“No, I’m only…”
“It’s all right; we did our best for you.” Let’s walk in and say hello to her.”
Boyce entered the room, wrapping his arms around Armand.
With Armand’s interruption, he had forgotten about contacting Cormac.
Loredana was the only one in the room. She sat on the couch, barefoot, sipping a glass of alcohol.
The men exchanged glances but did not look at her; they sat on one side of the table.
“Hi Loredana,” Armand initiated the greeting.
Loredana looked up and realized they’ve entered the room. “Boyce invited you?”
“No, we met at the door,” Armand said as he took a seat on one of the sofa’s corners.”
Loredana gave a nod. She had no idea why they had met at the entrance.
Boyce had just excused himself to the toilet and should not have arrived at the door, but Loredana was despondent and didn’t comprehend what was wrong. Boyce gave Armand a sidelong glance but remaining mute.
Armand was unhappy as well; he had been plagued by remorse since Theresa’s departure. She lost her kid as a result of his hesitation.
He poured alcohol into Loredana’ glass, and the sound of the drink falling into the glass sounded like someone crying.
Loredana glanced at the glass filled with liquor. She didn’t reach for it instead, “Theresa is doing well now, don’t worry,” she said.
Armand lowered his head and murmured, “I’m happy to hear that,” in hoarse tones.
Loredana didn’t say much; given what had occurred, he should have grown.
“This drink is in your honour.” Armand extended his glass to Loredana.
Loredana took the glass and knocked on his. The sound of glasses colliding shattered the silence in the room.
Armand bottomed up the drink.
Loredana didn’t want to drink only half of the glass, so she endured the burning feeling in her throat and finished it all.
Her brow furrowed as she felt a stinging feeling down her neck.
It wasn’t until now that Armand understood Loredana wasn’t in a good mood.
“Are you sad, Loredana?” he said, looking at her.
Loredana rested her chin on her arm and gazed into the candlelight. Yes, she was in a bad mood. She was depressed as she watched Maxina being imprisoned, getting thinner by the day. As a daughter, she had been neglecting Maxina for far too long. Her focus was solely on the kids and job, not on Maxina.
Maxina, she thought, was still young, had recovered from her psychical illness, and had let go of the past.
But she was mistaken. Her physical illness had healed, but the pain Garrett had given her had not.
If she had spent more time worrying about her well-being, she would have recognized her unhappiness and guided her away from such an extreme route.
She was a terrible daughter.
“Was it because of Cormac?” Armand thought Loredana fought with Cormac.
Boyce threw a glance at him, “Not everyone’s relationship is as messed up as yours.”
Armand was displeased, why would he irritate him?
Wasn’t it sad enough that he’d lost both his lover and his child?
“Can you spare me?” Armand nearly pleaded with him.
This was the thing that bothered him the most.
“Sorry, I’ll drink this up,” Boyce replied after pouring himself a glass.
He emptied the glass in less than a second.
“bottom-up three glasses instead of one,” Armand said as he swiftly refilled his glass.
Boyce was at a loss for words, but could he turn down the offer?
“We will cut connections as friends if you reject,” Armand threatened.
“Three drinks are nothing to me, bring it on,” Boyce said as he proceeded to remove his necktie.
“As your buddy, I’ll drink along,” Armand said as he filled his glass.
“Stop the nonsense and drink up!” Boyce drank from his glass.
Loredana sat still on the side, watching. They always act in this manner, demonstrating real friendship.
She stormed out of the room, covering her nose and mouth since she felt a sudden need to vomit.
Boyce and Armand both came to a complete halt.
“Are you feeling ill?”
Loredana didn’t want to ruin their good time, so she shook her head and said, “Drink up, I’ll go to the restroom.”
She dashed out the door after that.
She puked at the sink and felt much better and refreshed as a result.
She then switched on the tap and cleaned her face and mouth.
She grinned as she gazed up at herself in the mirror. She persuaded herself that she needed to be strong because she had a long life ahead of her and that only a healthy physique would allow her to care for Maxina and the kids in the future.
She cleaned her face and returned to the room, wanting to tell Boyce that she wanted to go home.
On her way back, a man with a cap that nearly hid half of his face approached her. “Lola,” the guy said, his voice was icy and frosty.
When Loredana looked up, she noticed a familiar figure in the dim light.
They were not far apart, and the atmosphere seemed unsettling.
“Who are you?” Loredana said, taking a few steps back.
New Book: Beginning with a Daring Encounter
Celsie was tired of being labeled as an introvert, workaholic, and dull virgin by her friends. Determined to prove them wrong, she made a bet that she would do something daring on her 25th birthday. Now that the day had arrived, it was time to fulfill her promise. On her daring to-do list, there was one task: a one-night stand with someone.