THE BILLIONAIRES LOVER Twisted fate

“Daphne dear, are you awake? Audrey is here to see you,” a calm female voice, belonging to a woman in her late forties, resounded just outside Daphne's room. Daphne's closed doors were the only obstacle preventing them from seeing each other.

Turning in her bed, Daphne reluctantly rose to sit up. She looked at the clock and sighed inwardly. “Isn't it too early to visit someone?” she thought, but she didn't let the thought linger. After all, the person in question was Audrey, her childhood friend, known for her unusual behaviour.

“Baby, are you awake?” The calm voice of Daphne's mum came again, snapping her out of her reverie. “I am, Mum. Wait a second!” Daphne replied as she unhurriedly climbed out of bed. She walked towards the closed door at a normal pace and unlocked it. Greeted by the beautiful smile of her mother, which masked her fears well, she smiled and greeted her warmly. Her mother stretched out her arms in response to welcome her in a warm embrace, and she happily accepted the invitation.

“Pardon me if I don't join in your little family moment,” a rather deep sensual voice came from just behind Daphne's mum. Raising her head over her mother's shoulders, she could see well who the voice belonged to. It was Audrey. She was dressed in a white shirt and denim shorts, her long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She was 5’7” tall with bright hazel eyes. Audrey was more of a wild card compared to Daphne, but she was always supportive, and Daphne couldn't ask for a better friend.

“Oh, sorry, didn't see you there, ” Daphne said sarcastically with a smug smile on her face. “Oh, no problem. Are you done with your ‘inside life’ yet?” Audrey replied, returning the smug smile and folding her hands to establish her point. Daphne scoffed and looked away in annoyance.

“Okay, young ladies, I'll leave you two to yourselves. I'll inform you when breakfast is ready. Have fun!” Daphne's mum excused herself immediately as she made her way down the stairs towards the kitchen to make breakfast. It was already heated between Daphne and Audrey, and it was solely because of Audrey's last remark. Though Daphne wasn't surprised, she wasn't too happy about what she said either.

Turning around, she walked into her room in large strides, with Audrey following. Sitting on her bed, Daphne raised one of her eyebrows inquisitively. “Don't give me that look. I know it's too early to visit, but what I'm about to tell you simply can't wait. It might just be what you need to get yourself out of this hole you've been hiding in,” Audrey said with enthusiasm.

Daphne, on the other hand, wasn't too excited to hear what she had to say. “Audrey, we've spoken about this. You never listen to me, do you? I've made it clear over and over again. Don't you understand? I don't want to go outside!”

Audrey didn't reply but instead brought out her phone swiftly and started to type away. Soon she gave a satisfying smile and turned to stare at Daphne. “I'm not going to listen to anything you have to say, young lady. You've always said what you wanted to say. Now listen. I'm your best friend, and we've known each other for years. Best friends don't just chat and make trouble, but they look out for each other too. Let me look out for you, Daphne.”

She was satisfied seeing that Daphne was not protesting any longer. With a pitiful look on her face, however, she lay back down on the bed, lying partially on it. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she said barely audibly, “Okay, what is it?”

“It's about your health…” Audrey started but was interrupted by Daphne almost immediately, who had a startled expression on her face. However, Audrey didn't stop this time. She continued talking, not paying Daphne any attention.“It's not a complete dead end, Daphne…” she said with her eyes glued to her phone screen.

“Wait a minute, Audrey…” Daphne protested, rubbing her numb eyelids with her fingers.