"Well, to be fair, you did throw about a thousand words at without pausing to breathe. I figured you deserved a little confusion in return," Serena teased, her lips curling into a faint smile.
Samantha laughed brightly, the sound warm and unrestrained. "That is such a polite way of saying I talk too much. You’re far kinder than Aiden—he can’t handle my chatter and just walks away without even pretending to listen."
Serena raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the easy humor in Samantha’s tone.
"But really," Samantha went on, undeterred, "you should et my Skylar. He’s the complete opposite. He talks so little sotis I wonder if he’s forgotten how! Honestly, if I didn’t talk enough, I’d probably forget what human voices even sound like."
Serena found herself relaxing as Samantha continued. Despite the relentless flow of words, the woman had an infectious energy. She was clearly smitten with her husband, Skylar, which made it abundantly clear she wasn’t a threat. In fact, there was sothing oddly endearing about her.
Samantha kept up her stream of anecdotes and observations about her husband’s research work, how they travelled, etc until the waiter set down the mug with a polite nod, thus interrupting Samantha’s chatter.
As soon as the waiter left, Samantha leaned forward slightly, her expression earnest but still brimming with a touch of playfulness. "If I’m talking too much or you feel like your ears need a break, you can just tell to shut up, okay? I won’t take it personally—I promise."
She paused, as if genuinely expecting Serena to take her up on the offer. But Serena surprised herself by smiling warmly instead.
"I don’t think you need to shut up," she said, "But I do think I need to thank you—for coming to look for and for reaching out. I’m really happy to et you, Samantha."
Samantha blinked at Serena, then suddenly burst into laughter, her face lighting up with delight. "You’re not a btch! Oh, sht, I lost the bet!"
Serena widened her eyes, completely caught off guard. "Excuse ?" she asked, her voice laced with confusion.
But Samantha only giggled harder, waving her hand dismissively as though Serena’s bewildernt was the funniest thing ever. "Oh, this is so good. You were really just performing that night, weren’t you? I told Aiden you were ruthless, and he was all, ’I know nothing.’ Turns out, he was right!"
Serena tilted her head, feeling even more confused as Samantha leaned forward with a conspiratorial grin. "Okay, let give you a quick rundown of everything, just so we’re on the sa page," Samantha said, her hands gesturing animatedly.
"Aiden had a certain type back in university—the kind of girls who threw themselves at him. So of them he picked, and others he completely ignored. You get the idea, right? Anyway, my husband, Skylar, and I used to have this ongoing bet about the kind of woman Aiden would eventually marry."
Serena raised an eyebrow, now fully intrigued despite herself. "A bet?"
"Yep," Samantha nodded enthusiastically. "Skylar was convinced that the woman Aiden chose would be soone sweet, soone who’d blend into our little circle without any trouble—a total ’sweetheart.’ But ?" Samantha grinned mischievously, her eyes sparkling with amusent. "I was sure he’d pick a b*tch. You know, the kind of woman we wouldn’t be able to stand and who wouldn’t be able to stand us—his two nosy, ddleso friends. I was so sure that whoever it was would hate us, and we’d eventually lose our friend for good."
She let out a mock sigh, shaking her head dramatically. "But now, sadly for , I’ve lost the bet. You’re not a b*tch. Skylar was right, and I was wrong. You’re from the ’sweetheart’ category. And honestly, I don’t know how I feel about this!"
Before Serena could respond, Samantha reached across the table and patted her hand in a completely placating gesture. "But it’s okay that you’re not one," she added, her voice filled with resignation. "I won’t hold it against you. Promise."
Serena couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Shaking her head, she teased, "Well, if it helps, I can pretend to be one. You know, for the sake of sisterhood and solidarity. Help you win that bet."
Samantha groaned dramatically, throwing her hands up in mock frustration. "Oh, you better shut up before I start liking you even more! This is not how I imagined today going."
Their laughter echoed in the cozy café, and Serena found herself relaxing more than she had in days. What had started as a solitary coffee break had turned into sothing unexpectedly entertaining.
Before long, Serena was leaning forward, quizzing Samantha with a grin as she had her new idea of her own. "So, tell —what’s the most outrageous way soone’s ever asked Aiden out? And, more importantly, which ones did he actually say yes to?"
Samantha’s eyes lit up, and she launched into a series of hilarious and borderline unbelievable stories, each one more dramatic than the last. Serena listened, completely engrossed, her laughter coming easily as the minutes slipped by. This might not have been the quiet afternoon she’d planned, but it was shaping up to be one of the most unexpectedly delightful ones she’d had in a long ti.
However, sotis no one could expect what things would take a turn to. Because as Serena left the cafe, Samanthat fished out her phone and ssaged a single line," You’re too late. Aiden has found himself a ’sweetheart’. I think it is ti you move on."
And even though Samantha felt extrely guilty about sending the ssage to her old friend because like she said, she really did like Serena, she could not help but feel her loyalty towards her old friend.
Samantha sighed. She knew this ssage might stir up so trouble for Aiden. But from what she’d seen, Aiden and Serena could storm this. anwhile, seeing them together might help her friend see for herself that Aiden had moved on and this would help her move on too... She could only hope.
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