17 Made Mistakes

⋆45༄ The handbag

Hello! How's everyone? Enjoy the chapter! *giggles*

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"Thank you." I smile at the girl behind the counter when she passes me two Paloma cocktails. I ask for a pair of straws and head towards the table.

Anaya and I decided to meet up for a drink. We haven't really had a chance to talk properly since she returned from Edinburgh. I place the cocktail in front of her and take a seat across.

"Thanks." She smiles, brushing her finger along the condensation that formed on the tumbler glass.

I'm not really sure how to dive into this conversation, so I stir the drink, causing the slices of lime and grapefruit to swirl around. I'm hoping she'll say something first.

"Weather's so good today, isn't it?" She squints her dark eyes as she stares outside the window.

"Oh God. You sound like my mother each time she tries to make a conversation." I laugh, dramatically rolling my eyes. "No more small weather talk, please."

Anaya giggles and turns her attention to me. "You still not talking to her?"

I shake my head. "She crossed a line. I mean, how can you lie about something like that?"

Her brows, perfectly plucked, scrunch together. "Wait, I think I'm missing something. You know what she was hiding?"

I stare at her, addled. "Haven't you read the newspapers?"

"Newspapers? What do I look like to you? Thirty?"

I squelch the chuckle because what I'm about to say isn't funny at all. "There was an article, quite a few actually, about Mr. Reyman's art gallery."

"Elucidate?"

"He's dead, Anaya," I mutter, gazing down at the cocktail. "Will's father is dead, and now, Will is in charge of the place. He inherited the house–"

"What!?" The cocktail almost spurts out of her mouth. "His father died!?"

I nod my head. "Heart attack," I disclose quietly. "Will lied to everyone, nay, he bribed everyone not to tell the truth. That's the real reason why he kept on pushing me away."

Anaya blinks at me, stupefied. "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to process what you've just said."

"Crazy, isn't it?" I sip on the drink.

"How is he now? Is he talking to you?"

"I mean, sort of. He apologized for everything." I give a shrug of my shoulders. "He's not the same person, though. Well, I can't really blame him for it."

"No, neither can I." She gulps down half of her drink. "Who would have thought, eh?" she asks rhetorically.

"What about you?" I cast a ginger look towards her. "How are you holding up? It hasn't been long since, you know, Cassie . . ."

Anaya runs her fingertip along the rim of the glass. "I'm trying not to think about it. It's hard to believe that she's gone." Her eyes remain glued to the cocktail. "Luckily, at least one of them made it out alive. How is she anyway?" she asks about Rayna.

"Alright, actually. We've been texting quite often since she returned from the hospital. She's feeling okay." I smile, but my stomach churns at the memory of Rayna's pulled-down underwear. That's the only thing I can't tell Anaya. We all promised ourselves not to let anyone else know.

"That's good." She gives me a genuine smile. "What about Nathan? Are you still in touch?"

I blush slightly. "Yes."