Chapter 8: Affected

CELINE POV

My heart skipped a beat as I froze in my seat. The name repeated several times through my mind, a familiar echo from a past I had long tried to bury.

A young man, his face etched with annoyance, emerged from the inner sanctum. “F*ck. I knew it he will not let me lend even a single penny!” he barked into the phone.

“That guy is so selfish!”

As he hung up the phone, I couldn't help but notice the name that he had repeated over and over again: Franco.

A wave of irritation washed over me. Why did the universe insist on throwing that name in my face? It was like a constant reminder of a chapter in my life that I had desperately tried to close.

“That name is a kind of b*llshit!”

Irene glanced at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of amusement and concern. “Celine, you seem so affected to him,”

“No I’m not. Today I hear that name too many t