The Malevolence of a Woman Wronged (PREQUEL)

Chapter 23- A Friend of Mine

--Angelina POV--

"What do you think?"

"I think it's unfair how beautiful you are," Her words caused a laugh to jump out of my throat, and she laughed with me, sitting back on her seat as she sipped on her milkshake.

We've been shopping for probably hours, but I honestly didn't notice due to all the fun I was having. My legs might have been sore, but my heart was filled with laughter, something that it's been missing for too long.

"And I think you need to stop inflating my ego," I sighed, walking back into the changing room as I pulled the curtain closed and stripped myself out of the outfit I had been trying on.

"Dear Angelina, you have no ego to inflate, and that is exactly why I'm trying to give you one to inflate. Honestly, where is your confidence? If I looked half as good as you then I'd be so confident that people would hate me. But you, you need to embrace yourself more,"

"I wish it were that easy," I chuckled, slipping into the next dress on the pile that I was trying on. And unlike all the others before this, I genuinely liked this one. It was a simple yellow sundress that reached my thighs, but it was beautiful.

"You know what I think?" She sighed.

"What do you think?" I amused her.

"I think being a Duchess took its toll on you, and when you got divorced, it was the finishing touch in breaking your confidence," I paused for a moment in fiddling with the zip. She really hit the nail on the head with that statement.

Having put all of myself into perfecting my image of being a Duchess; when Donovan divorced me, it felt as though he hated me at my best. And if he hated me for all that I was, how pathetic of a person am I actually?

I no longer had the title of Duchess to hide behind, so I felt exposed. And I hated to admit it, but I was scared of what people would think of the real me.

Oddly enough, I didn't have that worry when I was around Lucian and Julia.

Pulling open the curtain, her mouth fell open when she caught sight of me.

"Help zip me up please," Dispersing the previous conversation, she stood up, coming to help me zip the dress up as it perfectly pulled itself up against me, a perfect fit.

"You have to get this one. I swear, it was made for you," Julia always knew what to say. I didn't know her for long, but it didn't matter, any sane person could tell that she was a good person with good intentions.

She knew I was uncomfortable in my skin, so she gave compliments that made me feel good about myself, but when she saw me growing uncomfortable, she changed the subject, and made me feel at ease.

Having a considerate friend like this, it baffles me on how lucky I've become, it feels like we've known each other for years.

"If you insist," I nodded, giving her a little twirl as she clapped her hands, and I went to look at myself in the mirror once more, feeling a tinge more comfortable with my reflection right now than compared to yesterday.

As we walked down the busy streets of New York a few minutes later, our arms linked through each other's, and our shopping safely stashed away in the boot of our car, we entered the cafe that Julia's been gushing about for the past half an hour.

"They sell the best chocolate chip- Wait, what the hell are they doing here?" I paused behind her, closing the glass door behind me as I stepped into the cafe.

"Who- Oh," I sighed at the sight.

I had completely forgotten that they existed for a moment. But nothing good lasts forever, not when these two were involved, clearly.