CHAPTER 20: NORA WHITE

Braelyn simply flashed a subtle smile at the colleagues who were not speaking so low as they thought before looking at Nora, the person she had come to see.

Standing behind the counter looking at her, Nora stood 1,6m tall, her skin a bit fair and those black eyes lovely to look at.

Nora’s face was quite small, similar to hers and she was the friend who had been by her side for three years, just like how Gemma had also been by her side.

This was the girl who had accepted her as who she truly was, intersex, though she had hidden her Arya identity from her for years as well.

She was a freshman when she first met Nora and at that time, she had already met Gemma, so her life was much better than it was previously. However, having a friend at school made the years better and never lonely. So, she was ever grateful.

Besides, Nora was more like her, very hard-working and low-key. So, they got along pretty well without attracting too much attention and hate as well.

“You are here!” Nora exclaimed with a smile as she looked at her.

“Um. I am here! Are you nearly done?” Braelyn asked with a smile as she looked at her dear friend.

“Almost. Just wait for me!” Nora responded.

Braelyn nodded at Nora as she walked towards an empty table.

Braelyn wasn’t working at the café that day as she had taken some time off, so there was no need for her to fear what her dear colleagues would think about her sudden appearance.

After taking a seat, she took out her phone and began to browse the internet with a smile on her face. As her phone could automatically get connected to the Wi-Fi, Braelyn didn’t have to worry about overusing her data.

As she sat there minding her business and waiting for Nora to finish, suddenly a few shadows fell on her. She raised her head to see who had graced her and when she saw the people, she couldn’t help but scoff inwardly.

Those busybodies really couldn’t help themselves, she thought.

“Brae, why did you take some time off?”

“I thought you were sick or something!”

“I saw you exiting that Jaguar. Is that yours?”

And these busybodies were as nosy as they could get. Once they sniff something, they are the kind who won’t leave until they find what they are looking for.

However, Braelyn didn’t feel like responding to them. Why should she do so? It wasn’t like they were entitled to receive answers.

“Are you not going back to your shift?”

And while she was deliberating over that, Nora appeared, chiding the two nosy girls.

The two girls looked at Nora hatefully, hating her for disturbing them and spoiling the moment to get some answers.

“Umph! Miss holy!” one of them harumphed before grabbing the other to walk away.

Braelyn seeing that she had been saved by Nora smiled brightly at her friend and said, “You are my heroine, you know?”

Nora shook her head helplessly as she looked at this friend of hers and responded, “Then my damsel in distress, how about you take me out for lunch now?”

Braelyn grinned widely hearing that. “then my heroine, let’s go. I will spoil you greatly,” agreeing to the suggestion.

“I can’t wait!” Nora nodded with a smile before waiting for Braelyn to stand on her feet.

The two friends left the café under the scorching gaze of many. As they left the place, Braelyn was sweating buckets as she formed sentences or excuses to tell Nora once they were out.

“Where are going?” as soon as they were outside, Nora asked.

Braelyn looked at her friend and scratched her nose guiltily, “This… ummm …. Let’s go to the parking lot. I need to talk to you about something before we have lunch.”

And when Nora heard that, she sighed with complicated emotions inwardly saying, ‘This day finally came!’

Unfortunately, Braelyn didn’t have a single clue of what the other was thinking.

“Um. Okay. As long as you are buying!” Nora responded with a smile on her face, her thoughts completely masked.

Braelyn not sensing anything, happily brought her friend to the parking lot. When the car was in view, she unlocked it and motioned for Nora to enter.

When Nora saw the car, a glint flashed through her eyes for a second before her eyes returned to normalcy.

The two girls entered the car, and Braelyn locked it after that.

“Now, are you going to confess? How about we start with what is really happening? One second you went on that third anniversary and the next second everything went vague. Brae, tell me, is there something that is going on that I don’t know? Are you in trouble or something like that? We are friends and we can talk about it and find a solution!” Nora suddenly confronted Braelyn, expressing her worries especially when sitting in a car like that one which cost a lot.

She didn’t know how her friend got herself in such a situation but she had an inkling that it wasn’t good.

Among all the people her Brae knew, no one owned such a distinctive car like that. Besides, Braelyn was acting a bit dodgy and sneaky and that didn’t spell anything good.

Seeing how direct Nora was, Braelyn knew that she was in trouble. If she didn’t give her friend an answer which would satisfy her, she wouldn’t hear the end of it.

And since she had picked this day to confess, she might as well bare everything in the open so that in the future, all of them would be on the same page.

“Oh! So ….um ….. this ….”

Nora looked at her friend who seemed to have a lot to say and yet unsure of how to say it. Seeing it like that, she knew instantly that it was a long story and one she would probably not like very much.

But who made Brae to be her best friend?

“Dear, take it easy and explain slowly. You don’t have to panic. I am still your friend and there is no way that I will eat you!” Nora softly said as she looked at Braelyn with a reassuring smile on her face.

Braelyn seeing her friend like that, felt guiltier. After all, she was the one in the wrong and yet her friend was the one comforting her. Would she remain like that after the confession? She could only confess and see.

“So ……”