Chapter 180: Case Closed

Eric kept staring at the girls behind him, quickly pulling his hand away from Katie’s before standing up.

"You guys finished talking? But wait a second... how did you even know I was at this cafe? I don’t recall telling any of you where I was going," Eric asked, bewildered.

Hearing Eric’s question, all six girls flushed deep red, quickly diverting their eyes elsewhere. Eric folded his arms across his chest, getting suspicious. Emma then nudged Laura, who was standing beside her. Laura turned to look at Emma, only to realize Chloe, Priya, Monica, and Heidi behind her were all glaring right at her, making Laura flinch.

"Sigh... fine," Laura said.

Slowly, Laura raised the hand holding her smartphone, turning the screen around so Eric could see it, while keeping her own face turned away. Eric’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Laura’s phone screen. It displayed a tracking app with a live GPS pinpoint showing Eric’s exact location inside the cafe.

"Hah... you... tracked me? Where did you plant a tracker? The pin shows right inside this cafe," Eric said, pointing at Laura’s phone screen.

"Um... sorry, it’s in your wallet," Laura answered.

Eric pulled out his wallet and opened it up, carefully inspecting every fold inside. Finally, he discovered a thin tracking device tucked right behind his old ID card, a card he kept strictly as a keepsake and never took out.

"Hahaha... this is absolute gold," Katie laughed behind Eric.

"I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to track you, but... I just wanted to know... please don’t be mad at me," Laura said, dropping her head.

Eric was completely speechless, especially since Emma, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Chloe were standing right behind Laura in full solidarity. They all gazed at Eric with apologetic, puppy-dog eyes, instantly melting his frustration away. "Sigh," he simply let out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

"So... what’s the verdict?" Katie blurted out, shattering the tense atmosphere.

Emma, Priya, Monica, Heidi, Chloe, and Laura all poked their heads out to glance at Katie, who was sitting comfortably while tapping her fingers against the stack of envelopes on the table. Eric turned around abruptly, staring at Katie in sheer confusion.

"What verdict? Wait... don’t tell me you already knew about this whole mess before I even asked to meet up?" Eric asked, completely thrown off.

Katie went silent for a moment before a sly smirk spread across her face. She picked up her glasses from the table, blew on them, wiped them clean, and slipped them back on. Her relaxed, playful demeanor instantly shifted into a cold, sharp lawyer mode as she stared dead serious at Eric.

"Yeah... every single one of them called me, except for Emma, who was with you," Katie said.

"Huh... hey... what about your promise to me? Why are you laying all my cards on the table?" Monica shouted in protest.

"Ugh... I told you yesterday that my call was off the record, right? You’re a legal professional, if you act like this, I can’t trust you," Chloe added angrily.

"Uuuh... this is so embarrassing," Priya said, covering her face with both hands.

"Gosh... I explicitly said it was a secret... but what blows my mind is that every single one of you called Katie too?" Heidi asked the rest of the group.

"I didn’t call, I met up with her in person," Laura answered flatly.

"That’s because I happened to swing by your uncle’s office yesterday for some business with him, and you know exactly what business that was," Katie shot back, driving the point home.

Emma turned around to look at her friends, who immediately dodged her gaze. She spun back and pouted.

"So you all stole a head start on me, huh?" Emma said, annoyed.

"I mean, what else was I supposed to do? If I asked the junior lawyers at my dad’s firm... it’d be way too embarrassing. Plus, I was sure their answer wouldn’t line up with what we discussed... so I called Katie," Monica said bashfully.

"I don’t know anyone else besides Katie who understands this kind of stuff," Priya added, looking embarrassed.

"There’s no way I could use corporate legal staff from the office," Chloe chimed in, equally flustered.

"Same as the rest of them, the only person I knew who gets this stuff is Katie... at first I wanted to ask Mike... but I was too embarrassed. Besides, if he ended up telling Jade, I’d literally want to jump off a cliff," Heidi added shyly.

"For me, it was just because Katie had business with my uncle and me yesterday," Laura explained.

"Well... relax, everyone. I already talked to Eric about it. I suggested he move to another country that allows bigamy, or just buy an island, live there, and start his own nation, hehe," Katie said, throwing a glance at Eric.

"Hah... so those suggestions of yours weren’t completely baseless after all?" Eric asked.

"Hey... I’m just here offering voluntary help. By right, all of you should be getting billed for hourly consultation fees, so don’t complain," Katie answered with a shrug.

Silence fell over the room once more as everyone stopped talking. A waiter approached the group, and after ordering their drinks, they pushed a few tables together, settling in as a group of eight. Once everyone was seated, Katie leaned forward, looking across the table at the girls. Holding up the six envelopes, she gestured toward them.

"So, what’s the plan? Aside from the fact that you can’t cancel these, if you actually wanted to try, you’d have to have a serious sit-down with your respective parents. Plus, there are several business agreements tied up inside these, so tread carefully," Katie said, indicating the envelopes.

The six girls fell silent, exchanging glances, while Eric waited with intense anticipation for their answer. Finally, Chloe turned to Katie.

"We talked it over earlier. Emma will be Eric’s official, legally registered wife. The rest of us will sign a new, detailed binding contract. We’re all willing to sign the prenup you explained to me yesterday. As for living arrangements, we’ll buy a house together on the outskirts of town. The rest of us were actually browsing a few suitable listings earlier just to get an idea. We’re still in high school and heading to college next year, so yeah... once we graduate, everything goes into motion," Chloe said.

"Oho... so you’re not the official wife? Even though you were the most likely candidate to get married next year," Katie noted.

"True, but it wouldn’t be fair to the others if I went first. No way, I refuse to do that because I have my own agreement with the rest of them," Chloe countered.

"Ah... I see how it is. Suit yourself," Katie replied.

"Wait... hold on a minute... why is that what you decided? What about the letters? Are you all really fine with being engaged to me?" Eric asked, completely bewildered.

"Oh... that’s water under the bridge. We have zero issues with having you as our only husband," Monica answered casually.

"Yep... that’s right. Nothing to worry about on that front," Priya added.

"Take it easy, babe. You’re completely safe. Didn’t I tell you to let me handle it?" Emma said.

"So just relax and let the six of us handle everything. You just focus on your new office down the road," Heidi added.

"No need to worry. The six of us are reliable, and I promise none of us will ever turn our backs on you," Laura chimed in.

"Looks like I don’t need to explain any further, do I?" Chloe added.

"Hah... wait... but what about me? I mean... what about my feelings?" Eric asked, thoroughly confused.

"Don’t you want to marry us?" all six asked in unison.

Confronted with that question and seeing the hurt, disappointed look in all six pairs of eyes, Eric opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out, and he closed it again. He could feel dozens of eyes locked on him. Glancing over his shoulder, Eric caught a few guys staring in absolute disbelief.

"Bro, six girls want to marry him... isn’t that literally paradise on earth?" a guy whispered to his friend nearby.

"Shh... keep it down, but you’re right... If it were me, I wouldn’t even think twice. I’d just work my ass off. Even if one cheats, you’ve still got five left," his friend whispered back.

On the other side of the cafe, Eric spotted three men who looked like corporate office workers staring in his direction as well.

"Insane... six gorgeous women handed to him on a silver platter, and he’s hesitating? Is he an idiot or what?" asked one man, his lips easy for Eric to read.

"I know those girls. They’re ’The Empress’ that group going viral right now. If I were that guy... I’d sign the papers right this second, no questions asked," his friend replied.

"Count me out, man. Sounds like a drag. You know marriage is pure hell," the third guy interjected.

"Dummy, it’s only hell if you’ve got a wife like yours who nags you until you’re skin and bones. Those girls are clearly loaded, just look at their clothes. Don’t compare them to your miserable life," the first guy shot back.

"Shut up, man. But you’re right... maybe I should start recording my marriage," the third guy muttered back.

Overhearing and reading the lips of the gossiping crowd around him made Eric’s head pound even harder. He rubbed his forehead, slipping his glasses off, and looked back at the six girls and Katie, who were all eagerly awaiting his response.

"Aaaaah... fine, alright. You guys figure out the technical stuff. Besides, our wedding is still a long way off. Focus on your school and careers first," Eric said, thoroughly overwhelmed as he ruffled his own hair.

"Thank you, babe," all six replied together, happy.

"So, what about the rings?" Katie teased.

"Whoosh!" All six raised their hands at once, showing off the rings Eric had given them back then. They looked at Eric with beaming smiles. "Sigh," Eric was forced to raise his own hand, showing off his matching ring to Katie.

"Great. Now we just play the waiting game. Case closed! Moving forward, leave me out of this, okay? Go find another lawyer, because I’m going to work at Eric’s firm. I can give you guys plenty of references," Katie said, looking relieved and thoroughly satisfied.

"Hah... what?!" Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura yelled in unison, glaring at Katie.

The six girls immediately pounced on Katie, who refused to back down and fought right back. The cafe quickly filled with chaotic chatter. Amidst it all, Eric sat leaning his cheek on his palm, staring at the bar. The barista behind the counter flashed him a enthusiastic thumbs-up, and Eric could only offer a stiff, helpless smile in return.