"Simione the wedding will be in five days," Gabriella opened about it again after they had closed

the conversation for a while. Their drinks had finally arrived and they got to talk about a few
other things before the Monteria heiress pulled the topic back to her friend's wedding. "I don't
think you can escape this anymore,"

Simione was silenced. She had been thinking about it and had kept hoping that she could still
turn things around somehow but she too admit that she might not be able to escape this anymore.

"I got nothing to lose right?" Simione gave in for a moment as she helplessly looked at her two
friends. "At least when I get married to him, I won't be much of a trouble for Lucy anymore.
Also, my husband seemed kind enough to let me finish law school and the Tangs seemed to be
stable now. They don't need me much anymore,"

"So you are considering this?" Gabriella asked further. She bit her lips as she pitied her friends
fate but seeing how Simione struggled for a while and how he current husband seemed to be
lavishing her with many things, she thinks that Simione's new life will make things easy in her
life.

"Maybe…" Simione breathed out a deep sigh. "To be honest, I kind of like the peace that
mansion gives me. It makes me think of myself. However, things seemed to be so good to be
true. What I'm afraid right now is that when my husband shows up, my peace will be ruined
again,"

"If there is something that I like about this whole thing…it's the fact that he was treating you
right at this point.." Lucy admitted. "But your fears are justifiable. I'm also afraid that when he
shows up, things might flip around,"

"Maybe you had to trust your soon to be husband," Gabriella thought.

Simione dragged her eyes to the girl, "How could I trust a  man whom I don't know," 

"Don't you really know him?" Lucy daringly asked. There was something in Simione's
expression that she noticed ever since she came this morning. Also, when she scrutinized the
invitation just a few minutes ago, the conclusions that she got from it got her thinking deep.
Perhaps Simione had noticed something too but she isn't telling them.

Simione didn't reply for a while but at the end she chose to tell her friends about it. "There's
actually something that's bothering me more,"

"What?" Gabriella raised a brow at this.

"I don't know but this soon to be groom of mine reminds me of my childhood best friend,"
SImione admitted badly and started narrating about the painting and the butterfly design of the
invitation. "I just don't know…it's kind of impossible but he does really remind me of him,"
"Isn't that boy dead already?" Lucy was drawn to the conversation. Her mind seemed to be
running in circles as Simione narrated about Spin and how things went so weirdly connected to
him.

"Yes….. A long time ago…." Simione replied in a small voice, almost couldn't say the words.

"Maybe this is just…you know…a product of your wishful thinking…" Lucy tried to console her
as it seemed that these things did bother her friend thoroughly. "Maybe you just missed him so
much that you kept connecting things with him…"

"I don't know Lucy, really…"

"Or maybe because until now…you are still waiting for him…." Gabriella expressed and when
she did, the table fell silent. 

Simione immediately went teary at her friend's words but she held on to her tears as she didn't
want to cry right then. However both Lucy and Gabriell could see the tears that were rounding in
her eyes that she held off. Instead of comforting her thoughts, they just gave her some space.

"Maybe…" Simione's voice was cracking. "Maybe I am…"

"Sisi..it's been a long time…" Lucy reached for her hand and held it tight.

"That's what I thought too….That's what I kept telling myself," Simione admitted so miserably
that right then, her tears started falling already. One by one until it flooded her smooth cheeks.
"But everytime….every time I felt so down and helpless…I could see him from a corner smiling
at  me and promising that things will be okay…that I just have to hold on a bit…because he's
going to come soon….and I don't want him to find me in such a miserable state…so I kept
picking myself again and again…"

"Oh God! How could I do this to myself," Simione frustratedly washed her face with her hands
then immediately wiped off her tears. "I'm so sorry, this is so not me…"

"It's only us…Sisi…just cry… you don't have to pretend to be strong in front of us…" Gabriella
comforted her. Simione was always a strong woman and so the girl understood that crying was
one of the things that she didn't want others to see. "Besides, crying doesn't erase the fact that
you are a very strong woman,"

"I'm not frustrated because I'm crying…I'm frustrated because it's been a long time already…"
Simione confessed. "And it seemed that I haven't moved on from it…even until now…"

"It's okay. Don't be too hard on yourself," Lucy told her and reached for Simione's loose hair this
time and pushed them toward her back. Her hands landed on the girl's shoulder after and she
caressed it to soothe her. "You've had a hard life Simione. It's normal to find yourself not okay
sometimes…it's okay not to be okay…."
"I guess it's time for you to just live in peace Simione," Gabriella opened and went as honest as
she could with Simione. "Getting married might be the answer. Besides, here in Devon City, you
being single would only cause complications either with Hawk Monsanto or Lyndon Tang. If
you get married, perhaps these men will just let you off in peace,"

"Hawk is getting married too, I don't think he'll pester me when he settles down," Simione
answered, although Hawk's name on her mouth kind of made some of her insides tinged. It was a
bad idea to speak of him, right when at some point of her life, she honestly felt something for
him and hoped a little with their previous affair. 

"No Simione," Lucy disagreed. "Hawk Monsanto will never leave you off even when he
becomes a married man. So I think the best way is just to get on with this wedding. Gabriella is
right. Besides, your husband seemed to be the kind of man that can get head on with Hawk
Monsanto. He will protect you in the name of your being his wife,"

"But…." 

"Simione the reason why Hawk Monsanto isn't pestering you now is maybe your husband,"
Gabriella added. "Don't you think that it's kind of weird that you can safely walk around Devon
City after what you did? If nothing was stopping Hawk Monsanto, you should be on his bed by
now,"

"So you mean to say that my soon to be husband was stopping him?" Simione thought about it
and realized that Gabriella's words made sense. Indeed, with all that had happened, why does it
seem like he was living in peace these days in Devon City? Didn't she run away from this city
before as she feared for her life?

"That's the most reasonable answer we have right now," It was Lucy who confirmed the thing.
"Besides, you are heavily guarded. Your husband seemed to be very keen in keeping you safe,"
Lucy reminded her as she glanced to look at one man in uniform that had been following them
all around. He wasn't alone in the area, there was many of them and she knew all of them was
Simione's bodyguards.

"He is just afraid I might run away that's why he had his men watch over me," 

"You know yourself that is a lie," Lucy shut her off right away as she looked at Simione. Raising
a brow at her friend, she grabbed her glass of drink and drank from it with her resting bitch face
challenging Simione to disprove her point further.Simione however didn't disagree anymore.

"So I should stop running away from this marriage?" Simione asked another question instead.

"You are ripe enough for marriage," Gabriella encouraged her. "And to be honest, this idea for
some reason was giving me better feelings than those times when you were with Lyndon or
Hawk. This must be it Sisi…I have good feelings on this,"
"How about you Lucy?" Simione turned to the singer who at that point honestly was undecided
specially that she had suspicions on her own.

"I don't know…" She went as honest as she could. "I find this very interesting however…for a
man to be this….devoted and mad over you. If there is one thing I like about this whole situation
is the fact that whoever is this new man of yours… I am very sure he crazily loves  you very
much.."

"If that kind of love is bad or good….that I'm not sure…" Lucy added and bit her lips as she
thought over it badly.