4. The Invite

Two weeks later...

Pop!!!

"Congratulations!!!." Arla popped the champagne for Sienna who just got promoted as the head of her department, as soon as she entered the living room.

"Oh, thank you. I am guessing that it was Idan that informed. Uh, I wanted to tell you myself, though."

Arla nodded. "Hm. You know already."

Sienna dumped her bag on the armchair and slumped down on the three-seater couch. "Ahh, I'm so exhausted."

"So Idan also told me that you'll be getting a personal assistant, now that you're the head of the department. I'm more excited about that one. Now you will be less stressed."

"I hope so, Arla. They asked for the specification of whom I wanted as my assistant today, and I sent it to them.

I can't wait for them to come. At least I can delegate some of the small tasks to them. I'm too tired!"

"Go wash up and come and eat something. I've already set the table."

**

"Ma'am, this came for Miss Quinn in the afternoon." A servant handed an envelope to Arla.

She in turn gave it to Sienna with a solemn face after seeing the sender's name.

"What could it be? Why would she be sending me anything at all? Since when did we turn friends?" Sienna asked as she tore open the envelope, and in it was an invitation card instead.

"Hm."

"What is it?"

"You see for yourself." Sienna handed the card to her closest friend with disappointment written on her face.

"Erh, so this lady has no shame or what? How could she continue to torment you like this? I thought people of such high society were of class?" Arla asked worriedly.

Sienna has been staying at her place since moving out of her former home. She acts strong on the outside but Arla knows that she's been crying in her room every evening because of the breakup.

Arla still doesn't know how to help her friend to overcome the feeling of hurt and betrayal, expecially with her ex fiancé and his new woman flaunting their relationship all over social media.

"I don't get why that Faiza lady would want to invite you to their engagement. She's a very weird woman. First, despite her many suitors, she still chose to go after a taken man and is constantly rubbing it in your face. Did you ever do something to her in the past?"

"No? I didn't even know her until Noah brought her home and introduced her to me as his "cousin". She just wants to provoke me, that's all."

"Could Noah be in on it or it's just her alone? I still can't believe that this is happening between you two. I never thought that he would change this much."

Sienna let out a short mocking laughter. "Ha! Well, I guess he was good until I was deemed infertile then, just like his mother."

"Even still, I do not accept that you being infertile should be an excuse enough for Noah to leave you. Especially in our modern world where In vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments and surrogacy are the new normal."

"We were discussing about that before my last trip but it doesn't matter anymore since we're already over now."

"Hmm." Arla sighed. She knows that her friend would go and cry in her room again despite her strong facade now but she too pretends to be oblivious.

"Then are you going to go? Personally, I don't think you should. But if you would, then I'll suggest that we let Freya hook you up with one of her people to act as your new lover. Because I'm sure that that lady just wants to embarrass you."

Sienna thought for a while before she said, "I can't. You know how things ended between me and her. Let's leave Freya out of this. But I really don't understand something, Arla."

"What is it?" Arla's ears were perked up.

"Faiza is already pregnant so why are they wasting time doing the engagement only, couldn't they just go straight to the wedding or join the two together? I mean, mother told me that she would allow us to marry only after I become pregnant for her son.

So I was thinking that that would be the case for Faiza since she is pregnant now. As per what Noah told me the pregnancy should be eight weeks old by now, her stomach should start showing by the engagement date which will be in a month's time, shouldn't it?"

"Well, maybe she was just a few weeks old at that time, and most people don't start showing until around four to five months into it.

Or if you suspect that she could've lied to trap Noah, then why don't you go for the engagement and see things yourself? You know how manipulative his mother can be."

"And what should I do even if that's the case? There's no need crying over spilled milk now.

As for the engagement, I'll think about it later. Right now I'll like to go to my room."

And with that, Sienna stopped eating, grabbed the champagne that Arla had popped for her and went into her room.

She sat on her bed with her back leaning on the headboard and chugged the champagne down straight from the bottle.

Deep down, Sienna knows that she's still not over the only man that she's ever loved. She doesn't think that she ever would.

She was curious about how her ex fiancé would feel like if he saw her again, but she also feared about how she too would feel if he didn't even bat an eye when he sees her and would be all lovey-dovey with his new woman.

Sienna was torn. A part of her wanted to see her ex while the other part wants nothing to do with Noah at all.

***

Arla did not need a soothsayer to tell her that her friend was going to drink and cry inside her room once again. Usually she would've acted oblivious and let her be but that was when she was only crying.

She drinking that much champagne which is also of a higher alcohol level than beer would only worsen her endometriosis cancer. Arla is really worried about her.

Shatter!!! Spatter!!!

"Uugghh!" Sienna groaned in pains as the champagne bottle drops out her hand, falls on the bed before hitting the floor, breaking into pieces.

The shattering and spattering sounds of glass and water, mixed with Sienna's groanings cause her friend to quickly leave the dining table and rush into her room.

Blarghhh!!!

Sienna started to release volumes upon volumes of vomit on the the floor.

"Sienna!" Arla screamed. She was scared out of her wits, seeing the state that her friend was in.

Arla carefully move out of the way as her friend's vomit kept splattering on the floor. She went back into the house to get some water and a cleaning bowl for her friend.

The vomiting stopped for a while and them started again with a loud and forceful belching which caused Sienna to even soil herself.

"Here, wash your mouth and spit it out before you drink some of the water." Sienna did as told while Arla went to fetch a servant to clean the floor.

She then helped her friend into the wash room and helped her to clean up.

"You know your health condition, why did you have to do something that you knew what the end result will be?" Arla said after helping her friend to the remade bed.

She then gave her her meds to take and then tucked her into bed, turn off the light and left. All the while Sienna remain quiet. She started sobbing again once the room was dark, indicating that her friend had left.

It is one thing for Noah to bring in another woman and live with her. But now that the two are about to make it official, she has no choice than to force herself to accept that she and Noah are really over and done.

There is no chance of them ever getting back together again. It is this harsh reality that she's finding it too difficult to process yet alone accept.

Sienna cried and cried until she had no liquid to shed anymore, and then fell asleep just a few minutes afterwards.