Patrick was straightforward, which reminded Emma of the many things women pursued in him, after all, he was an Alpha. It seemed shifting the topic to Shirley wasn’t a good choice. Fortunately, Patrick seemed unwilling to discuss further. He seemed to have an important meeting, so after a few words to Emma, he left. Emma felt she didn’t need to pry into his involvement with that woman.
Thinking this, Nicola might be the real ally. Her impression of Nicola wasn’t bad. So she retrieved Nicola’s number from her phone, which Patrick had given her, and sent a short text.
“Hey, how are you? I’m Emma.”
Nicola quickly replied, “Hello, beautiful:)” Immediately followed by, “I’m about to go out, do you want to grab a coffee with me? My treat.”
Did Nicola have some kind of mind-reading ability? Emma thought Patrick was right, maybe she could be friends with Nicola.
Soon, Nicola asked for Emma’s location, and she drove to pick her up. A black Mercedes sports car quickly arrived, but it was Harry driving.
She was somewhat surprised, “I didn’t expect you two to be together.”
Harry didn’t say anything, but Nicola answered, “It’s a coincidence.”
Harry drove Emma to a cafe. The cafe looked a bit dated, with old-fashioned but luxurious decor and furniture, especially the cups displayed at the bar, definitely not something Mrs. Lew would buy. Emma knew she shouldn’t say that and awkwardly made a face.
“Did you suddenly contact Nicola because something happened?” Harry asked, stretching and casually placing a hand on Nicola’s back.
Suddenly, having another person, especially Patrick’s Beta, made Emma feel like the number of spies had suddenly increased, a lump formed in her throat.
Nicola considerately suggested, “Let’s order first, can I get you a cappuccino? Less sugar? And a piece of cake.”
Emma thanked Nicola for ordering, “Yes, cappuccino, less sugar, and can I have a strawberry cream cake?”
Harry had intended to call the waiter, but under Nicola’s gaze, he shrugged and muttered, “I knew it.” He got up to go to the counter to place the order.
“Is it about wanting to talk about Patrick? Don’t worry, even though he’s my friend, I think you need more help,” Nicola said.
Emma sat somewhat awkwardly.
Finally, she hesitated and spoke, “I want to know, what kind of person is Shirley?”
Nicola laughed briefly, “A b****, you don’t need to care.”
“Is that so?” Although quite offensive, Emma found this evaluation satisfying.
“I’ve seen her a few times,” Nicola said, “She works at a bar. I once knew another girl who worked there, and she invited me for a drink. I saw her at the bar.”
Emma widened her eyes, “What was your first impression of her?”
“Passionate and lively, good at making men laugh, seems very sociable,” Nicola replied.
Harry returned from ordering, frowning, “Isn’t that just a b****, making money by seducing men.”
Nicola lightly scolded him with a glance, and Harry immediately closed his mouth.
“You have to understand, here for a long time, the class hierarchy is extremely strict. Many omegas can’t go to school, they have to work from a young age. Some omegas struggle to make ends meet and cannot obtain dignity and freedom. Some omegas are luckier, but it’s not exactly lucky,” Nicola said.
Emma listened attentively to every word. This was history she had never understood.
Emma fell silent.
“Was Shirley like that before?” she asked.
Nicola shook her head, “I don’t know her. I haven’t investigated her. I’m just telling you about the situation of omegas here. Ninety-five percent of them have no chance to rise. Their lives have no turning point after their omega status.”
Emma lowered her head.
Harry had a different view of the matter, “Shirley is ambitious. She definitely wants more than just being Patrick’s sexual partner; she always wants to climb higher.”
Nicola didn’t comment, “Who would want to refuse a chance to become Luna?”
Harry looked at her disapprovingly, “You don’t want it, do you?”
Nicola retorted, “Do you want me to want it?”
Harry fell silent and didn’t speak anymore.
Emma asked Nicola, “You don’t hate Shirley, do you?”
Nicola took a sip of her lukewarm coffee, “I have no conflict of interest with her. I don’t want to be Luna, and I don’t like Patrick, so I have no reason to bear ill will towards her.”
A subtle blush appeared on Emma’s face.
Nicola quickly caught the hint of embarrassment and smiled, “What about you? Little girl, can you tell me why you areso curious about Shirley? You shouldn’t have a need to understand her.”
Emma felt like she was about to stutter. “I don’t… I just, she came to the house the other day. Her relationship with Patrick seems very intimate, I just wanted to know who might be around Patrick.”
Harry whistled, “Then you should have come to ask me. I know everything related to Patrick.”
“I’m not curious,” Emma retorted. “I just haven’t had much to do lately and wanted to learn more history.”
Nicola teased her, “Does that history include Patrick?”
Emma’s face turned even redder.
“But you can let Harry tell you some specific things related to Shirley,” Nicola suggested.
Emma asked curiously, “What things?”
Harry looked at Nicola as if to ask if it was okay to tell Emma these things now. Moreover, he knew that Patrick liked the girl in front of him and he didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble between future Patrick and Emma.
“Are you sure?” he whispered to Nicola.
Nicola said, “She will have to know eventually, go ahead.”