Chapter 48 - Forty Seven: Bracelet

Atlas

Becca sat in her office chair, scribbling something on a piece of paper on her desk. She had just returned from a conference meeting but didn't even remember a single word that was discussed there, mostly because she barely listened to anything. She hardly paid any attention.

It was like elementary school all over again.

Her body was physically present but her mind was nowhere close to the room. Though Becca had always been quite the daydreamer, she didn't have control over her mind as her thoughts never wanted to stay put, this time things were worse. It had been over two weeks since Becca last spoke to Leo, let alone caught a glimpse of him, and the compelling urge to see him was now munching on her like she was chewing gum.

Becca did try calling him again but her attempts still ended up like her previous ones, the call rang for a while and went straight to voicemail. She wasn't crying like a child anymore but the hurt was still there, the void in her growing larger by the minute. She even started piling up work for herself to take her mind off him, to preoccupy herself with something that wasn't thoughts of Leo but nothing seemed to work. It was like Leo was everywhere, he was in her thoughts, in her dreams but at the same time, he wasn't there. He wasn't with her and his absence broke her heart.

God, she needed to stop thinking about him and at least get a grip on herself. Leo didn't seem to want to talk, he probably didn't even want to remember that she existed so why was she thinking about him? Why was she still waiting for him to come back to her when she was the one who drove him away? She was the one who chose to end things between them so why was she hoping that he thought of her as much as she did of him.

It was insane, everything was just so weird. Becca had never thought of a man the way she thought of Leo, he was the only one who had ever made her feel like this and though he wasn't with her right now, she really couldn't blame him for it.

She was the one who pushed him away in the first place.

Still buried in her thoughts, Becca's office door opened slightly and Navaya peeked into the place but shook her head when she saw Becca looking lost in thought again. Navaya knew Becca was a big-time daydreamer like the girl could space out at any given moment, but this time it was worst. There was this sadness that lingered in Becca's eyes and Navaya didn't like it. She didn't want her friend to be unhappy. She might have been rooting for Leo when he was pursuing Becca, she had even been ecstatic when she heard they were dating but what she couldn't condone was him ignoring Becca like that. Now that wasn't okay, especially when it was making her miserable. Though the breakup was Becca's doing, she missed him a lot and if he was truly in love with her like he said he was, then shouldn't he look past the anger he felt, if indeed he was angry, and try to fix the relationship. Why was he making Becca suffer like that?

Navaya had noticed how Becca had been drowning herself with work in the office. She also knew why Becca was doing it. It was nothing more than a way to keep herself from thinking about Leo. She wanted to distract herself with all the work and despite it being kind of a good idea, Becca was overdoing it. She was unnecessarily stressing herself, she barely ate these days and it was starting to show on her. Her face now looked dull, she was tired, and to top it all up, she was getting skinnier.

After watching Becca from behind the door for a while, Navaya finally decided to step into the office. She walked towards her friend but Becca was too busy mindlessly staring at the papers on her desk to have even noticed that she wasn't alone in her office anymore. Navaya stood an arm's length away from Becca and she still didn't know she was there.

A sigh then left Navaya's lip as she took one last look at her friend who still seemed to be in a trance and saw how her desk was littered with paperwork. She didn't like seeing Becca this way, it was heartbreaking and badly needed to be fixed. 

What Becca needed was a breather, to have some fun for a change, not to coop herself up in her office and increase her workload unnecessarily. Becca needed to enjoy her life to the fullest, at least while she was still young.

" Becca" Navaya called out with a voice no louder than a whisper but Becca still didn't snap out of her trance. " Becca" Navaya called out again, this time a little louder and it snapped Becca out of her trance. Becca jerked back to reality, and with her eyes slightly widened, she whipped her head to look at Navaya.

" You sure know how to give someone a heart attack, don't you?" Becca adjusted on her sit and started fixing the mess on her desk.

" I wouldn't have to give you one if you would stop spacing out so damn much." Navaya sassed and leaned her body on the desk. Becca shot her a look before returning her attention to the documents she was arranging so she wouldn't mix them up. After a while of watching Becca sort out documents, Navaya soon realized that she was being ignored and pursed her lips.

" I'm going shopping, you should come along." Navaya innocently blinked at her friend and Becca pause what she was doing to look at her.

" Sorry, I can't." Becca refused and quickly resumed what she was doing but Navaya kept staring at her and a pout soon formed on her lips.

" Please," Navaya begged in a squeaky tone, sounding like a child and Becca just shook her head.

" Navaya, I said I can't. I'm busy." Becca refused again, but Navaya wasn't ready to back down just yet. She went closer to Becca, hugging her from behind, and rested her chin on her shoulder.

" Please, I don't want to go alone," Navaya said, breathing on Becca's neck in the process. Becca used her hand to move Navaya's head away from her shoulder and shot her a glare when she returned her head on her shoulder.

" Hey, I'm working here," Becca whined and pushed Navaya's head away again.

" That's all you ever do these days. It wouldn't hurt to take a break, relax and enjoy yourself, would it? Just accompany me shopping and who knows, you might also find something that you like over there." Navaya persuaded, trying to talk Becca into granting her request.

" Why do you want to go shopping anyway?" Becca was now annoyed, she didn't want to go out but also knew that she couldn't win against Navaya when she was being so persistent. Navaya wouldn't let her be until she got what she wanted from her.

" My house warming party is this weekend and I need supplies, did you forget? I told you about it before." Navaya said and stared at Becca, whose lips formed a small 'O'. 

Navaya just bought a new house and she did tell Becca about it before but it seemed like her so-called bestie hadn't been listening. 

' Was she busy thinking about Leo to even hear what I said? What kind of spell did he cast on her?" Navaya asked herself and snarled at Becca who instantly looked down and bit her lower lip.

" Okay fine, I will accompany. Just stop staring at me like that." Becca quickly gave in, feeling a little guilty that she had forgotten something as important as Navaya's house warming party and didn't want her to get offended by it.

And on hearing Becca's response, a smile lit up Navaya's face and her eyes gleamed with excitement.

" Great, let's go now then." Navaya stood up straight and Becca shot her a skeptical look.

" Now?" Becca whined and Navaya nodded.

" Yes now or else we won't get the good stuff." Navaya started pulling Becca's arm, trying to get her to stand up.

" But I still have work to do now. Later, okay?" Becca tried to negotiate but Navaya just shot her a glare and kept pulling her arm.

" Please." Navaya was ready to go all out this time. From glaring, Navaya instantly burst out the cutest puppy dog eyes in the history of puppy dog eyes, still pouting like a child and Becca lost the courage to refuse her.

" Fine!" Becca huffed and rolled her eyes. She stood up from her chair and picked up her purse but didn't miss the sly smirk that shamelessly danced on Navaya's lips. Becca watched Navaya happily skipped her way out of the office and shook her head before following behind her.

They drove to the mall but instead of shopping for supplies like they were supposed to do, Navaya got distracted, dragged Becca to the jewelry section, and started checking out necklaces instead. Becca aimlessly walked past the different jewelry kept for display until something caught her eye. A diamond bracelet that looked like it could cost a fortune. It was quite shinny and as Becca approached its protective glass case, she couldn't help marveling at its beauty.

But while admiring the pretty piece of jewelry, Becca recalled Leo's words. When he told her that he would always be watching over her like a guardian angel and then a weird idea popped into her head.

' If not test out how true Leo's words were?' Becca thought and smiled deviously at the bracelet. She glanced over her shoulder, to see if anyone was watching her and when she saw that everyone there was busy minding their own business, she returned her attention to the bracelet. Like a child staring at a new toy, Becca stared at the bracelet with the urge to have it dancing in her eyes. She reached out to touch the glass but paused when she heard someone calling her name.

She turned around and saw Navaya heading her way with six shopping bags in her hands.

" Becca, have you seen something you like yet?" Navaya said when she got to where Becca stood.

" Yeah but never mind, I don't want to buy it anymore." Becca pouted and glanced back at the bracelet beside her.

" Is this it?" Navaya asked, pointing at the diamond bracelet and Becca nodded. " Then why don't you want to buy it anymore? It's beautiful and would look great on you."

Becca dramatically whipped her head to Navaya and her eyes widened as if she had just heard something outrageous.

" Have you seen how much it cost? Do you think I have a money tree in my apartment?" Becca asked and Navaya rolled her eyes at her.

" Stop exaggerating, it's not like you can't buy at least three of it." Navaya folded her arms over her chest and raised a sassy brow at Becca.

" I just don't want to spend money on unnecessary things and even though I would love to have it, I just can't," Becca responded, causing Navaya's brows to furrow in confusion.

Becca then chose to ignore the confusion on Navaya's face and started walking ahead.

" Hey, wait up." Navaya snapped out of her confused trance and quickly walked after Becca to catch up with her.

" Did you buy everything you wanted?" Becca asked after Navaya finally caught up with her.

" Yes, but are you sure you don't want to buy the bracelet?" Navaya asked to confirm and Becca nodded.

" Yeah, I sure," Becca answered and they both left the mall. Since they both brought their cars, Becca drove back to Atlas to finish up the work she had left, then went back to her apartment.

Once Becca got to her apartment's building, she took the elevator to the top floor and walked straight to her penthouse. On reaching her apartment, Becca noticed a small wrapped box in front of her door and quickened her pace towards it.

Then without even thinking, she opened the box to take a look and a gasp escaped her lips when she saw what it was. 

She dipped her fingers inside the box and held out the same bracelet that caught her eye at the mall. Though she had wanted to test Leo, she never really thought he would do what he told her, that he would actually be watching over her. And as she stared at the bracelet in her hand, she felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

She then saw a note lying on the floor and quickly picked it up to read.

' You wanted to test me, to check if I was really looking after you, now you have your answer. Consider this as a little gift from me to you, my love.' 

After reading what was written on the note, Becca didn't even need to think twice before figuring out who wrote it. She knew it couldn't be anyone other than Leo and soon hot tears began streaming down her face. Holding the note in one hand and the bracelet in the other, she sobbed and muttered under her breath.

" I miss you so much."