan.

"Alright, see you next time."

"When's that gonna be?" Michael asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm back to work next week. You got my number, right? Just hit me up." Susan replied.

"Okay." Michael thought, 'Is she giving me a shot?'

Michael was buzzing with excitement but tried to play it cool.

Susan went upstairs to her room. After a shower, she saw that Caleb had tried to video call her five times today, almost every hour.

And then, another call came in.

As soon as she picked up, Caleb was all frantic, "Where've you been? Why didn't you answer my calls?"

"I didn't hear them," Susan said.

Caleb kept going, "Did you ignore them on purpose? Do you know how worried I was?"

Susan thought he was being dramatic. "I'm at my parents' place, safe and sound. What's the big deal? Chill out. I just didn't check my phone for a day. An old friend came over."

"You talked all day?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, just saw him off."

Caleb's face twisted, "A guy?"

Susan explained, "Yeah. Our families are tight. He's a year older than me, and we grew up together."

"So, an old childhood buddy." Caleb's tone was dripping with jealousy.

"Yeah, an old childhood buddy."

He got even more pissed, "And you're just admitting it like that?"

"It is what it is. But we were never like that; we never dated."

Caleb was fuming. "Do you want to date him?"

"I said we never dated. Where did I say I wanted to date him?" Susan was both amused and annoyed. "Why are you so bad at understanding things?"

"Then why'd you bring up dating?" Caleb asked.

"Because we didn't date, to avoid you getting the wrong idea. You're so petty, always flipping out over stuff like this."

"You're my girl. You talked to another guy all day and didn't answer my calls. Shouldn't I be mad?" Caleb asked.

"I told you, he's my friend. I can't be glued to my phone all day, and besides..."

"Besides what?" Caleb frowned.

Susan mumbled softly, "Who said I'm your girl?"

"Are you denying us because of him?"

Susan was speechless. "What does he have to do with this? Stop dragging him into everything, okay? We never made anything official. You said to let things happen naturally."

Caleb shot back, "When I said naturally, I meant we should build our relationship without any so-called friends butting in."

Susan sighed, "He's not butting in. We were just catching up, as friends."

"All day."

Susan suddenly felt like she was talking to a brick wall. Jealous guys were just as bad as jealous girls-both were so petty. "Forget it, I'm done talking. I'm going to sleep."

"No, you're not."

Just because he said no? Susan rolled her eyes and hung up.

Her phone kept buzzing with video calls, so she put it on silent.

She tried to sleep but couldn't resist checking her phone.

Caleb kept blowing up her messages.

Caleb: [Don't sleep!]

Caleb: [I'm not being petty; you're ignoring me for him.]

Caleb: [Put yourself in my shoes. If I talked to an old friend all day and ignored you, wouldn't you be mad?]

Caleb: [I haven't finished talking, answer the video call.]

Caleb: [Susan, I'm getting mad.]

Caleb: [Fine, it's my fault, okay?]

Susan thought, 'Yeah, it is your fault. What kind of apology is that?' She pouted.

Caleb: [If you keep ignoring me, I'll come find you.]

Seeing this, Susan quickly replied: [Don't come over.]

As soon as she sent it, Caleb's video call came in again.

Susan was fed up. "Are you done? I said I'm going to sleep."

Caleb retorted, "But you're not sleeping."

"You're blowing up my phone, how can I sleep?" Susan glared at the handsome Caleb on the screen. So what if he was good-looking? She was still mad. "And you're threatening me."

"It's not a threat. I want to apologize in person." Caleb replied.

"No, you just want me to respond to you." Susan's brows furrowed. "How can you be so annoying?"

"I'm jealous."

Susan said, "I know you're jealous, but your jealousy is ridiculous. If I can tell you about my relationship with him, it proves we're just friends."

Caleb retorted, "That's how you see it, but he might not see it that way."

Susan rubbed her forehead. "He's married with kids, a very happy family. We haven't seen each other in almost ten years, so it's normal to catch up. You're just being petty."

Caleb nodded. "I admit I'm petty about this, but that's because I love you so much. As soon as another guy gets close to you, I get mad, even if I know it's silly. I kept bugging you because I don't want any misunderstandings between us. I don't want us to go to bed angry. If there's any friction or misunderstanding, I want to clear it up the same day. That's the only way a relationship can last."

Hearing him speak so calmly, Susan couldn't help but agree.

If misunderstandings pile up, they only get worse. Even a small misunderstanding could turn into a big conflict. Resolving it the same day was a mature approach.

Susan complained, "I was really happy to see an old friend, but you ruined my good mood."

"Then let me make it up to you."

Susan raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Caleb replied, "I'll make it up to you with myself."

"I don't want that."

Caleb asked, "Then what do you want? How about I take you shopping tomorrow and you can spend my money to vent?"

"Don't use your tricks for other women on me; it won't work." Susan said coldly.

Caleb retorted, "I never sweet-talk women. You're the only one."

Susan pouted, "Don't think that saying that will make me less angry. I'm not so easy to appease."

"Then how do you want to punish me?" Caleb asked with interest, his eyes full of anticipation. His face practically screamed: Begging for punishment!