24: Multilingual

Multilingual

Paula and Heaven agreed to meet at a private restaurant in the city mall, a place where elites shop. When Heaven arrived, Paula was already there. Well, Heaven deliberately went to a few boutiques to window shop just to make sure Paula would wait for a few minutes.1

"How was it?" was Paula's first question as soon as Heaven settled in her seat. "What is the emergency that happened that made you rush out of the hospital? Did that guy force you back to your house?"

Worry and concern swirled in Paula's eyes, looking at Heaven as if she was checking any bruises. Even the current Heaven would fall for it if she was a bit stupid.

"Paula, can we please get a glass of tea first? Or maybe wine?" Heaven frowned.

"Right." Paula rocked her head as if she suddenly woke up from an illusion. She forced a smile, recomposing herself. "I already ordered before you came. I got you your favorite orange juice."

"My favorite?" Heaven nearly gagged. "Paula, are you really my friend?"

"Huh?"

"Orange juice isn't my favorite. It's your favorite." Heaven frowned deeper. "How can you forget such a detail? Was it because you don't care about me anymore?"

"Heaven, what are you talking about? Orange juice is your favorite ever since we were in high school."

That was correct. The original Heaven liked orange juice; it was her comfort drink. However, the current Heaven didn't like it, as it often made her throat dry up.

"People's taste buds change, you know? I think I mentioned it the last time you made your visit to my place. But well, you're a busy woman and probably forgot it. It's no use in making this a big deal." Heaven shrugged, sliding her hand to the menu to order herself something nice.

Meanwhile, Paula's smile slightly faded, looking at the woman across from her with contempt. Since the last time she visited Heaven in the hospital, the latter had been complaining a lot and nitpicking on her. Did Heaven think she was the same lowly actress she could boss around?

'It's okay. Let her be for a while. After all, she will divorce Dominic Zhu.' That thought quenched the growing annoyance in her heart.

Paula cleared her throat to get Heaven's attention.

"Heaven, let me order for you," she offered with a kind smile. "Just tell me what you prefer and I will make the order for you. After all, this is a Spanish restaurant. So you might not understand what's on their menu."

Heaven blinked, and then slowly propped the back of her hand against her chin. "Oh? That's why," she hummed, nodding in understanding.

"What do you want? Let me explain what catches your eye." Paula happily bent over the table, stretching her neck while Heaven adjusted the menu for her friend to see better.

"What is this one?" asked Heaven, pointing at a dish.

"Oh, this one is rice with chicken…" Paula explained what the dish was so Heaven could have a vague idea of what food she was ordering.

"That sounds weird. How about this one?"

"This one right here…"

Heaven kept pointing at almost everything on the menu while Paula took her time to explain. One would think Paula was a patient and great friend, assisting her oblivious friend. Well, both of them had humble beginnings. The lavish lifestyle they had now was a product of their acting career. Well, for Heaven, it was the product of marrying a rich husband. But even without Dominic, Heaven could've lived a comfortable life with her talent.

"Wow. Paula, did you learn Spanish?" Heaven was in awe while Paula smiled, flattered. "You're really good at it!"

"Haha! It's nothing. I just had to learn a few words because of the last film I took part in."

"Oh. The one where you died?" Heaven innocently recalled. "I remember that one since you should've gotten the lead role, but something behind the scenes happened. So you ended up being the lead's lackey who was blinded with money and betrayed her friend."

The big smile on Paula's face faded a bit while Heaven frowned as if she didn't like what happened to her friend. Heaven hadn't seen that movie. Ever since waking up in this new life, a lot of things occupied Heaven. She had to thank the original Heaven's memory for this.

From the memories, Paula kept ranting about it, blaming the production for being bribed. The latter said the actress who got the lead role was sponsored by one of the investors. These types of things truly happened behind the glitz and glamor of the entertainment industry. In this case, though, the current Heaven didn't believe a single word Paula said.

The original Heaven might have, but deep in her heart, the original Heaven knew the lead actress. Thus, she had a slight doubt in Paula's claims, but still wanted to side with her friend.

"Anyway, thank you for helping me." Heaven smiled kindly. "I really appreciate it."

Heaven pressed a button and almost instantly, an attendant came inside to attend to the guests' request. As soon as the attendant came, Paula smiled broadly.

"I can do it for you so you —"

"It's okay, Paula. I know we've been friends, but I don't want others to think you're my nanny for ordering you to do such a menial task." Heaven winked.

The smile on Paula's face froze, sensing the attendant's quick glance. 'What the hell is this dumb bitch spewing now?' she clasped her hand under the table, reminding herself there was another person in this room so she had to keep up with her reputation.

'I just want to help you,' — or rather, she wanted to make herself look good in front of others at the same time, humiliate Heaven for not knowing to speak in another language even for a bit. Being better than Heaven always felt good, after all. But now, Heaven dared to use her little brain and wanted to humiliate herself.

'Suit yourself.' Paula secretly sneered. 'Embarrass yourself for all I care.'

Heaven looked up at the attendant and smiled. "Hola," she greeted, before moving on to speak Spanish fluently without any problem.

Hearing her speak, Paula's eyes slowly widened, her lips falling apart. Paula knew a few words and was still learning, but Heaven was already fluent as if it was her first language. Little did Paula know, Heaven couldn't just speak one, but she had to learn a few just so she could swear at her enemies without embarrassing herself.

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