Chapter 250

Royce glanced at Asher and chuckled, "You? Think you can outdrink me?"

His tone was dripping with sarcasm, which immediately riled Asher up.

"Who are you calling out? Tonight, I'm not stopping until you're completely wasted."

The two of them started bickering like kids, but the atmosphere was light and friendly.

After the celebration party, Yvonne hadn't shown up again. I wasn't sure if it was because of what Kathy and Savannah had said that made her leave.

But seeing Royce's face without any sign of concern, I felt relieved. After all, Yvonne was his friend.

The five of us headed to a nearby bar right after the party, not even bothering to change our clothes. Asher and Royce immediately started their drinking contest.

They were downing drinks one after another, not caring what they were drinking, both with a competitive glint in their eyes.

But I knew they were genuinely happy for each other. Their behavior tonight had no other meaning.

Watching them drink, I felt a sense of joy too.

It seemed like all the pent-up emotions from before were being released tonight. This was a cathartic moment for both of them.

The three of us sat nearby, occasionally glancing at Asher and Royce while chatting about our own stuff.

We had a great time that night, and it wasn't until midnight that we decided to call it a night.

We planned to get everyone home safely.

I called Asher and Royce's assistants to come pick them up.

Just then, Royce suddenly wrapped his arm around my neck, "Caroline, Caroline," he kept calling.

I was a bit annoyed and looked at him impatiently, "What is it? What do you want?"

Royce gave a goofy smile, "I really like you."

I was stunned, never expecting Royce to be like this when drunk.

I glanced back, relieved to see Savannah and Kathy busy trying to lift the deadweight that was Asher, not paying attention to us.

I poked Royce's forehead with my finger, "Shut up, don't say things like that!"

Royce pouted, looking a bit hurt, "Why?"

"There are so many people around, don't you have any shame?"

"We can talk about this later."

Maybe my words got through to him, as he nodded.

"Okay, then I'll secretly tell you I like you."

I sighed helplessly, seeing his assistant's car pull up. "Your ride's here, you should go."

I opened the car door and helped Royce into the back seat.

He was dead weight, and I struggled to move him, ending up half-falling into the back seat with him.

He held onto me and seemed to fall asleep.

I looked at the driver, feeling a bit helpless, "Could you give me a hand?"

The driver, surprised to see his boss in such a state, quickly got out to help me.

"How much did Mr. Castillo drink? I've never seen him like this before."

"Really? Royce never drinks this much?"

The driver shook his head firmly, "Never. Mr. Castillo has high standards for himself. Even at social events, he takes anti-hangover pills immediately."

"And he usually drinks very little. This is a first."

I looked at Royce in surprise, regretting not recording his drunken antics. He'd probably be mortified if he saw himself like this.

"Make sure he gets some anti-hangover medicine and some hot water when you get back," I told the driver.

The driver nodded, "Don't worry, Ms. Sharp, I'll take care of it."

Royce's car drove off, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I helped Savannah and Kathy get Asher into his car and sent him off, then the three of us started our slow walk home. None of us had drunk much, so we were just a bit tipsy, enjoying the warm night breeze.

The night air in Suncrest City was warm, blowing away the smell of alcohol. We made our way home.

Kelly smelled the alcohol on us and looked a bit exasperated, "Did you guys drink?"

I nodded, hugging Kelly with a grin, "Yeah, we were celebrating. We had a few drinks."

"You have no idea how happy I am that Asher landed the project. It's like I landed it myself."

"How could I not be happy?"

"I think there's more to it than that," Kelly said, giving me a knowing look.

I coughed and quickly ran off, "I'm so tired, I need to sleep," avoiding Kelly's all-seeing gaze.

In the following days, Asher stayed in Suncrest City to handle the project's aftermath, and surprisingly, the usually busy Royce didn't leave either. He often hung out with us. For a while, I felt happier than I had in years.

Then, out of the blue, Isadora called me. She had given birth. The baby arrived earlier than expected, catching both her and her husband off guard. They rushed to the hospital, unprepared but excited.

Thankfully, Isadora hadn't gained much weight during her pregnancy, and the baby was small, so the delivery went smoothly and wasn't too painful.

When she video-called me, I saw the tiny baby snuggled beside her, looking adorable.

I laughed, "The baby looks just like you."

"Really? I think so too, but my husband insists the baby looks like him."

"Boy or girl?"

"Girl."

"Then your husband might be right. Girls often look like their dads."

"I don't believe it. I want my daughter to look like me. If she turns out as serious and stiff as him, it'll be a disaster."

Isadora stuck out her tongue, looking playful. She hadn't lost her youthful charm despite becoming a mother. Instead, she had gained a gentle, maternal glow, like she had transformed overnight. She was both youthful and maternal, and it didn't seem strange at all.

"Do you need me to come see you?"

"Not yet. I'm going to a postpartum care center to recover. I'm too messy to have visitors right now."

"Come visit after the baby turns one month old, okay?"

I nodded, smiling, "Of course, I'll bring a big gift for your baby."

Just then, Kathy leaned over, "Who's on the phone?"

I pointed to Isadora on the screen, "You clearly haven't been keeping up with Isadora. She just had her baby last night."

Kathy's eyes widened in shock, "How do you look even prettier after giving birth? And how did you recover so well?"