Chapter 2

---

The morning sunlight streamed softly through the curtains, casting a golden glow over the room. I stretched slightly, the warmth of the soft blankets and pillows making it almost impossible to leave the comfort of the bed. As I opened my eyes, the sight of my friends sprawled out around me brought a sudden jolt of confusion.

Errr… what just happened here?

I glanced to my left and saw Julane stirring awake, her face scrunched in confusion as she rubbed her eyes. She blinked a few times, then looked around the unfamiliar room before locking eyes with me.

“Wait a minute… where are we?” she asked, her voice still groggy.

I sighed, sitting up slowly and brushing my messy hair out of my face. “This is my house,” I said, gesturing around. “It’s not big, but it’s enough for all of us to squeeze in.”

Julane blinked again as if processing my words. “Your house? How did we even get here?”

“You don’t remember?” I asked though I wasn’t entirely surprised. “Carl picked us up from the bar last night. Everyone was too out of it to go home, so I figured we’d crash here. Well, Carl figured it out more than I did.”

Julane groaned, flopping back onto the bed. “Ugh, I can’t believe I drank that much. My head feels like it got hit by a truck.”

“You’re not the only one,” I muttered, looking around at the others. Jasmine was curled up at the foot of the bed, Vera had somehow managed to tangle herself in one of my extra blankets, and Brynne was snoring lightly against a pillow that definitely wasn’t hers. Gabrielle, surprisingly, looked the most composed, though she was still fast asleep.

Julane turned her head to me, her expression shifting from confusion to mild amusement. “So… about that game, Vera came up with…”

“Don’t even start,” I said, holding up a hand. “I’m already regretting it.”

“Too late,” Julane teased, smirking despite her hangover. “You’re in it now. Who’s the guy, Cal? You haven’t told us yet.”

I felt my face heat up, and I quickly stood from the bed, pretending to fuss with the curtains. “No one. It’s no one.”

Julane’s laughter was quiet but knowing. “Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

Before I could respond, a groggy voice from the other side of the bed broke the moment.

“Can someone explain why my mouth tastes like regret?” Vera grumbled, sitting up and clutching her head.

“Welcome to Hangover Central,” I said dryly, throwing her a bottle of water from my bedside table.

“Thanks,” Vera mumbled, taking a sip. Then she smirked. “So, when do we start the game?”

“You mean the game we’re already regretting?” I shot back.

“Exactly,” Vera replied, completely unapologetic. “This is going to be fun, and you know it.”

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. The week ahead was starting to look like absolute chaos. But as I glanced at my friends, their tired faces full of mischief and excitement, I couldn’t help but feel that maybe—just maybe—it wouldn’t be so bad.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and a group of men stepped inside, led by Carl. My still-groggy brain barely registered what was happening before I noticed something else: they were all tall. Like towering over everyone in the room at a solid six feet or more.

And hot.

Sheesh. It was like someone had ripped them straight out of a magazine. The sauna room didn’t even compare to this. If looks could kill, we’d all be goners by now. My internal rating scale shot up faster than a heart monitor—10000 out of ten, easy.

Vera and Jasmine, of course, reacted in truly dramatic fashion.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” Vera screamed, clutching her blanket like it was the only thing tethering her to reality.

“OH MY GOD, WHO EVEN ARE YOU?!” Jasmine added, her voice hitting a pitch that could probably shatter glass.

The commotion startled everyone awake, including Gabrielle, who sat up with a groan. With dark circles under her eyes and a look of pure annoyance plastered across her face, she grabbed two pillows from the bed and hurled them across the room at Vera and Jasmine.

“Girls, are you serious?!” Gabrielle snapped. “You ruin my sleep for this?!”

The pillows smacked Jasmine and Vera square in the face, cutting their screams short.

Carl crossed his arms, looking entirely unimpressed by the chaos. “Morning, ladies,” he said dryly. “Glad to see you’re all as dramatic as ever.”

“Who are they?” Julane asked, rubbing her eyes as she squinted at the group of men behind Carl.

“My friends,” Carl replied nonchalantly, gesturing toward the group. “They came to help me clean up the mess you all left behind last night.”

“You didn’t mention your friends were models,” Vera mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow Gabrielle had thrown at her.

One of Carl’s friends chuckled, his voice deep and smooth. “We’re not models, just friends doing Carl a favour. You must be Vera.”

Vera’s head shot up, her cheeks flushed. “How do you know my name?”

Carl smirked. “You might’ve introduced yourself last night. Loudly. Several times.”

Vera groaned and sank back into the blankets, muttering something about wanting the ground to swallow her whole.

Meanwhile, I was still processing everything. Between my hungover friends, the group of ridiculously good-looking men in my room, and Carl acting like this was the most normal thing in the world, I was starting to think this game Vera had started was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

“Hey, you haven’t answered my question yet. Who are you guys?” Julane asked, sitting up with a frown, her hair a tangled mess from sleep.

Carl sighed and stepped aside, gesturing to the group like they were on a red carpet. “Alright, let them introduce themselves. One at a time, please.”

The first guy, who stood closest to Carl, stepped forward. His dark hair was slightly dishevelled, and his sharp features made him look effortlessly cool. He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Hey, I’m Evander. Carl’s best friend. Nice to meet you.” His tone was calm and straightforward, but his piercing gaze sent shivers down my spine.

Next to him, a guy with a cheeky grin and tousled blond hair stepped up. “Hi, I’m Jude, a close friend of Evan’s.” He winked at Vera, who immediately turned red and buried her face in her hands.

Beside Jude was a tall, broad-shouldered guy with a lazy smirk. “Hey, I’m Marcus. Friend of… well, all of them,” he said with a casual wave, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

Before anyone could respond, the guy next to him chuckled, reaching over to pat Marcus on the shoulder. “All of us? Really?” he teased. Marcus shot him a look, sighing. “Hurry up and introduce yourself to the girls, Elio.”

“Fine, fine,” the man said, rolling his eyes before flashing a charming smile. “Hey, I’m Elio. Nice to meet you.” His voice was smooth and confident, and I could already see Jasmine swooning a little.

The next guy, who had a more reserved demeanour, stepped forward. His dark eyes softened as he gave a polite nod. “Hi, I’m Oliver,” he said simply, his voice quiet but steady.

Finally, the last one, who had been leaning against the doorframe with an amused expression, pushed off and stepped forward. “Hi,” he said, his tone warm and friendly. “I’m Daniel.” His easygoing smile immediately put everyone at ease, though Gabrielle squinted at him, probably already analyzing his every move like the lawyer she was.

The room fell silent for a moment as we all took in the introductions. My friends exchanged wide-eyed glances, clearly overwhelmed by the unexpected parade of ridiculously attractive men standing in my bedroom.

“Well,” Carl said, clapping his hands together to break the tension. “Now that everyone’s acquainted, maybe we can start cleaning up the mess you guys left behind last night.”

Vera immediately groaned, flopping back onto the bed. “Can’t we just hire someone to do it?”

“Not a chance,” Carl replied, his tone firm.

Evander smirked, glancing at me. “Seems like your friends are trouble, Calista.”

I rolled my eyes, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. “You have no idea.”

As the boys laughed and my friends started bickering about who caused the most chaos last night, I couldn’t help but think that this was only the beginning of whatever madness was about to unfold.

I stood up, brushed the blanket off me, and called out, “Carl, I’ll help you clean up the mess.”

He turned to me with an amused grin, crossing his arms. “My dummy baby sister, you? Help me clean? You can barely reach the top shelf,” he teased, ruffling my hair like I was still ten years old.

“Ugh, Carl!” I swatted his hand away, but he wasn’t done. He placed his arm above my head, emphasizing the height difference, and looked at the others. “Right, guys? Still short as always.”

The room erupted into laughter, the boys grinning as I stood there, grumpy and mortified.

“Hmph!” I pouted, glaring up at my brother while crossing my arms. How embarrassing. Why did I even come back to my parents’ house?

“You’re impossible,” I muttered under my breath, trying to regain some dignity. Then I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Wait a second—did you host a sleepover or something while I was out?”

Carl smirked, rubbing the top of my head like I was still his little sister who couldn’t figure things out. “Mhm,” he said with a casual nod, his tone far too smug for my liking.

“You’re unbelievable,” I huffed, smoothing my hair back down. “You should’ve at least warned me. I wasn’t prepared to deal with this,” I said, gesturing toward the group of handsome strangers who were now fully invested in our sibling banter.

Evander chuckled, leaning against the wall with a smirk. “You two are fun to watch.”

“Fun for you, maybe,” I grumbled, throwing him a look. “For me, it’s just another day of being Carl’s little sister.”

Carl laughed, patting my shoulder. “Come on, Cal. You know you missed me.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the faint smile that crept onto my face. As much as Carl drove me crazy, he was still my brother. And apparently, I was going to have to survive a house full of his overly attractive friends for the rest of the day. Great.

---

Character introduction(Male):

Carl - 29 years old, who work as a surgeon.

Evander - 24 years old, who work as a doctor.

Jude - 25 years old, who work as a billionaire.

Marcus - 23 years old, who work as a CEO at famous company.

Elio - 26 years old, who work as Police Captain

Oliver - 27 years old, who work as a detective.

Daniel - 30 years old, who work as an elite lawyer.

Hint: They are rich. Yes sir.

---

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***