"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love"- Mother Teresa
CARINA'S P.O.V.
"Tell me about you. I want to know everything" he said and intertwined our fingers together.
"hmmm...I grew up with my mom. At first we were happy even though it was just the two of us. But when she married my step father Jack, our lives became hell. He made us suffer and worst of all he...he...Oh I hate him!" I felt my anger risen as I recalled what my stepfather did to my mom. He felt my body tensed and turned me around. He stared at me curiously but I evaded his gaze.
"What happened?"
"I-I don't want to talk about it right now. I don't want to ruin this moment" I hugged him and he hugged me back. All the tremors inside me faded as I felt his warmth. His presence was so calming and safe. Like he was promising something with his embrace.
"Okay. If you're not ready yet then I won't force you" He whispered and kissed my forehead. I smiled inwardly.
"Do you want to dine out here or in the house? It's already 8pm" He asked as he gazed at his wrist watch.
"I think it's better if we just eat somewhere. I'm already starving" I answered. We went down the tower and ate at the Japanese restaurant where Gian and I dined before. When I told him Gian and I ate there, he wanted to go somewhere else but I protested. I liked the food there. He had a scrunched face when we entered but I managed to make him smile.
****
After our dinner, we went home. When we entered the house, Ellie was waiting for us in the living room. She greeted us but her expression was serious.
"What's the matter Ellie? I don't like that expression on your face" his voice was equally serious as he gaze at his sister.
"Can we talk?" Ellie demanded her brother and he nodded.
"Go upstairs. I will be there when we finish here" he said to me and kissed me on the lips. I hesitantly left them alone and went to my room. I could sense that Ellie has something she wanted to tell me but her brother was preventing her from doing so.
****
I woke up as I heard someone knocking on my door. I quickly got up and excitedly opened the door, thinking that it was Regan. But the smiling face of Ellie greeted me.
"Good morning! I hope I didn't disturb your sleep. I just want to ask you if you could accompany me somewhere. Regan left to Cannes for business. He told me to be with you today on his behalf" I frowned of what she just said. He left without saying anything to me?
"Why didn't he bring me with him? I am his EA after all" her expression changed for a second but then her happy expression came back.
"Don't worry about him. Maybe he didn't want to disturb your sleep. It was an emergency meeting so he couldn't tell you about it yesterday" I felt disappointed that I didn't see him before he left. Last night, he didn't go to my room after his talk to his sister. I waited for him until I fell asleep. I was a little bit uneasy thinking about what happened last night. I had the feeling that whatever they talked about, I was involved with it. I invited her in and she sat on the settee.
"Ellie, can I ask you something?" I asked her and sat at the corner of the bed. I could see that she became uneasy as she avoided my gaze.
"S-sure. About what?"
"Is there any problem? I could feel that there was something wrong ever since the day you saw me and your brother kissing. Is it something about me and your brother?" I asked directly and I almost confirmed it the way her face reacted to what I said. She stood and started pacing the floor.
"I'm sorry Carina but Regan told me not to tell you yet. He wants to be the one to tell you when he's ready"
"Okay. I understand but you're making me nervous" I said anxiously.
"Don't worry about it. So what do you say, do you want to tag along with me today?"
"Sure. I don't have anything to do so I think it's better for me to come" I said and smiled at her. Her happy expression was contagious. She went out of my room and I readied myself for the day. After I got dressed and did my hair and make-up, I went down for breakfast. Ellie was already there waiting for me. We ate our breakfast together. I asked her about her mom and she told me that she was in Cannes with Regan.
****
I accompanied Ellie to a photoshoot. I was amazed at how beautiful and sexy she was as she dressed for the photoshoot. There were a lot of crew members and they were talking in French. I just sat there and watch her during the shoot. I couldn't understand their language but I could see that everybody at the venue was admiring her. The photoshoot finished at 12. We were hungry so we decided to eat first. We went to a restaurant.
"So where are we going after this?" I asked her as we eat our lunch.
"Hmm....Let's go shopping!" She said excitedly like a child and that made me smile. She really is a jolly girl.
"Okay. I am not really into shopping but I guess I could accompany you" I said and she frowned at me.
"No silly. I will not allow that. We will be shopping to our hearts content today. I always wanted to have a sister to have a girl bonding time with, i mean i have my sister Angela but she almost never stays here. Regan isn't fond of stuff like this so I couldn't get him to accompany me. My mom was always busy too with her restaurant business so I really didn't have someone to have a bonding like this. Well, whenever I was in America, I was always with my cousin Christine" Hearing the name of my best friend, I remembered it was her birthday today!
"Oh my god! It's Tin's birthday today! I almost forgot!" I exclaimed. She was surprised of what I've said.
"You know Christine Lenard?" She asked curiously.
"Yes. She is my best friend"
"Really? Wow! I never knew that. Well, I am not that frequent in America but I was planning on coming with you guys when you go home. I was planning to buy something for Christine as a birthday gift"
We almost went to all the luxury shops around. Ellie was so energetic that I had the difficulty to keep up with her.
"I like this necklace. I think this suits Christine. What do you think?" I heard her say and I went to see what she was referring to. My eyes widened at the price. Indeed, the necklace was beautiful but the price was so overwhelming for me.
"Yes. It's so beautiful" I said in approval and without second thought, she bought the necklace. After that, we went out of the jewelry store and sat on a park to rest. Finally she got tired. My legs were already killing me. I gazed down my wrist watch and calculated that it was already 7 am in New York. I brought out my cell phone and dialed Christine's number. It rang for at least four times before she picked up her phone.
"Hello..." Her voice was a little bit husky indicating that just woke up.
"Happy birthday Tin!" I said loudly and she gasped.
"Hey Cari! It's you! Thank you for remembering to call your best friend" I could see her pouting face. I chuckled of what she said.
"Sorry. I was a little bit busy ever since we arrived here. Anyway, I am here with your cousin Ellie" I said and I pressed the speaker on.
"Hey cousin! Happy birthday to you!" Ellie greeted happily at Christine and I heard her shouted on the other side excitedly.
"Thank you Ellie! How are you? It's been a while? When are you coming here again?" Ellie laughed at the questions of Christine. They really are cousins. They were both jolly and nice. I gave the phone to Ellie and they talked for about 5 minutes. I was just listening to them, amused of how they talked with each other like kids. I could tell they were really close. After their chat, Ellie gave my phone back and I talked to Christine again.
"So how's France Cari? I hope you're enjoying your stay there" She sad
"Yes! Oh my gosh Tin! I am so happy right now" I said happily, stifling my giggle.
"Why's that? I called Gian yesterday and he told me that you were together the other day. Is he the reason of your happiness right now?" Her voice was teasing me and I frowned. Don't tell me she knew about Gian's feelings for me?
"Where did you get that silly?! Of course not. Yes I was happy when we strolled around town the other day but that's not why I am happy today" I explained and she became quiet for a second.
"Then tell me about it" She encouraged me and I was tempted to tell her about me and Regan but I was embarrassed. Ellie was just beside me, listening to me. I stared at her and I noticed her staring back at me with a serious expression then when she noticed me staring at her, she smiled.
"I will tell you about it when we get back" I just said. We chatted for another 3 minutes before she bid goodbye. She needed to go to the office and work until 12. The party would be at night.
****
After talking to Christine, Ellie insisted for us to go to more shops and buy more stuff. She said she needed new clothes and some girly things she would be needed for her stay in the USA. I was just watching her shopping. Then she insisted to buy me clothes that I initially declined but she insisted to buy some for me. My eyes were almost came out of their sockets when I saw the overall prices of the clothes she paid. I reluctantly thanked her when she gave me the 3 paper bags of signature clothes.
"I can see why Regan likes you. You are a nice girl. I could tell it the first time I saw you" She said out of nowhere while we were inside the car going home.
"Really? Thanks. I can say the same thing to you considering your family is rich. You're even a model but you're really nice. Don't get me wrong, there are rich people who are kind too but most rich people I met weren't that nice" I said and she just laughed.
"Yeah. I know what you mean. Well maybe because Regan, Angela and I grew up with the most loving and caring parents. We were just lucky I guess" She said and I could see it in her eyes how she loved her family. I felt a little bit pity for myself. I remembered my mom again and my eyes suddenly watered. I tried to blink it off but a tear still skipped. She eyed at me quizzically.
"What happened Carina?" She asked and reluctantly rubbed my back to comfort me. I tried to smile and wiped my eyes.
"No. nothing. I just remembered my mom. I just miss her so badly" I said and heaved a sigh to lessen the heavy feeling inside me.
"Why? Where's she?"
"She died 3 months ago" I said. Until now, it is difficult to accept the fact that I am alone.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure your father is still having the hard time to also move on"
"It's okay. I'm still on the process of moving on. I don't have a family anymore. I've never met my father" I said in a small voice. I've never talk about my family to anyone except to my 2 best friends but strangely, I felt comfortable talking about it with Ellie. She covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at me with a shock expression.
"Oh gosh! I am so nosy! Sorry Carina. I don't meant to pry. I just-" I stopped her before she completed her sentence.
"It's okay really. I feel so comfortable around you and I already consider you my friend" I said and she smiled genuinely at me. I could tell she liked what I've said.
"I feel the same way with you. From now on, we're friends" she said and hugged me. I smiled too and hugged her back.
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