Penelope Rowen

Heading for the door, obvious displeasure was written all over her face.

She knew that her secretary was prepared to nag her and ruin her day. She was not ready for that. Having had those sad memories about her ex-husband, Thea was prepared to take the day off. She was in a sorry state and the last thing she wanted was to be seen by her colleagues like that.

She was prepared to give her Secretary a good scolding but what she saw was not what she expected.

The person she was prepared to chide was not the one standing at the door.

Looking at the person before her, Thea's mouth remained open as the words she wanted to say could not come out........

She was more than stunned. Never in her wildest dreams could she have thought of seeing Penelope Rowen, her best friend or it should her ex-best friend for clarity, and memories of their separation came crashing into her already broken heart like a tsunami, and fresh tears streamed down her face, the image that she was trying to salvage a while ago was mercilessly flushed down to the drain. She could not keep up with her acting any longer.

She felt like her heart was being squeezed and her breathing became irregular, her legs lost energy and she felt like she was about to fall, holding the door's frame tightly for support, Thea raised her face to look at Penelope but she could not bring herself to. She could not muster up enough courage to face her. She was ashamed of herself.

Her self-esteem was buried six kilometers under her feet and the only thing that could be seen on her face was shame and self-loath.

As she thought about their last meeting, Thea felt like hiding herself, thinking about everything that happened on that fateful day, only one thought came to her mind.

'If only I had listened to her.

If only I was caring and considerate enough!

If only I took what she said seriously

If only I used my brain to think instead of using my stupid heart. Then I wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't be this embarrassed '

Two years back.

In a very grand hotel, Thea and Penelope were having some drinks in a private VIP room. They seemed to be happy, the mood was lively and jolly.

Thea looked at Penelope with some hesitation on her face, seemingly debating on where and how to start.

Having noticed her fidgeting, Penelope looked at her and she was displeased. " Should I start running? Is there a bomb around? If not then why are you spoiling the mood? "

Thea looked at Penelope accusingly and glared at her "Stop being a b**ch Penn!"

Acting as if she had heard the funniest joke of the year, Penelope fired back at her "Ooh yeah? If my analogy was wrong then tell me. what is wrong with you? Why are you acting like you are scared of me? Have I grown some horns? Or have you fallen in love with me and you are afraid of rejection? Come on babe, don't be afraid, no one can ever say no to such a beautiful girl like you, and neither can I. Your wicked beauty has not spared me. If you are in love with me, we will just elope, simple!"

The room was filled with laughter after what Penelope said. Penelope had a weird sense of humor and she knew how to cheer Thea up whenever she was down. It was one of things that Thea envied about Penelope.

Thea knew what Penelope was trying to do. She was trying to reduce the tension but it was not working. At that point, she knew that she could not continue hiding things from her best friend anymore she had to tell Penn about it. And she felt guilty but that was not all, she had a bad feeling about it.

Taking deep breaths to calm her fast racing heart, a determined look flashed her eyes and she uttered those words "Penn, I think I broke one of our sister's codes. I have been hiding something from you for a while now. Yeah, I get it, you will be mad at me and I am ready to accept any punishment from you but I can't afford to lose you. "

' Apart from him, you are the other person that I can't live without. Your presence in my life is a blessing.' Of course, Thea could not tell her that, she thought it was meaningless.

Assuming a composed posture, which scared the hell out of Thea, Penelope muttered softly " And? just tell me, I am listening."

Thea swallowed a lump of saliva that she had been holding and continued?" I am kinda engaged. Actually, I might be getting married in the next two weeks. I am sorry for hiding it from you. I didn't know how to break the news to you. I didn't know where to start either. I understand if you don't want to speak to me now, we can talk about it later. .......And.........."

Tired of the anticipation, Penelope flashed Thea an impatient look and asked " And what? You don't have the guts to say his name, do you? Now that things have progressed to this extent, what are you still afraid of? What is the worst-case scenario? That I will lose my composure and embarrass you? Or are you afraid that I will become physically violent with you? Don't be ridiculous Thea, just cut the chess already. "

As if Thea was expecting Penelope's outburst, she wiped the tears that were streaming down her face and continued but this time she was more composed than before. " The man that I am getting married to is my long-term crush, the man of my dreams, Gael Weston. "

The room was filled with tremendous silence. You could hear their heartbeats.

Penelope looked like she had seen a ghost. She was shocked. She felt like she was dreaming. Looking at the beautiful girl across her, she felt like she was facing a stranger. She felt like she did not know her best friend anymore. The kindhearted and innocent girl that she had known her whole life was nowhere to be seen. She was replaced with a heartless and insensible girl who she could not recognize.

Tears streamed down Penelope's beautiful face freely. She never bothered to wipe them.

There were no traces of the calm and composed Penelope from a while ago. She was replaced by an emotional and heartbroken girl.

Her eyes became lifeless. She looked like a lifeless doll. She looked as if she had lost a part of herself.

She gazed at Thea with a disappointed and pained look.