“Looking at me won’t change anything,” Camila said after almost a minute of scrutinizing gaze from Joan.
Joan let out a sigh and walked closer to her best friend.
“We’ve been best friends for so many years and don’t keep anything from each other.”
Camila stopped cutting the onions and looked at Joan.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said, looking away like a child ashamed of the wrong she did. “I just didn’t know how to present it,” she sighed. “I didn’t know if I wanted to open that part of me yet.”
Joan placed her hand on Camila’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to open old wounds. I am not asking you to elaborate on it, I was just curious of your relationship with him and now that I am involved with him somehow, I feel I deserve to know.”
Camila turned to her. “I’m so sorry for how I reacted to you that night,” she said, rubbing her forehead as if to keep the headache away. “A lot of things happened and it’s just too much to handle sometimes.”
Joan pulled her in for a hug. “I understand”
Camila wrapped her arms around Joan and let out a sigh. “Thanks for understanding.”
“I just don’t want you keeping me in the dark, especially with something this important.”
Camila leaned back and made a salute. “Aye captain”
Joan went on to check her phone for the list sent to her for the wedding preparations.
“I don’t know why Santiago is going overboard for this. It isn’t real to begin with,” Joan shrugged.
“The man is trying, show some appreciation, girl,” Camila gave a warning look.
Joan raised her hand in surrender. “I am not trying to be ungrateful, but I think we can just have a parlor wedding. Just families and friends and nothing much, what do you think?”
“Girl, that man wants a big wedding. Real or not, just let it play and enjoy this baby girl treatment,” she said, raising an eyebrow “Remember, men aren’t smiling out there. I could meet my better half in there, you know?”
“How about Miles?”
“Just shut it.” red tint appeared on Camila’s cheeks.
“Awwn, someone is blushing,” Joan cooed, walking closer to her blushing friend, who tried to hide her face by turning away from her teasing friend.
“I am not and Miles is just my mum’s doctor.”
“Someone you want to hoink” Joan wriggled her brows.
Camila laughed out loud and looked at her friend. “No one says hoink missy and I notice the gazes’ you guys throw each other and how softly he looks and talks to you.”
“You’re delusional.” Camila tried to bite the smile on her lips.
“Do you like him?”
“A little, pass me the salt.”
“That’s how you like your men? Salty?” Joan handed her the salt jar.
Camila added some of it to the pot boiling with water, then added some pepper and oil, covered the pot so it boiled together.
“I love them hot and spicy,” Camila winked.
Joan whistled. “You’re on track, baby.”
A knock on the door attracted their attention and Joan walked to see who it was. She didn’t see anyone through the peephole, so she opened the door only to see a white envelope sitting on top of a small box.
Her brows furrowed, so she bent to pick it up. Curious, she opened the envelope to check it’s content. It was a note.
‘The reason he wants you. Check the box’
The furrow on her brows deepened, so she closed the door and walked over to Camila.
“I saw this strange letter sitting outside with this small package.”
Camila glanced at her, then focused on the food she was cooking. “Didn’t see the delivery person? Man? Woman?”
“Not at all. Just the package.” Joan starts opening the box, then Camila stopped her.
“Are you sick? What if it has something dangerous there?” there was panic in her voice.
“This should be the least of your problems. The letter would have been a red flag if it was something dangerous and I am curious to know who this ‘he’ the letter speaks of.” she opened the box slowly and disposed the wrappers.
The box contained some documents, which made her wonder.
“What are all these?”
She scanned through the document and froze when her eyes met with one of them.
How did this get here? Who is this sender?
“What’s in there?” Camila asked, obviously wondering due to my facial expression.
“It’s the document to dad’s company,” she responded and kept reading the document she was holding.
Camila turned down the stove, then walked over to her to read too. Her breathing quickened and she collected the document from Joan.
“Why does Santiago’s company appear here?” she asked in shock. Camila gasped, then turned to Joan. “He’s acquiring your dad’s company.” Joan grabbed the document to read it through.
“He acquired it months ago; he was just waiting for it to be handed over to him.” She dropped the document and kicked the air in anger. “How dare him?”