Between the Lines

The afternoon light stretched across the grand driveway, casting long shadows over the stone path at the Perenchio estate.

A black Bentley Bentayga sat idling near the entrance, its polished exterior reflecting the sun's golden hues. However, this car's back door was left open as the tension between mother and daughter lingered.

Mrs. Castellijo remained seated inside, her expression unreadable. She didn't step out or gesture for Reane to get in; she was just waiting for her lovely daughter.

Reane felt the weight of her mother's silent expectations pressing down on her. But she had different plans. Without thinking, she pulled Nic beside her, hoping it might ease the tension.

Nic was dumbfounded, her body stiffening at the sudden movement. She didn't expect to be dragged into this mother-daughter show, but now, under Mrs. Castellijo's unwavering gaze, there was no avoiding it. Swallowing her nerves, she forced a polite smile.

"Good afternoon again, Aunt Sylvia. It's always good to see you."

The words felt rehearsed, too light for the tension hanging in the air.

The blue-haired woman could feel the pressure, the unspoken warning not to get caught in the middle of something she had no part in. And yet, the way Reane gripped her wrist said otherwise.

Then, just as Nic feared, Reane spoke the words she had been dreading.

"I'm sorry, but I already told Dad that I have something to attend to; I'll be going with Nic today."

Reane then locked her arm with her best friend. She looked at the woman inside the car, whose eyes were crinkled and staring intensely, making the strawberry-blonde woman tense and stammer a little.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll text Dad and meet with him afterward instead, okay? Thank you for your visit, though." Then she winked at her best friend, who was merely standing there like a puppet controlled by her. Nic nodded helplessly in agreement and managed a stiff smile.

Mrs. Castillejo, on the other hand, knows exactly what her always-up-to-something daughter is trying to do, so she asks Nic directly.

"I don't think Reane's father would be pleased if we got delayed, Nic. He needs us now—you understand, don't you?"

Sylvia's gaze settled on Reane's best friend, her tone light but laced with expectation. Nic's lower lip quivered in nervousness, struggling to form a response.

"I… ahhmmm..." Nic hesitates to say something as she doesn't want to say the wrong words for the Castellijo's in front of her. She looks at Reane to ask for help, but her evil best friend scowls at her instead as if saying, 'You have to agree with me, or else I'll kill you.'

She then looks back at the woman inside the car, who's waiting for her answer, who returned the gaze with, 'You don't want to cross me or else.' look.

The blue-haired woman regretted coming along with her devious best friend when she could have just stayed inside the house.

As Reane saw her best friend's dilemma, she decided to step in.

"Nic and I have an appointment today with a photographer for her business. It's for a new coffee shop, which is important for her and her family—so I don't think we can postpone it. It might not look good for her image, you know?"

Reane glanced at Nic, who broke into a nervous sweat before nodding and sighing in relief.

Nic wanted to thank her best friend for saving her—but at the same time, she wanted to yell at her. She wouldn't be in this situation if Reane hadn't dragged her into the conversation. A dozen ways to get back at her superb best friend ran through her mind as punishment.

Despite it all, Sylvia remained unfazed, letting the two young women stand outside the car and looking at their fake smiles.

"Oh, look at the time! I think we should go now…." Reane tries to bid goodbye but is interrupted by the middle-aged woman's deadly gaze.

Her mother knows what Reane is doing; hence, she smiles, looks at Nic, and asks the short-haired woman again.

"Well, I haven't heard anything from you yet. So, is it possible to move the appointment to a later time instead?" Sylvia asked in a serious tone, which sent chills to Nic's bones.

"The pressure is getting heavy, and Nic has no intention of crossing Reane's mother. Mrs. Castillejo may seem angelic in her kindness, but her gaze alone could kill instantly.

Nic vividly remembers their college days—back when she and Reane would get into all sorts of trouble, sometimes dragging each other into messes they had no business being in. But nothing was more terrifying than the one time she saw Mrs. Castillejo truly angry. She looked like she could chew someone up and spit them out. Nic doesn't want to experience that again.

'Well, like mother, like daughter,' Nic thought as she glanced at her best friend before finally speaking.

"Oh, hmm... it's okay! We can meet after you see your Dad, Reane. The shoot won't start until 2 PM anyway. Honestly, there's no rush for it; we can even move the time for you." Nic mumbled, her voice unsteady. She glanced at Reane, her eyes practically screaming, 'If you're scared of your mother, so am I.'

Reane cursed Nic under her breath, recalling their earlier conversation about how important today was—especially since it was Nic who had woken her up for the event in the first place. Yet now, she was the one brushing it off.

On the other hand, the blue-haired woman could only offer an apologetic look before subtly stepping away—just in case Reane's fiery aura could manifest and burn her for that slip-up.

"That's great! What are you waiting for, little miss?" Sylvia stated with a triumphant smile and tapped the seat next to her to invite Reane inside.

The strawberry-blonde woman glared at her blue-haired best friend before pulling her into a quick hug to say goodbye. Then, without another word, she stepped into the car.

Mrs. Castillejo cast Nic one last glance and said,

"Thank you for always looking after my daughter, Nic. I'm grateful she has a friend like you."

Nic's lips curled into a smile, but Reane slammed the door shut with an irritated thud before she could reply.

"Let's go now, Mr. Marco," Reane said in a flat tone, while her best friend could only laugh it off.

The older man in a crisp black suit, who was patiently waiting for them, gave Nic a polite bow as if apologizing on behalf of the younger Castillejo.

"We will take our leave now, Ma'am. Thank you for your time." He casually said to the young woman of the Perenchio family and climbed into the driver's seat. The car began to pull away. Just as Nic turned to leave, her phone buzzed with a message from Reane.

'You're dead.' A knife emoji and an angry face followed it,

Nic's eyes widened for a second before she smiled, shaking her head in amusement.

"I should start writing my will," she muttered playfully with fake tears as she thought of many things about how her best friend would kill her.

Still, she waved at the departing car, noticing Reane lifting a hand in return—despite not even looking in her direction. Nic stayed put until the vehicle disappeared from view.

Then, another message popped up.

'See you later,' *laughing evil emoji*

Making the message feel more like a threat than a farewell.

Nic let out a small, nervous laugh.

"Yeah... I'm doomed."

-----

Inside the moving car, where the ladies of the Castellejos were, Reane crossed her arms over her chest, her expression dark with frustration.

Meanwhile, Sylvia gave a knowing grin before breaking the silence.

"Well, that was a fun conversation. But that's not a good attitude toward a friend—you should have at least thanked her before we left."

"It doesn't matter. She won't take it seriously anyway," Reane replied plainly, though a hint of guilt tugged at her as she thought about how she had treated her blue-haired best friend.

She unfolded her arms and rested her hands neatly in her lap.

Sylvia gave her daughter a pointed look.

"You shouldn't take your friends for granted, Ren."

Reane wanted to retort, 'I know that. After all, I lost someone important once'. But the words caught in her throat. Instead, she stayed quiet, gazing out the window, unwilling to voice the thoughts weighing on her.

Her mother knew there was more to her mood than their earlier argument. With a gentle touch, Sylvia placed a hand over Reane's to get her attention.

"Ren, you know that I'm always here to listen if you need someone to talk to. You don't have to act this way with me," Sylvia said gently, a motherly concern is evident in her tone.

Reane's unsettling expression softened as she turned to face her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mom. There's just a lot on my mind, and—"

Unfortunately, her words were cut off when Sylvia's phone rang. Her mother picked up the phone, and she could see that the screen was flashing with her father's name.

'Great timing,' Reane thought sarcastically before sighing.

"It's okay. You should answer that first."

"Sorry, I'll just speak to your father for a moment," Sylvia said apologetically before pressing the answer button.

Although the call wasn't on speaker, Reane could hear her father's firm voice on the other end.

"Hello."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Okay."

"She's with me now. We'll be there in about thirty minutes."

"Okay."

Her mother's replies were brief and clipped, and then the call ended. The silence that followed felt heavier than it should have. Reane knew exactly why her father wanted to speak with her—especially since it concerned their business—but she wasn't in the mood to deal with it.

Not now. Maybe not ever.

She exhaled quietly, shutting her eyes as if that alone could block out the weight pressing against her thoughts.

"Your father said..." Sylvia started, but she trailed off when she glanced at her daughter. Reane's eyes remained closed even though she knew that her mother would like to have a small talk during their car ride, her breathing slow and steady, acting as if she were asleep. Perhaps she really was sleeping, or maybe she just didn't want to talk. Either way, Sylvia let it go.

Reane was wide awake, but there was a heavy exhaustion weighing on her—one that no sleep could fix. The day had barely started, yet it already felt like more than she could handle, and she knew that there was something more once she met her father.

Nevertheless, she tried to distract herself by thinking about last night's party, letting her thoughts drift back to it.

"I finally found you."

The girl's voice in her dreams echoed in her head, repeating like an unfinished melody.

'Was it just another dream, like the one I had earlier? Or was my mind just playing tricks on me because I had drunk too much? Those striking amber eyes. That chestnut hair. That face—I could never mistake it, not in a million years.'

'It was her'.

Her chest tightened, and without thinking, her fingers brushed the spot where a cherished pendant once rested—a small, familiar weight that had always brought her comfort. It was a gift, a silent promise, a piece of someone she couldn't bear to forget, and it is gone now. All that remained was the habit of reaching for it whenever she thought of her lost friend.

Reane let out a shaky breath, the emptiness beneath her fingertips feeling heavier than it should. A fragment of her dream lingered, the girl's last whispered words echoing in her mind.

And then, it clicked.

'I couldn't grasp it before, but now... I think I know what she meant in my dream.

Reane thought, lost in the haze of her own mind as she tried to piece everything together. Her thoughts drifted through faint, unfinished memories, like voices calling from a dream, until she fell asleep.