24 Multilingual

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

"How was it?" was Paula's first question as soon as Heaven was in her seat. "What kind of 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, and she looked 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 requested with a frown on her face.

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

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

"Huh?" 

"Orange juice isn't my favorite. It's your favorite," Heaven pointed out, her frown deepened. "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 has been your favorite ever since we were in high school." Paula said in a voice full of doubt.

She was right, though. 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 all about it. It's no use in making this a big deal." Heaven shrugged it off, seemingly unaffected by Paula's words. She reached for the menu on her side of the table to order herself something nice to eat.

Paula's smile faded slightly as she continued to study the woman across from her. Her heart was full of contempt. The last time she visited Heaven in the hospital, she 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.' with that thought in mind, Paula quenched the growing annoyance in her heart.

Paula loudly 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, an innocent look on her face as she replied, "Oh? That's why," she let out a hum, nodding in understanding.

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

"What is this one?" Heaven asked, 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 each of the dishes. One would think Paula was a patient and great friend, assisting her oblivious friend. Both of them came from 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 to speak Spanish?" Heaven asked in awe while Paula smiled, flattered that her efforts were being praised. "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," she answered, her smile growing more.

"Oh. The one where you died?" Heaven innocently asked, recalling one of her movies. "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."

Paula's wide smile slowly began to fade. Heaven, though, had a frown on her face, 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 the new Heaven. She had to thank the original Heaven's memory for this.

Heaven pulled out the scene from the sea of memories this body had. How could she forget? Paula kept ranting about it, blaming the production for being bribed. Paula 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 kindly smiled at Paula. "I really appreciate it."

Heaven pressed a button and almost instantly, an attendant came inside to attend to the guests' request. Paula had a broad smile on her face as soon as the attendant came.

"I can do it for you so you —" Paula volunteered. 

"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 gave Paula a pat on the hand and 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 composure.

'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 another language. Paula always felt good whenever she made Heaven look bad. Right now, though, she was internally smiling with glee, all because Heaven wasn't using her little brain. Paula didn't have to do anything because this little chit would humiliate herself.

'Suit yourself,' Paula thought, secretly sneering at her 'friend'. 'Embarrass yourself for all I care.'

Heaven looked up at the attendant, smiled, and without missing a beat she said in perfect Spanish, "Hola," she greeted, then proceeded to use the language as if she had been using it her whole life.

Realization dawned on Paula, and her eyes slowly widened, and her jaw dropped in astonishment. Paula only knew a few words and was still learning, but Heaven was using it like it was her first language. Little did Paula know, this Heaven couldn't just speak one language, but she had to learn several few more languages, just so she could swear at her enemies without embarrassing herself.