Chapter 4 An argument

"Can you see what you have done? You have made her lose her damned mind. I hope you are happy now" Ariana said to grace

"Can you just support me? You once said you would support what ever decision I make right? So just trust me now and back down. I can handle whatever comes with it." Noelle said

"This is crazy, you guys have lost your minds. I will never be a part of this" Ariana said and she walked out.

"Well that did not go as planned" Grace said breaking the uncomfortable silence that came with Ariana's departure

"Do not worry, she will come around. I will make sure of that." Noelle replied.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room again.

"I will draw up the contract this night and hand it over to you tomorrow morning. Is that okay with you?" Grace asked

"Yes, yes. It is."

"Okay then, good night. See you tomorrow" grace said with a smile and left the room

"Sleep well..." Noelle said but grace had already left so she did not hear.

Noelle left the room and walked to the kitchen. She found Ariana siting on a stool and drinking wine.

"I thought you did not want to drink it" Noelle joked

"Wow, so much for being the righteous one. You were the one lecturing me few minutes ago now you are doing exactly what you warned me about. So you can drink and I can't? Pass the bottle to me" she continued when she heard no reply from Ariana. She tried to reach for the bottle but Ariana pulled it away from her. The bottle slipped and broke, there was wine and broken glass on the floor.

"Look what you have done" Noelle said trying to pick up the pieces of the broken bottles

"Do not fucking touch it, get out. Go to your house" Ariana yelled

"What.... What did ....you say?"

"What happened? What fucking changed? We were so happy and contented before this whole Luca drama. Yes we are broke, really broke but we were happy and our dignity was intact. Not until this night when you suddenly changed. Grace came with her stupid and heartless idea and.. and disgusting idea." Ariana said and Noelle tried to cut in

"Shhh, let me talk. What did you do? You literally jumped at the idea. Agreeing to destroy some one's life and work for how much? Five million dollars? When did you become this horrible? Yes yes, what he did was inhumane and terrible but how different are you guys from him? Two wrongs does not make a right" Ariana yelled.

"Do not yell at me. What ever you say or do is not, is never going to change my mind. I have got my mind made up. You either support me or you don't. I am still going to do it, with or without you. Someone's gotta make him pay and I am that some one." Noelle yelled back, her whole face was red and hot. She was hurt and disappointed in Ariana. She had always supported her even when Noelle didn't need her support. Now, just now when she actually needed it , Ariana refused.

She could not understand what Ariana could not see this from her point of view.

"We hate this girl, remember?" Ariana said

"Just because we hate her doesn't mean that we won't support her when she needs it. Yes, she is horrible and she made your life a living hell but Luca Amante is worse and I will make him pay."

"Get out" Ariana whispered breathless

"What?"

"Get the fuck out of my house, I never want to see you again." Ariana yelled.

"You are breaking our friendship for what? You are just going to throw what we had away? Just like that?" Noelle asked shocked

"I am not throwing any thing away. You are the cause of this." Ariana replied calmly

"Are you serious about this?"

"I will not repeat myself Noelle. Good bye, close the door behind you." Ariana said and went back into her room.

Noelle stood in the kitchen for minutes, yet to understand what just happened. She had just lost her only friend. She blinked rapidly to fight back the tears and regain composure. She walked out of Ariana's apartment and into hers. She went straight to bed and Covered herself up. She tried to fall asleep but she was still in shock.

Few minutes later the reality of things dawned on her and she burst into tears. She cried for so long that she lost her voice and strength. She slowly stopped crying and fell asleep.

The next morning she woke up with a crazy headache and a swollen face, all due to the tears she shed the previous night. She took her bath and wore her work clothes. She looked in the mirror and saw that her face was still puffy so she applied little makeup, just eyeliner and lipgloss, hoping it would make her look presentable. She was not a fan of make up, so she did not bother learning how to draw a perfect eyeliner or how to get the perfect shade of concealer, she had more pressing matters to take care of.

When she was done with the make up, she took her phone and her purse and left her apartment. She took the bus to her work and was surprised that she was a few minutes early. She thought she was very late as usual.

"Some one wake me up front this dream, miss Carter is early today. This can't be real." Her boss said and she laughed.

"What a pleasant occurrence, we don't get to see this every day. I have a feeling today would be good. I can just feel it" Mr Brennan said and walked into his office.

She went into the kitchen to find something to eat but before she could decide which topping should go with her toast, they had their first customer.