LOST LOVE

WAD

### Catherine's POV

**The Next Day**

I hadn’t heard from James. I tried calling him again, but as usual, he was unavailable. It had become a habit by now—dialing his number even though I knew he wouldn’t pick up. Still, I couldn’t help myself.

It was Sunday, and Serena had dragged me to the mall. I had some shopping to do too, so I agreed without much resistance. I mentioned Selin’s call to Serena and told her I needed to attend Selin’s engagement. We were on the hunt for a red dress for the event.

Finding a dress was no easy task. We were on our third store now, and Serena was holding up two dresses.

“This one or that one?” she asked, showing them to me.

“I like both,” I replied honestly. They were both beautiful.

“Then buy both,” she suggested with an eye roll.

“Why should I buy two dresses of the same color and similar style?” I retorted, shaking my head.

As I browsed through more dresses, I finally found one that caught my eye.

“Rena, how about this one?” I asked, holding it up.

“Nice,” she said, feeling the fabric.

“I’ll try it on,” I said, heading to the dressing room. The dress fit perfectly and was comfortable too. I stepped out to show Serena.

“Wow, Cat! You’ll be the center of attention,” she said with a thumbs up. That settled it—I decided on the dress.

Next, we went to shop for some casuals for Serena. She picked up anything that caught her eye, turning our shopping trip into a marathon.

“Aren’t you going to buy any gifts?” she asked as we walked to another store.

“No, I’ve already arranged a gift for her,” I answered, proud of my planning. I was sure Selin would love it.

“Oh, someone’s excited to meet their old friends,” Rena teased.

I playfully swatted her. “How could I ever forget my nosy neighbor?”

Her face turned red. “Nosy, me?” she exclaimed, hitting me back as we both burst into laughter.

Suddenly, rena stopped in her tracks. I looked at her quizzically.

“Hey!” Serena called out to someone. I followed her gaze to a woman in her late twenties. But the woman didn’t hear her, so She shouted again. The woman stopped and looked up.

“Cat, hold this,” Serena said, thrusting the shopping bags into my hands. “She was my college mate. I’ll be back in a second.”

I stood there holding all our purchases, which were too much for me to carry comfortably, so I looked around for a place to sit. Just then, I bumped into someone.

“Sorry,” I said, struggling with the bags.

“It’s okay, Catherine,” a man’s voice replied. I looked up at him. I didn’t recognize him, but he knew my name.

I looked for a few minutes to recognize him.

“Don’t you remember me?” he asked, seeing my confusion. I studied his face more carefully, and then it clicked.

“Oh yeah, you’re the lawyer who brought Serena and me home from the club!” I exclaimed, sounding like a kid who had just seen Santa Claus. I glanced around, but Rena was nowhere in sight. She had been so eager to meet him again, and now she was missing her chance.