"Naomi!"

As soon as Naomi stumbled into her apartment that night with her heels in her left hand and her clutch in her right, the three girls who had been camping out in her apartment rushed to the door almost immediately to usher their friend in.

Once Naomi got herself changed into her favorite pair of pyjamas, all four girls immediately took their seats in the living room and buried themselves under an abundance of blankets and pillows before prodding at Naomi to spill the beans on tonight's events.

"She did what?" Jen asked incredulously, her mouth now hung agape after Naomi had filled them in on what went down tonight at the restaurant.

"You're telling me," said Brie, whose mouth was full of popcorn, "that Mackenzie Haywood actually said the words 'i'm sorry' to both you and Chris?"

Naomi nodded in response before adding, "And Ben. She apologized to all three of us."

"Wow," Emma muttered under her breath, her voice laced with shock as she earned a soft chuckle from Naomi.

"Did she say anything else?" Brie quizzed, quirking an eyebrow at her friend who was sat diagonally across from her.

Naomi shook her head in response before shoving a handful of salted popcorn into her mouth. Jen, Brie and Emma still had a look of nothing but beffudlement on their faces as they continued to glance at one another back and forth.

"But I don't think I'm buying this apology thing, to be honest," Naomi piped up after some time.

This remark caught the attention of her three best friends and within an instant, they were all shuffling a little closer to Naomi, prompting for her to go on and elaborate a little on what she had just confessed.

"I mean, even before she pulled a chair over to mine and Ben's table, she was already looking out the window as though she was expecting for the paps to be there. And I think Ben noticed this, too. I'm not sure about Chris though. . ." Naomi explained, her thumbs now fiddling with the hem of the throw pillow in her lap. "And as soon as she apologized, her eyes immediately darted over to the large windows---and within seconds, we could see the paps outside with their cameras!"

"Oh my, God."

"You mean to tell me she staged this whole apology thing right from the very beginning?"

"What a fucking she-devil."

Naomi merely nodded once again, her lips pursed as she tried to comprehend how someone could even be this insincere with a small and simple apology. While Jen, Emma and Brie were talking among themselves and sharing their opinions, Naomi was pulled out of her daze when her phone let out a soft ding! next to her.

From: Ben

naomi, i'm so sorry tonight didn't go as planned. i'd initially wanted tonight to go as smoothly as possible, seeing as it would be the last time i'd see you before your flight to georgia. i want to make it up to you for tonight since it wasn't exactly the dinner we wanted so, i was wondering if we could grab a quick brunch tomorrow but that is if you'd allow it. x

By the time Naomi got to the end of the text, a soft smile had already crept its way on to her lips. She didn't have the faintest idea as to how a person like Ben could have grazed her life in the most beautiful way possible but in that very moment, while her best friends were busy talking about Mackenzie, she felt a small swirling feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her feel a little queasy because even though Ben was such a sweetheart of a man, her mind couldn't help but drift off to a certain man she'd come to care about so deeply; Chris.

While she was a little upset that she may not be able to see Ben and her closest friends as often as she pleased, she was, no doubt, looking forward to working with Chris on their new movie in Georgia.

. . . . . .

"Rough night, Chris?" Winston asked, his voice laced with concern as he fumbled with his set of keys.

Chris looked to his right to find his neighbour, Winston, having difficulties with looking for the right key to unlock his front door. Lightly chuckling to himself, Chris left his apartment door ajar and walked over to lend a helping hand to his neighbour, who had long lived in the unit next to Chris', way before Chris even moved in.

"Why do you carry so many keys with you, Winston?" Chris asked curiously before pushing the right key into the keyway, successfully unlocking Winston's front door.

The sixty-seven-year-old man thanked Chris for helping him with finding the right key, giving him a light pat on the shoulder. "My wife and I moved a lot back in the days and these set of keys right here. . . belonged to her," said Winston as he lifted the set of keys that were dangling on his index finger. "She was never one to let go of old things. . . which was why she never threw any of the spare keys she made for all of the houses we moved out of over the past forty years."

The forlorn expression that washed over Chris' face could not be helped as he peered at his neighbour with a heavy heart, recalling when Winston's wife, Fiona, passed away a couple of years ago. He admired how the elderly man carried around his late wife's set of keys just so he could have a piece of her wherever he went.

"But enough about me!" Winston cried, turning his attention back to Chris as a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "When will it be your turn, my boy?"

"My turn?"

Chris was no stranger to these sort of questions. His family and friends have always been pestering for him to settle down soon, given the fact that he wasn't getting any younger but he's always managed to brush them off by saying he hasn't found the right one for him yet. He wasn't the type to settle down with just anyone as he never wanted to settle down for the sake of settling down and pleasing others.

So, with a small smile plastered on his face, Chris handed the set of keys back to Winston and said, "Not anytime soon, Winston. Not anytime soon."

. . . . . .

WhatsApp Messages with Naomi

Chris
naomi, are you still awake?

Naomi
hey, chris
yeah, i'm still awake
the girls and i are watching clueless at the moment

Chris
i thought you said brie wanted to watch 10 things i hate about you

Naomi
yeah but jen wanted to see how paul looked like again when he was younger

Chris
ah
sounds pretty much like jen

Naomi
it does, doesn't it?
anyway, what's up?

Chris
nothing
just wanted to check in to see if you're alright, especially given tonight's events

Naomi
haha chris, i'm a big girl
and i'm a tough one at that
i won't easily crumble just because someone's trying to make things difficult for me

Chris
i'm really sorry about all of this, naomi.
you shouldn't be dragged into this. both you and ben.
the two of you are honestly the nicest people i've met and it kills me to know that you guys have been dragged into this mess that should only involve me and mackenzie.

Naomi
to be honest, i was surprised to see that you'd actually agree to meet up with her.

Chris
rdj, seb and mackie were actually against the whole idea of me going.
but i just thought that she wouldn't do anything like this again.
guess i was wrong.

Naomi
you didn't see it coming, so don't blame yourself.
her apology should have been nothing but sincere. she shouldn't have involved the paps but she did and we're going to have to accept it either way.
let's just try and forget about her, okay?
i think after this whole "public apology" thing, she shouldn't be bothering you anymore because she's probably restored her good girl reputation.

Chris
you're right. let's just forget about her and move on.
but naomi, i really do have to apologize.
i ruined your dinner with ben tonight. i'd apologize to him again but i don't have his number.

Naomi
chris, it's fine! i'm serious. ben's not the kind of guy who would get all petty over something. if anything, he's worried about you. he just wants you to know that everything that happened tonight was not your fault. you didn't see it coming.
ben's an understanding person, so don't worry.

Chris
wow, you must really know him very well. . .

Naomi
ben and i have been friends for years. we've always been there for each other, especially recently since we reconnected just a little while ago. so i guess you could say that i know him like the back of my hand.

Chris
you mean you guys didn't stay in touch before this?

Naomi
we did but he's always been in london more than new york. and i've been in new york for a couple of years now, having moved here permanently after i met the girls. ben's only been in new york recently for the shooting of his new project.

Chris
ah, it's no wonder you two are close.

Naomi
i guess you could say that

Chris
sorry, i didn't mean to pry or anything

Naomi
no no, you're not!
don't worry!
it's nice to know that you and i can talk to each other without there being some sense of awkwardness between us. i've never once felt uncomfortable sharing these things with you.

Chris
you're a gem, naomi.
and to be honest, i've never felt uncomfortable sharing things with you either. heck, i'm pretty sure my sisters even shared some secrets with you that i don't know about.

Naomi
oh, they sure did
and it's gonna stay a secret forever

Chris
it's no wonder my sisters love you

Naomi
everybody does
jk 🙊

Chris
they sure do
MESSAGE DELETED
anyway, i think you should probably get some sleep

Naomi
yeah, i gotta be up early tomorrow. i'm meeting ben for brunch.

Chris
oh, that's nice. . .
MESSAGE DELETED
that's great! ben's a really great guy.

Naomi
he really is.
anyway, i should really hit the hay now
goodnight, christopher evans
see you on monday morning!

Chris
goodnight, naomi
see you monday

---
a/n; i stg i am the worst at updating

i am terribly sorry for not updating this book yet again. i know it's been roughly six weeks since i posted chapter 44 but i honestly did not expect this semester to be this hectic right from the very beginning, especially given the fact that the first two weeks of every new semester are usually quite light & easy-going. believe it or not, this chapter took me weeks to write because i simply did not have the time at all and it sucks because i miss writing so much.

anyway, i'm back with this chapter and i do hope it wasn't too bad. i'd say the next few chapters are gonna be filled with some slight drama (?) so, brace yourselves! 😌

i know i say this all the time but thank you so much for all your love & support on this book! ❤ i truly cannot tell you just how grateful i am for every single one of you and thank you for being so patient with me. i know only eight new chapters have been written since the (minor) rewrite but you all have never ceased to amaze me with your lovely comments! 🖤😩

i love you all. x