𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 & 𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 ━ girl meets world²

5│AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

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❛ ʟᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀ & ʟᴀᴄᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ
ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ꒱


❝ THE SECRET OF CHANGE IS
TO FOCUS ALL YOUR ENERGY
NOT ON FIGHTING THE OLD,
BUT ON BUILDING THE NEW  ❞

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Juliet pulled back the leaf of the plant to carefully pour water onto the soil that was hiding underneath it. Kendrick and Celeste were on one of their many trips out of town, this time due to the latter's job with Sotheby's that called for her to go to France to acquire some art pieces. Being the good friend that she was, Juliet had happily agreed to tend to the couples' townhouse while they were gone.

It was a bright, airy building with lighter colors than she would normally prefer— especially with her current (sorry, past) mood— and there was definitely a richer atmosphere than her own neighborhood. (She did have to admit that Kendrick and Celeste had a leg up on her as they weren't still paying off student debt. She could have lived closer to them, but Juliet was determined to make her own way without relying on her father's money.) Some of her jobs while tending to the house were to bring in the mail, take care of the plants and keep dust from accumulating on the surfaces. Sometimes she stayed longer to work on her dissertation to make the house have a lived-in feel so it wouldn't sit empty for too long.

Her laptop was currently sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting for her to continue her research project. Was she procrastinating by taking extra-good care of the plants? Maybe; she'd never tell. Eventually, though, she ran out of plants to water and had to concede to the peer-pressure her computer was subliminally sending her way. She did have a date this evening, after all, so she should do schoolwork while she could.

She had just opened the many-paged Word document and was waiting for the contents to load when a knock sounded from outside. "Thank god," she breathed out, grateful for another distraction.

Her annoyance grew slightly as the knocking continued, even as she got up to answer the door. "Coming, coming," she muttered, quickly unlocking the knob and turning it. Her eyes widened at the sight of was on the other side, though if pressed she would have guessed: Niwa, Celeste's spoiled, fashionista cousin from the wedding.

"Niwa, hi," Juliet greeted her, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. "What, uh, brings you to town?"

Her question came out slowly as she realized that this was not the same put-together Singaporean woman who had complained about dress color last winter. Instead, her once-sleek hair was frizzy and short around her face, which was completely void of makeup— so much so that Juliet could see the woman's desperate need for sleep. Her button down shirt was slightly crooked from misplaced buttons and there were suspicious-looking stains that littered the pale blue cotton.

Her personality, however, hadn't changed and was still as terrible as ever: "what do you think?" she retorted shortly, using her free hand to jab a finger at the small child she held. "This little beast. Is Celeste home?"

Juliet's eyes fell on the girl in Niwa's arms, who was looking around with solemn, dark eyes. She sucked on her fingers quietly, not at all looking like the woman's accusation of her. "Uh. . . no, she's not. Who's this?" she nodded to the child.

"Miya," the Asian woman replied, though she drawled out the name as of it disgusted her. "I couldn't be bothered to choose a name so my stupid mother picked it out. Now she's stuck with it. When will Celeste be home?"