12 Chloe finds out the truth

Chloe's phone's ringing, picking up, she answers,

"Hello Ann." On the other side of the phone, Ann's voice is heard, speaking.

"Chloe, you were right. Indeed something happened that day. On that day, Ethan was involved in an accident....."

Before she could finish her statement, she was interrupted by chloe's panicked voice,

"What! An accident! How! Where! But I didn't notice any injury on any part of his body! Oh Ann, I'm so stupid! How could I have judged him so quickly! How could I jump into conclusion! I f**cked up Ann! And to think that he has another woman! Ann, I really think I should apologize! I don't even know if he'll forgive me! I messed up, big time!"

Ann was speechless. She didn't even allow her to finish whatever she was saying, she just jumped into conclusions. After a long pause, Ann finally spoke,"Chloe, calm down! Nothing happened to Ethan. He's fine. Yes, he was involved in an accident, but he isn't the one who got hurt, someone else did,"

"Who's it Ann!" she asked, still in a panicked voice. "Is there something you're not telling me, Ann?" she asked when she realized the silence from her friend. She was hesitating. This was unlike her. Ever since she knew her, Ann always went straight to the point. She was always straight forward and never beat around the bush. There was a time she approached a guy whom she had a crush on and confessed her feelings to him. The guy felt embarrassed. A girl confessing her love for a guy! That never happens, not on planet earth. A guy should approach the girl, not the other way around. As if that wasn't enough, she proposed to her boyfriend! Seeing her hesitate this time around, she became worried. The more the silence increased, the more panicked Chloe became.

"Chloe, this is something that cannot be discussed on the phone," she said, finally breaking the silence. "Meet me at the coffee shop, 59th street. I'll be waiting for you." she said and kept the call afterwards. Chloe, in a panicked state, slumped on the sofa. Her heart rate increased as her breathing became intense. Something was wrong. She had a bad foreboding. 'No, Chloe. Don't jump into conclusion. Maybe it's nothing serious,' she thought. Breathing in and out, she rushed into her room to pick her bag and ran out of the mansion. "59th Street.,"she said as she got into a taxi and drove away.

Meanwhile, at the coffee shop, Ann sat at the table, often glancing at the direction of the door. She were waiting for Chloe. When she called Chloe, she was already on her way to the coffee shop. Fifteen minutes passed, her tea becoming cold and yet Chloe hadn't arrived. She had picked her phone ready to dial chloe's number, when she rushed In panting.

"What took you so long?" asked Ann, with a hint of irritation.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" she responded. "Ann, please tell me, what is it that you can't discuss on the phone? What happened! Who got hurt!"

"Do you remember my friend? The guy I told you could help us carry out an investigation?" Ann asked.

"Yes, I remember him. Ann, can you just get straight to the point?" she responded, becoming restless.

"Okay, he did an investigation and that's how he got to know about the accident and....."she hesitated.

"And.....and what Ann? What did he say? Who got hurt? Ann speak up please! You're really freaking me out!"

"On his way to the office, Ethan hit a young boy with his car. With the sister, they rushed him to the hospital. He stayed with the sister all through comforting her. The boy was in a coma for 3 days. After he woke up, they left the hospital to a new villa. And guess who bought them the villa! It's Ethan! Ethan bought the villa under the woman's name!"

Chloe laughed.

"Seriously Ann, don't tell me you asked me out here to tell me this! This is ridiculous! There's nothing wrong in him rushing the boy to the hospital and paying the hospital bills. And maybe he bought the villa as compensation for the damages he caused. It's his responsibility considering the fact that he caused the accident. I can't believe this! Honestly, I thought it was something more than this! You freaked me out!" explained Chloe, while still laughing.

She couldn't believe, she actually left everything she were doing at home, rushed over here, just to listen to her friend's gossip. Anyway, she didn't give it much thought. Her friend, Ann, was a gossip and she knew it. She liked poking her nose into people's affairs especially her relationship with Ethan. There was a time she came to her, and told her Ethan was having an affair. Obviously, Chloe believed her. They arranged everything and decided on the date they would catch him on the spot. On that day, they went there, only to find that the woman in question was Ethan's sister! Chloe felt embarrassed. And to think of how she entered the room and yelled at him, questioning him! She had good reasons to feel embarrassed.

She stopped laughing as her sides began to hurt because of laughing too much. With a sigh, she finally spoke, "Ann, I know you care about me and you probably don't want to see me get hurt. It gladdens my heart to have a friend like you, but to be honest with you, I don't see anything wrong in all you've said."

Ann, for a long time, stared at her friend without uttering a single word. Didn't she notice anything fishy? Composing herself, she finally spoke, "Chloe, I can't believe this! I can't believe it's really you saying all these! Is it that you don't believe me or you really don't see anything wrong in Ethan buying them a villa? Aren't you afraid you might lose Ethan to some other woman, and maybe to that woman, the boy's sister?"

"Of course, I believe you! But it's nothing. He only did what he was supposed to do."

Ann chuckled. It was as if she were listening to something funny like some comedy.

"You and I know that Ethan isn't that type of a person. He is a cold hearted person. How many times has he been involved in accidents, how many times has he walked away from his responsibility. Tell me Chloe, do you still not see anything fishy?" she asked as she glanced at her friend, waiting for reaction.

Chloe on the other hand suddenly could not speak. Her friend was right. Even though she were a gossip, there was some truth in what she were saying. Seeing her reaction, Ann was now sure she had convinced her. It was now time for the next plan, she thought, an evil smile crossing her lips which Chloe didn't notice, as she was so much engulfed in what she just heard.