Despite the plethora of very expensive stores, downtown was bustling by the time we arrived. Posh boutiques lined the streets and I felt so out of place. Half of the store names I couldn’t recognize and it was very different from the malls I usually went shopping at. 

Chels was beyond excited. She had been bugging me to go shopping downtown for ages. But shopping with Chels always turned into an all day event, and my introverted battery needs recharging every four hours. She basically leaped out the door before the car came to a stop, dragging me with her. I flashed an apologetic smile at the driver, who smiled back politely as he ran around to close our door. 

“Mel!” I heard Malaki scream as we got closer to a boutique with heels hanging from the ceiling. He pulled me in for a big hug, as if I was a long lost friend he hadn’t seen in years. I giggled as he pulled away and circled me, taking in my outfit with his mouth wide open. He turned to Rayyan with a puppy dog face and asked, “Can we please take her home? She’s too adorable for your brute brother to be manhandling her.”

Before I could protest, Theo chimed in from behind, “I am actually very delicate, thank you very much.” And pulled me in for a hug, kissing the crown of my head. I laughed at the three men and turned towards Chels. She was smirking with her phone pressed to her ear. “Everyone, this is my little sister Chelsea. Chels this is Rayyan, Malaki, and Theo.”

“Well hellooo. Nice to see you again gray sweats. And congratulations to the very cute couple. I love your heels,” she stated as she walked towards the store with her phone still pressed to her ear. Malaki and Rayyan followed.

“Gray sweats?” Theo whispered to me. “That night she walked in on us, you were wearing gray sweats,” I whispered back. He nodded, remembering the night as we sped up to join the others in the store. Chels and Malaki were deep in conversation over the designer of some heels Chels was standing in front of while Rayyan looked at his phone, obviously bored. 

Wanting to avoid being dragged into the conversation, I skimmed a display nearby with the cutest lavender ankle boots. The material was matte leather and I tried to think if I had anything in my closet to match. Chels grabbed the boots from my sight and asked a nearby worker for my size. “Chels I don’t even have any clothes to match it,” I whined, rolling my eyes as the attendant walked away. 

Chels ignored me and grabbed the matching tote bag, holding it up to my chest. Malaki joined her and grabbed a cross body purse that was more my style. She nodded approvingly and returned the tote to the display. Rayyan and I exchanged amused glances at each other and followed the fashionistas around the store. 

While Chels had way to many friends for me to remember, I had never seen her click so easily with someone before. Watching her and Malaki shop together was heartwarming. They looked like childhood friends. A few times I tried to protest shoes or bags, they would both shush me and keep going about the store. They were so in sync. 

Theo stayed by my side, quietly observing me. Once we made it to the register, Chels paid for everything, including Malaki’s stack of boxes and bags. “Babe, I think I’ll take you home instead! Spoiling me like this,” Malaki stated, kissing Chels’ cheek. 

“Excuse me. While I can assume she’s not your type, she’s definitely spoken for.” I turned around and saw Remy stating behind us with his hands in the pockets of his expensive tailored suit. 

He rounded us and grabbed his giggling wife, “Hey bunny.” Remy kissed her forehead and grabbed her bags while Rayyan grabbed Malaki’s. Remy walked towards me and gave me a side hug, “Hopefully she hasn’t had you out shopping too long,” he whispered to me before pulling away.

“Well you know my sister,” I joked. After introducing him to everyone, we left the store and headed towards a small cafe. Malaki was shockingly silent, keeping his eyes on Remy as we followed behind. 

The cafe was beautiful. Flowers hung from the ceiling, making it seem as if we were in a tropical outdoor garden. After we ordered, Chels broke the comfortable silence, “Malaki, what’s up? You keep staring at my husband.” We all froze. 

Clearing his throat, Malaki spoke, “Sorry. But are you Remington Maxwell Bamford?” Confused, I glanced at Chels and Remy. How did Malaki know Remy? Chels and Remy laughed as Rayyan’s mouth fell open. “Yes,” Remy answered between laughs. Malaki’s mouth dropped open as well.

Apparently, Remy was very well known due to his family’s wealth. I knew the Bamfords were wealthy, but I didn’t think they were known by normal people. Malaki and Rayyan asked Chels and Remy a bunch of questions about the latest interviews and business ventures of the Bamfords while Theo and I enjoyed our drinks. 

Just as Malaki was asking Remy about a possible rumor, his phone rang. Remy’s face lit up and Chels rolled her eyes at the name. It was a lion emoji and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Great. Leo is calling. Remy answered and spoke to his best friend. I tried to zone the conversation out, but my eyes shot up as he mentioned to Leo that he was hanging with my friends and I downtown. Chels elbowed her oblivious husband and his smile fell. He mouthed an apology to me and excused himself from the table.

Theo eyed me confused. Malaki, absolutely oozing with disbelief screamed, “Omg! Mel was that Leo as in Leonardo Winston Arnoult?” 

I sipped my tea to avoid the question and Chels took that as her opportunity to fill everyone in. Remy introduced me to Leo when they were planning their wedding. As Chels’ maid of honor and Remy’s bestman, we would be working together to help them plan things. Leo and I started hooking up here and there when he was in town. Due to his family’s business he traveled a lot. 

Fast forward to six months ago, when Leo was in town. He asked me to marry him and I turned him down. He left for Russia a few days later and I blocked him on everything. Leo was not in love with me. Leo spent most of the time we spent together trying to change me into this perfect housewife. During the proposal, Leo made it very clear that if I accepted, I would need to quit my job and travel by his side because that’s what the women in his family did to support their husbands and I “made chump change” compared to the billions I would be worth as his spouse. 

Thankful Chels spared the details and gave them a watered down version of our history. She told the group we dated off and on for a few years and I turned down his proposal at the beginning of the year. Theo sat quietly next to me staring out of the window in front of us. I couldn’t really gauge his reaction to all of this new information. It wasn’t something I had mentioned in our many late night conversations and I didn’t know if he was upset or not. 

Remy returned to our table with a guilty smile wavering on his face, and I internally started to panic. The last thing I wanted to do was see Leo without talking to Theo privately.