Madeline woke up in the morning and found Wren sleeping beside her with her hair covering her eyes and breathing steadily. She sat up straight on the bed, leaned her back against the headboard and rubbed her eyes from sleepiness. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand checking the messages and found one from Eva saying that she will swing by her office today for a visit.
She replied with an 'ok' and placed the phone back on the nightstand as Wren stirred in her sleep beside her and laid her head on Madeline's lap. Madeline smiled down at her and started caressing her hair lightly, leading Wren's lips to curl into a smile while she was asleep.
"I knew you were awake." said Madeline.
"Mm-hmm. I have to wake up earlier than before so that I stop you before leaving me."
"I'm not going anywhere."
Wren opened one eye and looked up at her. "Liar."
She chuckled. "No I'm not, Clermont. In fact, I'm having a breakfast with you today."
Wren raised her head from her lap and shifted in bed, sitting beside her and grabbed her hands, interlacing their fingers together.
"Alright then... what're we having my beautiful bride to be?"
"Oh, wait, you thought I'm the one who is gonna make you breakfast?" She joked.
Wren smiled and kissed her cheek. "Alright, alright, I'll make the breakfast and you just sit and stay beautiful." She pecked her cheek. "Even though what you're doing to me is extortion but how can I say no to you?" She got up from the bed and wore a tank top and sweatpants then walked to Madeline's side. "So, what are we having?"
"Pancakes. I'm craving for some." She replied with a huge smile.
"Okay, you got it." She kissed her one more time before leaving the room.
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Wren was getting out of her car, grinning like a goof from ear to ear after having her fun breakfast with Madeline. During the breakfast preparation, Madeline came along and helped Wren. At first, Wren objected because she wanted to serve Madeline, but Madeline insisted on helping her and eventually they went with Madeline's plan.
She walked inside the building saying her good mornings to the employees she walked past. She entered the elevator and pressed the fifth floor button and right before it close, someone from the outside hit the button to re-open and it was Emily. Wren locked eyes with her for a brief second then looked anywhere but her eyes. She was still mad at her childish act that almost cost her a great deal for the company, and her words about Dave and Georgina were still eating her up inside since the night before.
Emily walked inside and stood next to Wren, staring down at the floor as the elevator's door closed. She turned her head to Wren who was looking straight at the door with her chin up then she decided to break the ice between them.
"Are you still mad at me?" she asked softly and Wren didn't answer. "Wren?" No answer. "You have every right to be mad at me. I don't blame you." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
They arrived at the fifth floor and once the elevator door opened, Emily stepped out first, knowing that Wren didn't want to look in her face right now. Wren looked at Emily as she walked to her desk and sat silently, getting ready for her day.
She sighed and walked outside the elevator, said good morning to Georgina as she made her way to the office then closed the door behind her. Emily raised her eyes from her desk and looked at Wren's closed door, thinking of a way to apologize properly. She knew she crossed her line by the way she acted last night towards her nemesis. It was unnecessary.
Her eyes fell on Georgina as she was doing her daily tasks, focusing on fulfilling her job at the desk and satisfying her boss with her efforts while Emily done nothing but plot her revenge and it failed miserably and hurt her old time friend in the process.
......................................................
Madeline was inside her office with both Eva and Antony. Eva swung by her office like she said in her text this morning and the three started talking about usual stuff and their days.
"I'm going to my family's lake house tomorrow and spend the weekend with them... with Wren."
"Oh! Do they know that you're engaged?" asked Eva.
"I think so. No, I know so. My mom called the night before and invited us and she sounded happy on the phone, I know her tone when she's happy, but I still don't know about my dad though."
"Why? He was happy at the wedding and he welcomed Wren in his arms, why are you so worried about it?"
"Because... I don't know. This whole new thing about him accepting me and Wren's relationship is new to him. My dad was always about 'Madeline I hope you'll find the right man', 'Madeline I know a well fellow who will be willing to marry you', 'Madeline I wanna see you happy with your future husband and fill the house with babies that look like you both'" She sighed. "It's so stressful."
"But he accepted your whole new relationship." said Antony, feeling confused.
"Yes, he did, but what if he thought that my relationship with Wren is something temporary or a phase and she isn't the one that I wanna marry and grow old with?"
"Do you think it's a phase?" asked Eva.
"No, never!"
"Then what's worrying you, gorgeous?" said Antony. "You have the prove on your finger that you and Wren are being serious about your relationship. Once he sees it, he'll take the relationship seriously."
"Yeah, Tony's right here. It's not just about the ring, it's more about the soulful connection between you and her that everyone can see every time you look at each other. You'll prove your father wrong if that's what he really thinks of you, okay? And personally I think your father got over it anyway. He saw how happy you are in Wren's presence at the wedding and I'm sure he'll be overjoyed once he sees the ring. Don't worry about anything, amiga."
She smiled at both of them. "Okay. Thanks guys. I don't know what I would do without you two."
"You're welcome!" they both replied in unison.
"Now, I'm hungry, can we order Chinese or something?" said Antony and Eva nodded in agreement.
"Alrighty" said Madeline, getting up from her desk.
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Wren was drinking her warm coffee in her office while facing her large sized window with a paper in her hand, examining and analyzing it. She heard a knock on her door, so she turned around with her chair, waiting for the door to be opened by whoever this person was, but no one came in.
"Come in." she said and the door opened, revealing Emily with a folder.
She figured that Emily didn't enter at first as she waited for her approval. Emily walked to her desk and silently handed Wren the folder which she wordlessly took from her and placed it on the desk.
Emily opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when Wren wasn't even looking at her, clearly still mad, so she zipped her mouth and turned around to exit but only stopped in her tracks when Wren called out her name.
She faced her and Wren was already walking to her. Emily looked down and Wren stood in front of her, looking at her, waiting for her to meet her eyes.
"Why did you do it, Emily? Why did you tell me about Georgina and Dave? Hmm?" Her voice was soft, indicating calmness unlike the day before.
"Because..." She sighed heavily then met her eyes sadly. "Because when... when I knew, I felt rage inside me because she deceived you not once but twice, and knowing that she slept with Dave made me want to get rid of her, so I did what I did... Wren, you deserve to know the truth, okay? You're my friend and I feel like I need to protect you from people like her. You're not stupid or naïve, but your kind heart blinds you from seeing their true identities. I didn't talk with Dave about it, because I didn't want to cause trouble in our relationship instead I just told you about it. I'm sorry if I hurt you and I swear I didn't mean to say it to you like that. I should've kept my mouth shut and kept this info to myself, but I didn't want to be a bad friend and keep things from you as well."
She blinked back her tears and Wren's heart softened as she remembered the one time she herself broke Emily's heart when she confessed her feelings towards her after their accidental one-night stand. She cried for days and Wren tried talking to her, but Emily was just avoiding her in every possible way. She hated seeing her cry as she cared for her so much and was always protective of her whenever she got bullied because of her glasses or whenever she felt insecure about her looks.
"I just don't want to lose our friendship over that. I did a stupid mistake that I regret and won't do anything like that again. I really care about you." said Emily.
Wren sighed then gave her a small smile. "I know. I care about you too, Em." She wrapped her arms around her and Emily smiled and hugged her back, leaning her head on her shoulder. "Just don't bring up the subject to Dave, alright? He loves you and I'm sure you love him too. No need to cause trouble over something that was in the past. He's a new man because of you and don't ruin your growing relationship with him, okay?" She nodded on her shoulder. "But if he ever hurt you in any way, you come to me and I'll teach him a lesson." She felt her body vibrate when Emily laughed softly against her shirt.
Emily pulled away from the hug and looked at Wren with a huge smile. "Are you still mad at me?" she asked one more time and Wren smiled, shaking her head then kissed her forehead.
"I was... but now I'm not."
"Okay, thank god. I don't wanna get on your angry side."
Wren chuckled softly at her. "Get back to your desk, four eyes girl." She joked.
"I swear sometimes I hate you." She mumbled walking outside the office.
"Yeah, love you too."
As soon as Emily walked out the office, Wren pulled out her phone from the pocket and dialed a number.
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Wren waited in the cafeteria after she ordered her second coffee for the day. She knew she needed it to help her mind awake if she wanted to hear the truth.
Dave entered the café and spotted Wren sitting alone with her back leaned against the chair and cup of coffee in her hand. He walked to her smiling and when she met his eyes, she motioned for him to sit across from her. He pulled out the chair and took a seat, folded his hands on the table and looked around him before turning to her.
"How are you, sis?" he asked casually.
She lowered her cup. "Good."
"And Madeline?"
"Same."
"Why did you bring me here? We could've hung out on Saturday when you're free. I'm just saying that because on the phone you sounded exhausted."
"Saturday I won't be here; I will be with Madeline. We're spending the weekend with her family."
"Oh, that's great!" He grinned. "So, I'm guessing they know about the engagement, right?"
She gave him a small smile. "Yeah." She looked down at her cup then took a deep breath while leaning forward on the table. "Dave?" He turned to her. "Why did you sleep with Georgina behind my back?" Dave's face grew pale from the unforeseen question and he averted his eyes away from her, feeling ashamed of himself. He thought she didn't know, he could've sworn that she didn't know about him and Georgina, but when she popped the question he doubted his knowledge.
"Wren... W-Why would you ask me that? Who told you that?"
"Just answer the question. Did you do it when we were together?"
He sighed and pursed his lips. "Yes." She leaned her back against the chair and crossed her arms.
"Why?" she asked softly, looking down.
"Wren, you have to understand that I... Look, back at that time, I was so angry at you and got jealous from you because my mom cared more about you, but I was wrong, okay? I was insecure, selfish, stupid guy. I swear I changed. I wanted nothing but to cause you hurt by taking the one you love away from you, like you did to me by grabbing mom's attention, but that was low move from me and I shouldn't have done it."
"How many times have you hooked up with Georgina behind my back?" she asked bitterly.
He swallowed. "... A lot."
She scoffed and shook her head. "I should've known when she stood me up."
"Wren, I'm so sorry. I wish if I've never listened to her, but I'm not gonna lie to you, I kind of forced her to meet me and hook up, so if it's anyone's fault, it was mine. You two were having your fights at that time and she ran up to me one night, wanting me to comfort her and then it happened. We couldn't stop afterwards and the other times were because she wanted to pour out her anger with sex and I just wanted my revenge."
She looked at him with hurt in her eyes and her breathing was shallow from the anger she was feeling at the moment. "I think I've heard enough." She stood up, grabbing her wallet and tossed some money on the table and headed for the door while Dave called out her name, wanting to fully explain himself, but she refused to listen to anything anymore.
...................................................
Madeline arrived an hour ago at Wren's house, took a shower and waited for her arrival in the living room as she was flipping through the channels, hoping to find something entertaining for her.
She heard the front door open and footsteps approaching the living room and then a tall figure appeared with tired eyes.
Wren gave her a small smile as she took her jacket off and placed it on the arm chair before walking to the couch. Madeline saw the look on her face and got a tad worried about her. She stood up and met her halfway and cupped her face.
"Wren, are you okay? Your face looks pale."
"Yeah, I'm just, uh..." She closed her eyes and Madeline waited for her to continue but nothing came out of her mouth. "Can I get a hug?"
Madeline smiled at her and immediately wrapped her arms around her neck and pressed their bodies together. Wren circled her arms around her and rested her chin on Madeline's shoulder, feeling relieved in her embrace. She released a deep breath she didn't know she was holding and Madeline brows knitted in confusion on hearing that long deep sigh, so she rubbed her back softly.
"You sure you're okay? We can go to bed if you're feeling tired then pack our bags tomorrow morning before leaving."
"No it's fine." She kissed her shoulder. "It's just every day I realize how much you mean to me and how much I'm blissful to have you in my life. I'm so lucky that I have you, Madeline. I love you so much."
She hugged her more tightly and Madeline smiled again then pulled away from Wren stroking her hair away from her face so that she could gaze at her eyes.
"You smell nice too. Like vanilla... I like vanilla." Wren mumbled as she put her face near Madeline's cheek, nuzzling it with her nose.
"If this is your way to say that you love me, then it's cute." She pecked her lips with a chuckle and Wren's lips curled into a smile. "I love you too. Sooo... dinner?" she asked playfully like a child and Wren chuckled at her cuteness when she acts like a five-year old kid asking for the permission.
"Sure. I could use some food."
"Okay, you go take a shower and I'll make us dinner."
She pecked her lips one more time before each one went to separate ways.