Three's Company

42. In Bloom

Much to her dismay, life settled back to its ordinary routine a little too quickly.

Mona couldn't help but think of her parents as she smelt the peonies in front of her. She had said goodbye to them at the airport earlier that morning, and her heart felt empty again.

The flower market was a good place for her to bury herself in for a few hours and so she found herself exactly there.

She had been walking around aimlessly, smelling all the lovely scents when she spotted a stunning brunette walking down the field.

Ah, great. Just her luck.

Dipping her head a little, the straw hat she was wearing did a good job of disguising her face but it wasn't enough. At least not for the rich twenty-five-year-old.

Fastening her steps, she quickly turned her back and begin to walk in the other direction. There was no way the beautiful girl had seen her, and if she had, surely she wouldn't care.

Right? Well, that is what she believed until the country twinge sounded in a pitchy yelp.

"—Mona? Is that you I see hiding over there, good ol' neighbour? Gosh, what a coinkydink!"

She stiffened, wanting desperately to disappear right then and there.

Did she say coinkydink? That should've been her first sign to keep on walking...

"Oh, hey." She awkwardly drawled out, turning around in time before the girl could tap her shoulder. "Dove." She added on like an idiot.

Her lips feigned a smile, clearing her throat. "How are you?"

Did she really want to know? She held in the cringe as their eyes met and they both took in each other's attire.

"Oh, I'm peachy. How about you, girlie?" Dove grinned, although there was clear distaste in her voice, running her gaze over the hat. Judgement wrote itself on her face, it wasn't hard to hide. "By the way, I'm loving the hat."

The Arab simply smiled again, her hand on instinct going up to reach for her hat. Her fingers grazed the expensive thing, an extreme blush staining her olive skin.

"Not too bad. And thanks, I like your shoes."

Unlike the younger girl, Mona truly meant her compliment. They were nice shoes, and something she would definitely wear.

The small talk was as bad as it sounded. You could feel the tension, it was enough to make any bystander cringe.

However, Mona also knew she couldn't blame the poor girl. It wasn't her fault she had ended up liking the same guy. Despite wanting to hate her, she understood it wasn't only her fault.

She didn't know half of the story, and she definitely didn't think it was fair to paint her as a villain.

She also didn't know what exactly went down and who initiated what. And truthfully speaking, she never wanted to know.

Some things were better left unsaid.

At least for her well-being, they were.

"So," the country girl dragged out, pretending to be interested in the conversation. Though her need to approach was obvious in her next statement, "have you seen Heath around much?"

Her swallow almost hurt. "No."

"Huh, that's weird. Say, I don't suppose you would know why he's gone totally awol?"