Rachael’s gaze darted around the cafe, searching earnestly for Isabelle until she saw a lady with the same figure as the one she was looking for, wearing a hoodie and sitting next to the window with her gaze downwards.
She hurriedly walked into the cafe, over to the lady she saw, and tapped her slightly on her shoulders. “Isabelle” she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. “Is that you?”
The lady tilted her abruptly, tears in her eyes as she spoke, “Rachael, I’ve been waiting for you. Thanks for coming, please have your seat” she said in a low voice.
Rachael quietly sat while scanning the corners of the cafe before her gaze rested on Rachael, taking her hands into hers. “I owe you an apology for not coming to see you after your accident. You know your fiance mustn’t know about me, at least, not yet, and… I saw the news, I mean it’s the number one top search on social media… I’m sorry”
Isabelle sniffed in her tears and replied, “It’s fine, I understand… And as for the scandal, it’s all my fault. If I had listened to you and confessed to him earlier, none of this would have happened, cause I’m sure Max wouldn’t have the courage to commit such an act, knowing his cousin knows about it”
“I’m deeply sorry, we need to find a solution to this” Rachael suggested as her gaze fluttered towards Isabelle’s side and saw her luggage. She exclaimed in surprise. “Did he send you away in the dead of the night?… How could he be so heartless?”
“He’s not heartless,” Isabelle said in defense. “He didn’t send me out in the night. He gave me a house document and our engagement agreement, saying I should take them whenever I was ready to leave… I was the one who decided to leave tonight”
Rachael was confused and couldn’t help but ask, “Why then did you leave?.. where are the house documents?”
Isabelle inhaled deeply before responding. “I left because I couldn’t stand the shame and the guilt I felt whenever I looked at him, it hurts .. it hurts”
“Oh! Dear” Rachael gripped her hands tightened, her eyes filled with concern. “What about the house documents?”
“I didn’t take it” Isabelle replied, stunning Rachael who was close to scolding her but kept her cool, seeing her friend’s broken state. She gently asked, “Why didn’t you take it?”
“I just couldn’t. It felt like I was taking more advantage of him after cheating”Isabelle explained with a weak voice, tears trickling from her eyes, her sobbing was constant which was beginning to attract the attention of other customers who began to whisper amongst themselves.
“Isabelle” Rachael mumbled, noticing the lingering gaze on them. “People are watching us.. they might have noticed”
“Maybe, we should leave” Isabelle suggested in a panicked state, pulling her hoodie forward, almost standing when she felt a hard push on a shoulder which forced her to sit back.
“We can’t go now, it would increase their suspicions” Rachael, her tone laced with warnings as she kept her gaze locked onto Isabelle’s to keep her from looking away”
They kept chatting about random things for hours until the cafe was almost closed, with them as the last set of customers in it.
“Let’s go to my house. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want” Rachael offered, her smile sincere and honest. She humorously added to lighten up the atmosphere,” That is if you promise to help with the house chores. I’m bad at keeping my house clean”
The two ladies laughed heartily, satisfied by the outcome of their outing.
“That reminds me, how is Williams doing?” Isabelle suddenly asked with a sign of interest in her voice which showed that her mood had improved a bit. “Are you both doing?”
Rachael’s face reddened like a ripe tomato as she heard the indulging tone in her friend’s voice. She stuttered, “I.. I.. well.. erm.. we are just trying to take things slowly”
“Oh! I see” Isabelle exclaimed, her voice laced with excitement, a sign that she was happy for her friend. “That’s good news. I can’t wait to see you too together in matching couple outfits”
Immediately she blurted that out, her expression turned solemn, a pure contrast to the happiness she was exuding a minute ago. Her mind wandered back to the first and only real date she had with Liam who had made sure they wore matching outfits for the outing, he had even cooked specially for her. Tears filled her eyes but she quickly blinked her eyes to keep them from falling. But Rachael had already noticed the changes.
“You’ll be fine,” she said, her voice soothing as she gazed softly at her. “I’m sure he still loves you wholeheartedly.. love doesn’t vanish instantly, it takes a whole lot of time for it to wither and die, that is if you want to let it go”
“I don’t want to let it go. I want him back… I want us to have that wedding he has always wanted” Isabelle responded, tears trickling down her eyes as she held Rachael’s hands tightly. “I want to make amends by loving him for the rest of my life”
“If that’s what you truly want, I’m sure you’ll have your wish granted,” Rachael said with a reassuring tone in her voice. “All you need to do now is wait patiently for him to cool down, then who knows, you could woo him back yourself”
“Haha… Cut it out”Isabelle bursted into laughter. “I’m not that bold”
“Nah, my darling. You can’t say so until you try. You don’t look like the shy type to me” Rachael teased her endlessly, happy to cheer her friend up.
“I really can’t believe you’re the one giving me relationship advice instead of the other way round” Isabelle sighed in frustration as she gazed at the full moon through the cafe window.
“It happens, my dear, it does” Rachael replied, equally gazing at the moon.
“We should leave” Isabelle stated, glancing around to see that they were the only ones remaining. Then, she felt pressed. “I need to use the restroom, I’ll be back in five minutes”
“Alright,” Rachael readily agreed, her gaze still on the window. She suddenly noticed a black car with a tinted window, parked in front of the car with a man alighting from it but she chose to ignore it.