Billionaire's Second Chance At Love

Chapter Four

"Well, speak of the devil," Carmen overheard Molly grumble.

Internally, Carmen had the strongest urge to cringe.

Given their previous encounter, Carmen feared Jenna wouldn't pass up this opportunity—that woman just loved toying with people, proud of the fact that she had someone to clean up her mess—to ridicule her. Besides, now that she had gotten back with Ronin, no doubt she would try to rub it on Carmen's face.

Not to mention the fact that Carmen was not meant to be in the same city as Jenna. Assuming Ronin himself had booked a flight to ensure they never crashed into each other. Why else would he do that? Carmen couldn't come up with another lame excuse for the acts of her ex-husband.

"This is a bad idea," Carmen muttered to herself before turning to face Molly, who was standing next to her. "Let's go somewhere else. This one has just lost its charm."

Molly wished to agree with Carmen. After all, she had intended to lift her closest friend's spirits rather than worsen them. But when she saw Jenna up there, she couldn't stop the frustration from consuming her. She clenched her fists and faced Carmen.

"No. Let's stay. I saw a really cute dress on that mannequin; you should try it on." Molly offered, rejecting Carmen's request to leave Jenna alone.

Before Carmen could say anything to convince her friend, Jenna spoke, making the two friends turn their heads in her direction.

"Your friend is right, Carmen. Please stay. Don't mind me being here. I was just leaving anyway." She remarked with a smile so lovely, for a second even Carmen thought Jenna was redeemable. But then the same lovely smile turned into disgust, and Jenna threw the dress at the staff who was assisting her. "Everything here is cheap and pathetic. Nothing here appeals to my tastes. But I'm sure you'll find something that you like. This place oozes poor standards."

And there you have it, Carmen groaned mentally.

Carmen had no intention of engaging in an argument with Jenna, so she just turned to Molly and asked her one more time. "Let's just go. There are plenty of showrooms in the mall. We'll find something else."

Molly, on the other hand, never learned to give up. Rather than allowing Carmen to walk away from this, Molly led her friend into a smaller room meant for private fittings. There was a massive rack to hold whatever anyone was interested in trying all at once.

"No. You can't let her win. I won't allow it. She is free to leave if she so chooses. But we're staying, and that's the end of the story. Now, just wait for me. I'll have someone bring that cute dress over to you."

Molly walked away, but not before glaring bitterly at Jenna.

Carmen sighed in relief when Jenna got a call and stormed out of the showroom as well. It was only then that she realized how stiff her shoulders had grown.

Carmen allowed herself to relax, breathing through her nose and exhaling through her mouth.

She looked in the mirror and saw herself through the eyes of her friend.

Carmen always believed in simple living and high thinking. So, it was obvious that all her life, rather than throwing money away on all kinds of trivial pursuits, she had spent it on books and other academic needs. She never even dyed her hair. But she never ever felt the need either. They were long and dark and naturally straight. A blessing like Molly used to say when they were kids.

Her eyes had a tinge of green to them. Something her father always said reminded him of her mother. Carmen was only seven years old when her parents divorced and she never saw her mother ever again. There were a million moments in her life when Carmen wondered about her. She had questions buried deep in her heart that were sadly never answered.