He was about five steps away from reaching the counter when a lady who came out of nowhere dashed towards the counter.
The lady beat him to get to the counter first.
"What the fuck! You are bleeding!" She remarked in astonishment. In an instant, she took Joanna's bleeding right hand still laid on the top of the counter and placed them in her hand.
She was gentle as she held the hand of the lady who wasn't reacting at all to what was happening.
"What happened, Anna?" Audrey demanded with worry in her eyes. She tried to help Joanna up the chair but the bleeding lady fell back onto the chair like she had no bone in her body.
Audrey was perplexed to see her best friend in this state.
"Who did this to you? Who dared to hurt you huh?" Audrey questioned, she tilted her head left and right as she searched for any sign of suspicious people around.
"He doesn't like me anymore…," Joanna, still in a daze, muttered as she staggered to her feet.
She took a step forward and staggered two steps backwards. Had Audrey not supported her with her hands she would have fallen and gotten hurt.
"He even took her to his house. They were on the same bed together," Joanna said with misty eyes.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe pain in her eyes as she talked made Audrey's chest tighten. She has never seen Joanna broken to this point before so she was left confused.
What happened to make her best friend react this way?
She really wanted to know the answer.
Audrey turned and stood in front of Joanna. How she couldn't stand without leaning on something for support was as if every life in her was sucked away.
Audrey held Joanna's shoulders and shook her violently, "Snapped out of it already, Anna," Audrey commanded sternly.
"Besides what does he not liking you or being on the same bed with her have to do with…," Audrey paused midway.
She was so worried earlier that she couldn't assimilate what Joanna was mumbling but repeating her words made her get a hang of what she was talking about.
She tilted her head to take a proper look at the counter. The bloodstained glass shards made her realize that Joanna was not hurt by anyone but herself.
"What if he doesn't like you anymore? And what if he is on the same bed with her or they are making love together, what does that have to do with…,"
"Audrey!" Joanna shouted. Just a brush of her hand sent Audrey moving five steps backwards.
Joanna's eyes widened when she saw what she had done. She ran to where she had pushed Audrey.
"Are you ok?" Joanna asked. She pulled Audrey away from the wall and examined her back which had collided hard against the wall.
"Did I hurt you?" Joanna examined Audrey's body for the second time. She couldn't believe she just used force on her friend.
What came over her?
"This is what I was trying to tell you, Anna," Audrey said as she held Joanna's hands which she was carelessly using without caring about the bleeding wound.
"You will never know the actual value of what you have unless you lose it. This is what I was afraid of Anna," Audrey said without taking what happened to heart.
Mr Aidan standing not far away watched the little drama with a deep frown on his face.
Despite that his friends were speaking in hunched voices he heard them but he pretended not to.
If not for the lady who arrived at the last minute and ruined his perfect plans, would his friends have the guts to mock him?
He glared at the lady who had made all his efforts go futile merely with her appearance.
[I can't believe this golden opportunity slipped away because of her… where the hell did she come from]
The fat man clasped his fists as he kept on throwing murderous glances at Audrey.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"There is no use hurting yourself, Anna. If you don't want to lose him to her completely then you need to get your acts together ok?" Audrey gave a little squeeze to Joanna's shoulders as she talked.
"But she and he are…," Joanna didn't even want to think about what Amelia told her over the phone.
"Also, she has Mrs Parker to back her up…,"
"You also have me as your biggest supporter right, so what are you scared of?" Audrey said as she beat her chest with her right hand.
"As far as you have discovered your true feelings for him then this best friend of yours is ready to give you all the support you need. Forget about Mrs Parker, not even his Majesty would be able to stop me from getting two of you together," Audrey said with a huge sense of humour.
She was so glad to see that a little life has returned to Joanna's face.
"Are you sure?" Joanna asked sceptically.
Audrey let go of her shoulders and moved a step backwards.
"Although I can't help you with discovering what your true feelings for him are, you can count on me to help you if your feelings end up being positive," Audrey said.
"An important piece of advice, Anna… Though I told you to take time to search your heart to know what he means to you, don't take much time. Because I won't be able to help you if she succeeds in making him fall head over heels for her before you realize your feelings," Audrey cautioned.
Audrey gave a long stare at her friend's face to see whether she understood what she said.
"If you are done throwing tantrums then let's get your wound treated," Audrey said. She reached out and held Joanna's hand.
She was about to drag Joanna along with her when she felt the presence of someone in front of the counter.
"Wait a minute, Young Ladies," A man's hoarse voice called out.
At the same time, Joanna and Audrey turned and looked at the person.