It Should Have Been Like This (The Revised Version)

Chapter 52: group chat

Rominic took the opportunity to feed me, his face alight with delight. The children continued to smile widely at me, making me feel even more uncomfortable. To avoid their gaze, I picked up my phone and sent a message in the group chat that Ferris had added me to — the same group I had left when I cut ties with my friends. The notification of my readmission brought a rush of emotion, and I couldn't hold back the tears.

The guys were overjoyed and eager to see me again. Gael even sent a video of himself doing a happy dance in response to the news. I already had a plan to host a small reunion party, but the problem was the venue. Rominic's house was like his second baby, and he would never allow me to throw a party, especially one that involved the boys, Ferris in particular. But that's what made it all the more tempting. I was determined to throw the party, whether he liked it or not.

<I can't wait for you to meet the girls!> Ferris' message read, eliciting a surge of excitement within me.

<Girls? Do you mean your wives?> I typed back, my fingers moving swiftly across the screen.

<And daughters.> Link added with a winking emoji, the implication sending a wave of surprise through me.

<And sons.> Elias chimed in, his response accompanied by a cool face emoji, further confirming the news.

<Oh my goodness! You guys are fathers now?!> I hurriedly typed, my eyes widening with a mix of disbelief and delight. It wasn't entirely unbelievable, but the revelation still caught me off guard.

<You were gone for years, Jam, so of course we are married.> Gael responded, a hint of playfulness in his tone.

<Who are we? Because the last time I checked, you were still jumping from one bed to the other!> Link replied with a deadpan sticker, a subtle jab at Gael's playboy lifestyle.

<Hey! In my defense, I fell in love once but she died after giving birth to my baby girl. I'm mourning.> Gael responded, his message accompanied by a sad face emoji.

Elias sent a frowning emoji and followed up with a pointed remark. <You don't even remember her name!>

<Of course I do, it's Dennise.> Gael replied, adding a proud minion sticker, his tone a mix of confidence and defensiveness.

<Pray tell, Gael. Who the fuck is Dennise?> Ferris chimed in, the annoyance clear in his blunt text.

<I thought her name was Clarabelle?> Link asked, adding a bored face sticker, casting further doubt on Gael's recollection.

Elias sent three rolling eyes emojis and added text dripping with sarcasm. <Yeah, he's mourning.>

<Gael is still a whore. Why am I not surprised? Oh, yes! It was written in his destiny.> I replied, adding a rolling eyes emoji at the end of my text, my frustration with Gael's antics evident.

<You talk, bitch, we are both unmarried, Link is divorced, Elias' wife is a loonie, and Ferris is a widower.> Gael responded defensively, his words laced with a hint of aggression.

<Holy shit! Gael! How dare you! That death belongs to your future wife!> Ferris typed in angrily, adding a barrage of angry emojis.

Elias sent a barrage of laughing emojis and replied with a sardonic tone. <Ignore him, he's too single and irresponsible to understand.>