Trust.
"Something that we place confidence in someone. Someone we believe can be relied on upon without a second thought."
It is something that Cecilia Ramos would like to earn from Senthie Salvador, her best friend.
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"Finally, I'm home!" CECILE uttered under her breath. She went straight upstairs to check up on Senthie. She knocked on the door and then she opened it as she called for her best friend's name. "Sen?"
Cecile wasn't surprised to see her best friend asleep. Her arms on the table while her head resting on them, Cecile thought that Senthie might have never realized she dozed off, or perhaps she was finally relieved that she had finished the gown and her exhaustion had just taken over since she hadn't cleaned the studio yet. The studio was messy. There were strands of threads, pieces of fabrics, red furs, and crumpled papers scattered on the floor, so as her table--nonetheless, Cecile was still amazed by her best friend. As she came closer, a tear fell on her cheek.
"She really..." she trailed off as she gazed upon the mannequin wearing the gown that Senthie made. The top was a halter turtleneck that was made of red fur. The chest was covered in see-through red fabric and the gown was also off-the-shoulder style--just like Belle's of Beauty and the Beast--but it was also made of red fur, and it was low enough to reveal a bit of cleavage. The skirt of the gown was A-cut line and of course, it was also made of fur. As she walked around to see its back, she thought that it was too sexy--the back was also see-through as if it was backless--from the upper back down to the three inches above the tailbone. Cecile wondered how the customer would wear it since it had no zipper at the back, so she tried to pull it a bit then she was amazed when the see-through fabric stretched.
Cecile's hands went to her mouth as she turned her gaze to the sleeping Senthie. "You're incredible."
Cecile didn't bother waking up Senthie and just cleaned the studio as quietly as possible. She put on a blanket on her best friend before she went to the bedroom and called it a day.
Morning came and Cecile woke up early to take the gown off the mannequin and bring it with her since it was due today. She left a note on the table for Senthie to read once she had woken up.
In the note, she wrote, "Good morning, Sen! You looked peaceful and sound asleep so I didn't wake you up. Take it easy and just trust me on this. Let me meet her!"
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Cecile was on the phone while boxing the gown. Her head was tilted to the side and her shoulder was raised a bit, the phone in between. "Noted, ma'am. Thank you."
She waited for the customer to hang up the phone before she did the same and continued what she was doing. The gown was now folded to fit in the purple box and she only needed to put the cover and put a violet ribbon as if it was a box of cake. When she was done, she heaved a sigh of relief. "Perfectly done!"
She lifted the box on the corner with a bit of effort since the gown was a bit heavy because of the fur. She blew out air and smiled. "Now I just have to wait for Sen!"
A few minutes later and a voice filled the air. "Cecile!"
Cecile's eyes widened as soon as her eyes landed on her best friend.
"Sen, you're here—" Her words were cut off when she surveyed Senthie. She was panting, crouching, her hands on her knees, and... she looked messy. Her hair was uncombed and her clothes were still like yesterday. Yellow t-shirt and shorts.
Cecile got out of the counter, walked towards her best friend's way at the entrance, and pulled her inside the store--passersby were throwing odd stares at Senthie.
When they were inside--not visible from outside, Cecile wrinkled her forehead at Senthie who had now regained her breath. "You didn't change? No shower? Did you just go straight here after you woke up?"
Senthie glared at her as she folded her arms. "That is not the point here. How are things here? You didn't get into a fight with her again, right? Right?"
Cecile blinked at her and smirked. She placed a hand on Senthie's shoulder as she said, "easy, Sen. Everything's under my control, and besides, we didn't meet, she just called and said we could just deliver her gown to her house." Cecile pointed at the box. "See? Can you put even just a little bit of trust in me?"
Senthie sighed in relief. "That's cool. I guess I was worried over nothing."
Cecile knew her best friend for being independent. She would do everything by herself, she wouldn't bother anyone, she wouldn't rely on anyone, she wouldn't cry for help, she was used to doing everything alone, and it was making Cecile's heart ached for Senthie. Cecile knew that her best friend didn't want to burden anyone. And even if Senthie was having a hard time, she would just keep it to herself. Sometimes, Cecile would wonder if they were really best friends, but she would just shrug it off because she believed that Senthie wouldn't be Senthie if she wasn't like that.
Cecile rolled her eyes and giggled. "So now, you can just go home and take a bath, okay?"
Cecile pushed her best friend's back towards the exit. Senthie didn't resist and instead just sniffed herself--inside her t-shirt and even her underarms. "But I'm not smelly."
Cecile narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, losing her patience with her best friend's stubbornness. "Yes, you're not. But you do look like one."
As soon as Senthie went off to get back home, and finally back again to the store after grooming herself, Cecile went to the nearest delivery express with the customer's gown.
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A few hours later at Taylor's residence...
KASSANDRA TAYLOR was lying on the lounge chair outdoor in the poolside, with a phone in her hand and the other one was holding a large cup of strawberry milkshake.
Their house was like a mansion nearly as big as Anderson's residence. Their family owned the number one brand of cosmetics in the country--Rebeau Cosmetics.
Kassandra sipped her strawberry milkshake before she put it on the round tray table beside her. On her phone, she was checking her Instagram post likes and comments. As usual, her latest photoshoot pictures earned a lot of attention--about 600K plus likes and 75K plus comments. Kassandra Taylor was an international model--a runway model to be exact. She wasn't popular in the Philippines, but Internationally--especially in Europe, she was.
"Excuse me, Señorita, you have a package delivered," the maid courteously flashed in front of her and lifted the huge box a bit.
Kassandra raised a brow as she reached for her drink and sipped after she ordered the maid to open the box.
After removing the outer box, a purple box with a violet ribbon came on display.
Kassandra glanced over the box and raised a brow when she noticed the words written on the side of the box. It was from Fashion Sen's.
"Señorita, it's a box again. Would you like me to open it for you?"
A smirk formed on Kassandra's lips as she shook her head. "No, leave it. I'll open it myself."
Kassandra didn't expect that they could finish the gown on time. If it weren't for the incident last time--when she had a clash with the woman who appeared of a sudden, she wouldn't demand that deadline from them. Kassandra was just curious about the store since it was her first time hearing the Fashion Sen's and she wondered how a nameless brand got to run a business in Grand Mall. It was unusual, strange, and didn't make sense to her. She knew how hard and how picky the GMC was--she knew it since the Rebeau Cosmetics also had a lease contract from them. She was at the Grand Mall opening because she was going to visit their new branch. GMC would only accept well-known brands, so how did that woman manage to get a lease contract from GMC? Did she have connections? Did she know someone who had authority over GMC? Or perhaps, she was just impressive and her business had the potential to boom? She wanted to know and she ended up buying a gown for her 22nd birthday--though it was still a few months away. Her plan was to get a customized gown from a well-known designer, but she postponed it and decided to give Fashion Sen's a chance to prove itself if it was deserving to have a place in Grand Mall.
As soon as she opened the box, she traced the fabric of the gown with her hand, slowly, until her hand touched the fur and she shivered. She shivered in excitement. She loved the fur and it was a good choice that the Fashion Sen's decided to make the skirt of the gown made of fur. Kassandra stood up straight as she pulled up the gown and put it close to her body. She liked the design--no, she loved it. She could imagine herself looking like a seductive princess. A smirk formed on her mouth as she hugged the gown.
"She's a woman of her words. She finished this magnificent gown in just three days and all I could say is--she deserves to run her business in Grand Mall."
Kassandra laid down on the lounge chair with the gown still in her arms. The smile on her lips never left and then she muttered to herself, "he really knows how to see potential in anything."
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Hello, Noomiells!
Thank you for reading this chapter! Hope you liked it :)
What do you think of Cecile and Senthie's friendship? Do you want a friend like Cecile?
How about Kassandra Taylor? Did you expect the customer to have a scene? Do you think she will have an important role in Senthie's life? If yes, do you have any guesses?
I would like to know your opinion. Please, let me know! :D