Chapter 12: We Meet Again

(Monique's POV)

A knock on the door woke me up from my deep slumber. I tiredly opened my eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table. The sun's rays slipping through the slightly opened curtains tell me that it's already morning. Walking out of bed, I slowly walked towards the door and opened it.

"Good morning, I have cooked breakfast already. Wash up, then come down." Catherine said when the door opened. I nodded my head in a daze and walked back inside to wash up. Opening the closet, I picked up some of my comfortable clothes since it's the weekend and I have no work today.

In less than an hour, I managed to finish my morning routine and hurriedly went downstairs. I found Catherine at the dining table preparing the utensils. She raised her head when she felt my presence and pointed at the chair in front of her.

I happily smiled and sat on the chair. The delicious smell of waffles and the fragrance of black coffee enveloped the air. Today is the weekend, so as usual, Catherine is here in our apartment rather than at school. It's the same routine we have had for the last few years. During weekends, we always stay at home and laze around all day long.

After we finished the meal, Catherine went to do the dishes, so I stayed in the living area and watched some news. Laying down on the couch and just scrolling through my phone while the TV is still on. I'm not that interested in watching TV, but because I can't stand the quietness of our house, I turned it on.

Seconds, minutes, and hours passed by and all we did was hang out on the couch. Catherine watched some documentary films while I was surfing my social media accounts. Different news about celebrities flooded my notifications, which really bored me to death. So, I switched to another account and visited the page where new trends in clothes are posted.

"Cathy!" I exclaimed as soon as I saw the newly released A-line dress on the newsfeed.

"What is Monique?" She asked while still focused on the film she was watching.

I sat up and moved closer to her. Clinging my arms to her, I showed my cutest smile to her. "Cathy~"

She looked at me with her stern face as usual and just rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"There's a newly released dress in the mall today. Could you come with me? Pretty please?" I blinked my eyes at her and acted cute all the way. I knew this would work. I always show her this kind of expression of mine and it never failed me. This has always been Cathy's weakness.

She pushed my face away from her and said, "Fine, but we will only go just one shop, okay?"

I jumped in excitement and hugged her tight. 'I knew it! Nothing really fails this cute and charming face of mine! Hahaha!' "Thank you, Cathy! Okay, so, I'm going to prepare now!" Before I could enter my room, I heard Cathy's shout in the living room.

"Make sure to finish in less than an hour! I don't want to wait for too long!"

I just laughed at her and went inside to change my clothes. It's kinda rare for Catherine to go out of the house. So, as much as possible, I like to take her out to play during weekends. Since I'm working as a model and my schedule has been pretty hectic for the past couple of months, it's a bit hard for us to bond.

Ever since the day we moved here three years ago, Catherine has changed. Her change is not quite obvious for some people, but for me, who knew her for so many years already, she changed. Well, she never voices out her wants and desires and she always keeps everything inside.

It's like she never had any goals at all. Very different from the way she was before. Catherine was before full of vitality and dreams, especially her passion for medicine. I know most people said that Catherine was working hard to be a doctor because of Winter, but that is not true.

It's partly because of Winter, but the major factor is that she likes the job. I can even remember the excitement and joy in her eyes when she got her medical license. Although her face at that time was expressionless, her eyes failed to hide her excitement.

However, now, her eyes have lost that spark. I can understand that what happened three years ago was a big blow to her. That's why, as much as possible, I'm keeping her company and pushing my luck to bring back the old Catherine.

Catherine's voice called me outside, so I hurriedly finished my make-up, then went out. Catherine will be driving us towards the city's mall, which is a 30-minute drive from our apartment. As the car drove, I played some music while silently scrolling through my phone.

After 30 minutes, we're already here. I went out of the car and walked towards the entrance while Catherine parked the car. When she arrived, together we entered the mall. "How about we grab some lunch first? It's almost time anyway. Is that okay, Cathy?"

She nodded, so we walked towards a famous restaurant inside the mall. The waiter came for our orders. "I'll have some Baked Spaghetti and a lemon juice, please. What about you, Cathy?"

She browsed through the menu for a moment. "I'll have Lasagna Roll-Ups and just water. Thank you." The waiter jotted down our order and walked away.

"So, I forgot to ask you this earlier. Why were you at the bar yesterday? I thought you were having a meeting with the photographer?"

I sipped a little on the tea served on the table before answering her. "In the morning, I met the photographer, and we signed a deal for the endorsement. We had some free time so she invited us to go to a bar to hang out. I accepted since there's no harm done anyway. And besides, I can hold my liquor quite well."

"But don't drink too much. I know you have a high tolerance for alcohol, but it's not good for your body to drink too much."

I smiled sheepishly at her. "Alright! Don't worry, I always take care of my body!"

"That's good." The meal arrived after a few minutes. We talked a lot, which made the whole meal enjoyable. I shared the events I'm about to attend and some endorsements and commercial deals that I'm about to sign. Catherine listened all throughout my rambling, which was not a surprise anyway.

After the meal, I excused myself to go to the restroom. She nodded and said she would go and pay the bill while waiting for me. Taking my bag with me, I headed towards the restroom. But, someone suddenly bumped into me, making my things fall on the ground.

"I'm sorry!" The man said and immediately helped me with taking my scattered things from the floor.

"No, it's okay! I didn't see…" Before I could finish my sentence, the man looked at me, making me gasp in surprise. 'Why is it him?'

His eyes widened when he saw me, but it immediately changed into excitement. His lips curved up into a smirk and he looked at me with great interest in his blue eyes. "We meet again Little Tigress!"

I stood up hurriedly and took my things from his hands, then walked away. Cathy was sitting at the table where we had our meal while checking her phone. "I thought you went to the restroom? Done already?"

"Let's go" Grabbing her hand, we walked out of the restaurant. Cathy looked puzzled when I suddenly dragged her out. But, as usual, she never said anything and just followed me.

I looked back at the restaurant and saw the man inside. He looked at me and I could see through the glass windows the clear smirk showing on his face. I looked away and walked far away from the place. 'What the hell was that? Of all people, why did I have to bump into him here? That freaking blue-eyed hooligan! I hope we won't see each other again!'