NICOLE'S HUNCH 1

"You are so unbelievable Nicole! How could you treat her like that?" Mara asked Nicole giving her a stern look. Nicole only shrugged.

"How did I treat her?" Nicole asked oblivious of her actions.

"You treated her like she's some intruder from the moment you saw her!" Mara retorted.

"I don't recall treating you any better when we first met." Nicole fired back.

"Oh, you treated me way better than whatever that was! What was that?" Mara asked again

"something doesn't feel right about her." Nicole said casually

"Right. Like what? The fact that she's getting the role of the bridesmaid and not you?" Lucy asked.

"Hell no! You know I don't give a shit about that! I just don't like her!" Nicole defended.

"What do you mean you just don't like her, she is Nancy's friend, which obviously means she is our friend. You have got to like her." Mara stated

"Oh please, Mara! No one said I have to be a friend of my friend's friend. By the way, didn't you see how she was checking Richie out?" Nicole accused again.

"Oh please, Nicole! Seriously! I know you are unbelievably annoying but this is way out of league! You better not let Nancy hear this." Mara deadpans

"Or what!"

"Or she would be devastated. You of all people know that all she ever wants is for us to get along with Martha. She's like a sister to her! ...Why am I even explaining this to you? I'm out of here." Mara said angrily picking up her bag and standing up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Nicole asked innocently.

"I have a patient at the hospital, I'm going to see what's up." Mara said leaving.

"What about the bridal shower thing?"

"That was a lie!" Mara deadpanned and Nicole's mouth formed an 'o'

"I could drive you." Nicole said innocently again as if she hadn't just been in a quarrel with Mara. Mara rolled her eyes at her childish actions.

"You sure have a weird way of making peace, Nicole." Lucy said as she turns the page of her magazine while Nicole shrugs.

"I brought my own car." Mara said as she was about to exit the room, she suddenly stopped and turned to them as if she remembered something. "And please Nicole, don't go doing a background check on Martha. I won't forgive you if you do." she said and left before Nicole could protest.

"Looks like she saw right through you." Lucy said.

"I don't know why you guys are making a big deal out of this. You know my hunch about people is always right."

"Nancy is getting married in a week, Nicole. It's her time, not yours. We can't afford to make it about your hunch about her bridesmaid."

Nicole sinks into the chair and sighs. "I guess you're right after all."

"Of course I am."

"Anyways I'm going to get a new bikini for the party tomorrow."

"Why?" Lucy asked Nicole confused.

"Well because no one outdresses me at a party." Nicole said and Lucy frowns looking confused, thus forcing Nicole to explain further, "Didn't you see the way Martha was dressed? There is no way I'm letting her out dress me at the beach party tomorrow."

"Are you sure this hunch of yours isn't jealousy?" Lucy asked her raising a brow, but Nicole only gave her a stern look before leaving the room.

..................................................................

Nancy opened the door of the large guest room that she had specially reserved for Martha and looked at the luggage placed in the middle of the room.

"You brought a lot of things, are you planning on staying longer after the wedding?" she asked Martha as she walked into the room towards the luggage.

"Not really, I just wanted to be sure I had a little of the right clothes to wear for every occasion, my shoes, make-up and everything. I just wanted everything to be perfect." Martha explained as she carried a large box onto the only king-sized bed in the room and unzipped it, then began to take dresses out of it.

"You've changed." Nancy said smiling a little.

In the past, she used to be the one who used to want to have the right outfit for every occasion. Whenever they went on a field trip she always had the largest luggage she would pack on protective clothing, corporate clothing, bikinis, party dresses, and every kind of dress and shoe just to make sure she doesn't appear on any occasion looking awkward. She was a billionaire's daughter after all and she was a fashionista, she had a reputation to keep.

But Martha had been the opposite, she had always been the one to park a few pairs of jeans, a blouse, a sweater, and a few boots. She never even remembered to pack her own makeup and would have to borrow from Nancy when the occasion calls for it. Seeing her do the exact opposite felt kind of weird for Nancy, but she shrugged it off assuming it meant she was a good influence on Martha.

"I hope it didn't cost too much to carry them all." Nancy mumbled to herself as she began to unzip and offload a box.

Even though she was a rich girl she knew how much additional luggage costs to transport on a plane. Over the years, she had matured out of all her dramatic lifestyle and at least now she knew that being rich doesn't mean she had to show it off. If she needed a new dress impromptu, she could always go to the nearest boutique and get herself one, instead of wasting her money on additional luggage tickets and disturbing the peace of her friends who decided to travel light.

She still remembered when they were in school and how she would beg Martha to help her carry some of her luggage and how stressful it was. Thank God she met her friends when she did, they had been the ones to teach her the new life she lived and help her enjoy the life of traveling light.

Seeing that the luggage she was busy with was filled with party dresses, all kinds of party dresses, she frowned a bit. "Will there be a lot of dinner parties at your conference?" she asked looking up at Martha as she held on to a long lace dress.

"No___ I mean, yes. We would have a few dinner parties and I just wanted to be well prepared." Martha said again.

She was getting uncomfortable at Nancy's probing, she didn't understand why Nancy was making a big deal of her luggage, she wasn't the one who asked her to help out with them. So why was she complaining?

"But you really shouldn't have packed so much, we would still go shopping one of these days while you're around. Wouldn't that mean additional luggage for you when you are traveling back?" Nancy asked with genuine concern on her face as her eyes ran through the luggage.

"Ah! Her charity hasn't ended I see," Martha said to herself, the exact reason why she had brought all this luggage, was to prove the same point she had tried to prove with her outfit.

She didn't need Nancy's money to survive. She was successful at what she does and wasn't in need of anyone's charity.

"I don't think I would have a problem packing them back." Martha said while planning to intentionally leave any dress Nancy bought for her behind.

"Okay, even if it is too much luggage, I can always pay for the additional luggage for you." Nancy said giving Martha an innocent smile which Martha returned.

"So, you and Rich. How has it been?" Martha asked glancing at Nancy who blushed at the sound of Richmond's name.

"It's been amazing. You don't know how lucky I am Martha, I think God blessed me with him. He's so sweet. I love him so much." Nancy said with dreamy eyes as she sat on the bed.

"Really?" Martha said as she turned around to go into the walk-in closet to hang a dress, while also concealing the sadness in her eyes.

"Yeah. You know Mara and Lucy, they've met all sorts of men. Lucy was in an abusive relationship once and Mara even dated a stupid cheat but Richie he's just perfect. He only sees me, only loves me. He doesn't even spare other girls a glance not to even think of cheating on me. I love him, Martha. I love him so much." Nancy said looking at Martha who had walked out of the closet and was now, fixing her dresses on the hanger.

"Wow. Aren't you one lucky girl?" Martha said with a forced smile, which the dreamy Nancy didn't notice.

"I am. You know dad didn't trust Richie at first."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He didn't even like him when they first met and didn't want me to have anything to do with him but Richie was persistent and patient until dad saw how much he loved me." Nancy said giggling at the memory, while Martha stared at her, her face expressionless and her heart tight.

"I want our son to have his eyes." Nancy said suddenly and Martha cleared her throat.

"Uhm, I brought all I needed for the week, but of course, I didn't plan a beach party." Martha said changing the topic.

"That's okay. I have a lot of bikinis I haven't even tried on. When you are friends with Nicole you can't miss a trip to the boutique once a week, even if you do miss it, she would buy a dress she saw and thought would look good on you." Nancy said proudly as she jumped off the bed and began to walk towards the door heading for her room.

"I will be back." Nancy said before shutting the door.

The moment she shut the door, Martha sat in the bed dejectedly, her eyes watering as she held onto the black dress in her hand tightly.

"I thought you said you loved me." she said silently as tears fell from her eyes.