"Sorry! I'm having a blonde moment," Louisa said and started the car. She tried to control her temper and told herself, 'this isn't the time or the place. As much as I want to kick Claire out of my car, she's still useful to me.'

  "That's cool. We are still friends?" Could they still be friends, after that? Claire wasn't so sure.

  Louisa and Claire arrived at the studio owned by Louisa's friend. Showing her friend her runway walk, Claire knocked it out of the park. Her friend clapped enthusiastically. "Bravo!" she said. "You have so much potential! Welcome to the world of modeling! Now, as for the rules……" Claire was now part of the agency, which meant she had to do everything they told her to.

  It was almost ten o'clock when Leena rolled out of bed. It was too late to fix anything for Claire —— she would have arranged for her own breakfast by now. But she had to check on her to see if she was okay. She skipped brushing her teeth and washing her face and raced downstairs. But where was Claire? She couldn't find her anywhere! Maybe in the study? No, not there either. It was like she'd vanished into thin air.

  "Where did she go? She didn't even leave a note," Leena murmured and returned to her room to grab her phone. She opened her nightstand drawer, and saw her phone, in pieces, lying on a scarf. She had to laugh at her bad memory. 'Leaky like a sieve, ' she thought. She had completely forgotten the thugs had destroyed it last night. She had to get a new one as soon as possible. A cellphone was just too useful not to have.

  But she s

  eel them start to ache. She felt as if a dangerous person were stalking her.

  "You sound scared. If you had the guts to hide from me, you should have the guts to listen to me vent," Patricia said. She was as blunt and passionate as Belinda, so she and Leena got along well.

  "Hide? I don't know anything about that," Leena replied, sticking out her tongue. 'Girl, you want to get together with me so you could bitch me out? No way! Not happening!' Leena thought to herself.

  "Fine. Go on! Keep pretending! What? Do you have Alzheimer's now? Do you need me to help remind you what you've done?" Patricia said, then snatched up the car keys and rushed out the door. She wanted details. She was going to grill Leena about her wedding.

  "No, thanks. I'm too weak to fight about it. I'm not disabled," Leena replied, looking miserable. Anyway, she knew that she couldn't get out of this.

  "That's the spirit! So, my place or yours? Choose, or I'll choose for you!" Patricia teased, sitting in her car calmly and waiting for the answer.