"What happened to the remaining strength?" Ruby couldn't help but ask with her eyebrows raised along with a smug smile.
"Well, you guess?" Riley smiled slightly.
"Don't tell me your cousin caused some trouble again?" Ruby squinted her eyes in question.
"Bingo! You guessed right. And as a result, I wasn't able to present." Riley reveals.
"What! What do you mean by that?" Ruby said as her face scrunched up in a frown.
"I remembered the time she shredded one of your favorite dresses. I can't believe she often goes unpunished." Ruby clenched her fist.
"Well, it has finally led me to apply for an internship program." Riley sighed.
"What! Both Ruby and Veda screamed and stopped in action of what they were doing as their eyes widened.
"You scared me." Riley placed one hand on her chest because when her two friends freaked out, she wasn't expecting it since they both knew her cousin really well.
"Riley, how can you still joke right now? You continue to allow this girl to bully you all the time. At this point, I feel you're already immune to her attacks." Ruby chimed.
"Riley, are you okay?" Veda asked with a worried expression as she picked up the phone staring directly at Riley through the screen.
"I'm fine, you don't need to worry. Besides, we still have other things to talk about, so I'll leave that for tomorrow when we meet." Riley smiled after uttering these words. Little did her two friends know that she wanted to tell them about her upcoming marriage.
"Girls, I'm going to sleep now, I really had a long day today." Riley yawned before waving to her friends.
"Alright, sweet dreams." Ruby whispered as her eyes dulled a little from the way it brightened while they were chatting before.
"Have a good night sleep." Veda waved with her racket as she smiled.
The three friends waved goodbye before ending the call since it's getting late at night. Ruby is known to be a social butterfly among them and wanted to chat more, but she's currently battling with the drafts for her designs.
Veda stopped practicing for the day and went home after they ended the call. Riley also entered the bathroom to clean up for the night.
Shortly after, she came out wearing a purple-colored satin pajama. Next, she went to her drafting table and placed her laptop and tablet on it. Before settling herself on the bed to sleep.
Towards the midnight hour, Zoey staggered in drunk as usual. Most times when she goes for her modeling class, she comes back late at night drunk to stupor. This is the reason Aunt Mia told her daughter to do things that would help her in future, using Riley as an example.
Mia watched her daughter stagger into her room as she slams the door loudly. She didn't sleep till she saw her daughter entered the house.
She felt her blood boiling as she clenched her fist and frowned watching Zoey stagger into her room.
Zoey wasn't aware her mother watched her the whole time till she entered her room. Not just for that night but almost every night. She fell flat on her bed immediately she entered, forgetting to take off her clothes.
Mrs Perlman entered the house very early in the morning after she cleared up things at the hospital. The first seminar took about 4 hours before it ended. While the meeting with the Director ended after 3hours. She spent the rest of the night attending to in-patients.
Immediately she came in, she walked into Riley's room to check on her. Mrs Perlman smiled while watching her daughter sleep so soundly. She had a proud smile on her face as she brushed some of her daughter's hair to the side.
Mrs Perlman has always been proud of her daughter right from an early age. Knowing her daughter loves to make her happy, she had nothing else to wish for. You could even say Riley is her mother's crown jewel.
You should see how Mrs Perlman always beamed with pride whenever she talks about her daughter at the hospital.
Moments later, Mrs Perlman came out of Riley's room, closing the door gently as she strolled into her own room.
She sat on the task chair immediately she entered while trying to arrange some documents on her desk. As if remembering to do something she instantly searched her bag for her phone.
She found it seconds later and dialed a number on her phone in a hurry. She was calling Mrs Lucy Gilbert.
"Hello, Lucy? Did you ask him for me? What did he say? Did he agree to do it?" Mrs Perlman bit on her thumb nail continuously.
"Lilian, don't rush me." Mrs Gilbert replied at other side of the phone as she sips her coffee. She was currently strolling from the kitchen into her room.
"I asked him already. He has agreed to do it." Mrs Gilbert announced while she sits on her task chair dropping the cup of coffee on the desk.
"Really? Ah, I'm so happy to hear that." Mrs Perlman smiled widely placing her right hand on her chest as she sighed in relief. "I really hope things work out between them, Lucy."
Mrs Perlman bit on her lip while asking this question. Deep in her heart, she always wanted Riley to have a happy marriage just like she and her husband. But she could only trust someone she is familiar with to make it happen.
"You don't need to worry about that. They'll grow on each other once they start to live under one roof." Mrs Gilbert chuckled.
"Lucy, you really think so. I just want my princess to have a happy marriage. Entrusting her to him… is the only thing I can do to help as…..." Mrs Perlman paused her words as she caressed the small picture frame on her desk that included Riley and her father at the beach.
In the picture, Riley's visible dimple along with her big smile says how much she loved her father while he carried her on his shoulders. It seems like Mrs Perlman was the one that captured the moment of father and daughter unaware because they were both staring at each other. She continued to caress the picture as drop of tears flowed down her cheek.
She just had a flashback to that time, remembering how engaging their family time was when her husband was alive.
"Lilian, keep your mind at rest, our princess is in good hands." Mrs Gilbert reassured while caressing a picture frame on her desk too, containing three ladies looking their 20's with big smiles on their faces. Mrs Perlman and Mrs Gilbert was the familiar face in the picture, but the third person was the face Mrs Gilbert had caressed the most.
"I miss the good old days." Mrs Gilbert blurted and sniffled after.
Mrs Perlman smiled slightly moment later. "Same here." She mumbled.