.
Tiana peeked at the door for the umpteenth time, Claire was not yet here. She guessed she might be with Nicklaus, but as time flew by, she became tenser. She wondered what Claire would think of her after this, she would hate her. But it was definitely for the best. The longer it stayed the greater the pain she would feel. There was no better time than now.
Just when she thought that; the door flung open and her eyes immediately turned to the door and that second, they locked in Claire's. No-one spoke but a thousand words were written in Claire's eyes, and Tiana knew. Nicklaus had told her.
Claire gazed at Tiana for a moment and as though nothing had happened, she smiled brightly;
''Sorry I'm late, something came up. ''
She beamed brilliantly as walked over to where Leo sat, sitting down beside him.
''So, what did I miss? '' She picked her own script from the table and glanced at it;
''Nothing much, Leo insisted that we wait for you. '' Larissa, who had not uttered a word since she came in, spoke glaring straight at Claire.
''oh, how sweet of you Leo, right, I'm here now, let's begin ''
Tiana's heartbeat raced and she found it hard to breathe, she was sure Claire knew about them now, but why was she acting as nothing happened?
She chatted with her as usual, and laughed like before, did Nicklaus not tell her, or was she trying to pretend as though nothing happened?
Tiana gulped, more tensed than she had been before. She would have preferred if Claire did not speak to her, or looked at her with disdain. Her pretending as though nothing happened was eating her up.
''Right, we should be here on Monday, this script is short, so we'll perfect it in no time, by next week we'll play it out, hope we're good?''
Claire asked and they nodded.
''Right, anything else Leo? '' she turned to Leo and he shook his head;
''Good, we're done for the day. ''
Larissa was the first to stand up and walk out of the room, and then Claire stood up; her eyes locked in Tiana for a second, and she forced a smile, Tiana wanted to smile back but her lips could only tremble, and she looked away from Claire.
''You should have told me, Tiana. '' Claire said all of a sudden making Leo turn to her with creased brows; wondering what was up.
Tiana's lips trembled and she clutched the script in her hand tightly, her eyes stared at her hands, she could not bear to see the look on Claire's face.
''I wouldn't be this mad if you had told me yourself. For once…; she stopped, her eyes brewing with tears; ''For once I thought I was your friend. ''
''I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I… ''
Claire shook her head slowly, ''it is too late sweetheart, it's too late, you should have told me earlier. Now, I'm mad at you, really mad. '' She laughed dryly; ''Leave, I don't want to look at you…''
Tiana swallowed hard and stood up from the couch; she turned to the door and without looking at Claire she walked out.
Leo, who had been watching them as though it was some alien show blinked;
''Okay, what just happened? ''
He asked Claire after Tiana had left. Claire stood still watching the spot Tiana just walked out of for a whole ten seconds, before she suddenly walked to Leo and fell into his arms, bursting into a load of tears.
…
Tiana stood outside the door for the longest time, her eyes watering. She wiped her face with the back of her palm but the tears kept falling. She wished it didn't have to be this way, she wished it was another person, someone she wouldn't feel hurt about.
Claire didn't deserve any of this, she was a kind soul but there was nothing she could do about it. Maybe she was right, she should have told her herself, but could she have done it herself?
She felt a knot on her throat and she opened her lips slightly, exhaling.
Claire must really hate her now and she knew the last thing she wanted to hear now was her apology, even though she was still going to apologize, she couldn't do it now when she was still mad.
Tiana was cut short from her thoughts when her phone buzzed in her bag;
She heaved a sigh when she saw who it was. She picked the call as she walked to the elevator.
''Baby, I'm so sad! '' Tiana cried immediately she picked the call, her face reddening;
''Claire is mad at me right now; she doesn't want to see my face. I knew she would be sad, but it still hurt like hell!''
Tiana whined as she walked out of the elevator and towards the exit.
''don't worry, she'll come around. ''
''I don't know why it had to be her, she's so sweet. '' Tiana bemoaned and Nicklaus let out a light sigh;
''What do I do to make you stop crying? ''
Tiana pouted; ''I would stop crying if you appear before me now, but it is not possible… '' she stepped outside the company and continued walking forward;
''Look in front of you ''
''Uh? '' Her brows creased and she looked forward only to see Nicklaus leaning against his car, a smile on his lips. At that moment, even when she was terribly sad, she couldn't help the smile that widened her lips;
''You silly… '' she laugh-cried, and Nicklaus chuckled;
''I'm in front of you now, so will you stop crying?''
Tiana held his gaze from afar, as she watched his lips curve into a smirk, she didn't know how long he had waited there, but at that moment, she felt a wave of happiness wash through her.
Her legs instantly walked forward and her eyes held his gaze until she stopped in front of him.
Nicklaus raised his hand to her face and he pushed some strands of her behind her ear;
''Are you still sad now?''
Tiana blushed as she shook her head, her eyes fluttering;
''Let's…let's get into the car, people are watching. '' She turned and quickly entered the car. Nicklaus laughed at her shyness and entered the driver's side, once he was in, Tiana pounced on him, kissing him wildly as though her life depended on it.
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