Being dramatic

Not long after Laila had sent her message, which was code to let Noah know she was done with the phone, the two of them entered the living room once more. Laila let her reaction match the message she had sent and gasped as she said, "Finally! I have turned old and grey waiting for you two to come back downstairs. I thought you were only going upstairs to take a picture of the painting. That should have not taken you close to twenty minutes." With a sad face she added, "Or did you two just forget about me?"

But Olivia's reaction was far from sympathetic. She just rolled her eyes and vented her irritation at Laila for being disturbed in her alone time with Noah. "Don't be so dramatic and insecure. That will only make people dislike you. You weren't even alone for half an hour and you act like we have ignored you for over two hours. We were just talking about the painting and lost track of time for a bit. Is it so wrong for us to have a conversation over a shared interest? There is only so much you can blame on your hormones and the pregnancy."

Laila was flabbergasted at Olivia's reaction. This had been the first time for her to react so harshly towards her with Noah there to witness it all. Usually she does everything in her power to appear like a perfect princess in front of Noah. So, what has her behaving like this all of a sudden?

But before Laila could think of a response, Noah responded for her. "Wow Olivia. Was there really a need to react to Laila that harshly? Sure she is being a bit dramatic but she is your friend, is she not? I didn't think you had such a side to you. No matter what, she is pregnant and we should be a bit more considerate and patient towards her. We don't know what she is going through and being pregnant isn't exactly easy."

Noah's stern words were like a cold shower for Olivia and it woke her right up and brought her back to reality. It made her realize what she had done. What she had said... Her face froze and for a second she went into a state of shock before she quickly tried to fix the mess she had created. She let out an awkward, almost hysterical, laughter before she said, "Oh I know silly. This is not me being mean. In fact I am doing what a good friend is supposed to do. I just wanted to give Laila some tough love for you. Since there must be some things you can't say to your pregnant wife but I, as her best friend, don't have to worry about the same things as you. I only had your marriage in mind as plenty of people bottle up their frustration until it causes irreparable damage to their relationship. These kinds of reactions to something so small as being left alone for twenty minutes, can be one of those things that cause problems later on. So, I just tried to make Laila realize that her behaviour can cause trouble for her and that she should try and change her behaviour for the better."

Though Laila wanted to rip the stupid look on Olivia's face right off, she did the opposite and tried to ease the tension in the room instead before anything was said that would cause true damage. Olivia's words had no effect on Laila, at least not the type of effect Olivia intended for them to have. Laila only felt annoyance and today was no different. She couldn't believe that Olivia said all of that but didn't look at her even once. Even though that explanation for her bitchy words, should have been directed at her. The one that the harsh words had been aimed at as well. Instead, she kept her focus on Noah during her entire 'good friend' speech as it was only his opinion she cared about. But despite all of this Laila let out a forced laugh before she said, "That is my good friend Olivia for ya. What would I do without you. You think of things I haven't even considered. Thank you for looking out for me and my marriage."

Olivia returned Laila's kind words with nothing but another load of spiteful words and hatred. It started with an arrogant and condescending look on her face as she let out a 'ché', before she said, "Well at least someone appreciates my words. Seems you aren't past saving just yet. That gives me hope for the two of you but most of all for poor Noah who has to live with you."

After those words were said and it was made clear that Olivia would be even worse company than she already had been this evening, Noah and Laila called it a day not long after. They drank a cup of tea, took a bite of the cake that Olivia had asked her staff to serve, before Laila said that she was tired. That was when Noah sent a message to the driver to drive to Olivia's house and shortly after that, the two of them excused themselves as they left for their own house.