Lavish | on hold

17 | Revival

Portia stared at the clock for the fifth time, secretly hoping that she wouldn't have to dismiss the waiter yet again as she awaited Milan's arrival. It had been several days since Portia's hopeless plan to seduce Tate in a drunken state that ended up failing miserably with her walking away from Tate and his new fiancé – that word still taking time to process.

The overly heated feud over Tate had been very much evident with dramatic events playing out over the past couple of months and it had even gotten to the point where the general public debated and picked the side that they believed truly deserved to have Tate as their other half. Portia knew that with this new engagement, gossip would only become stronger and she was right.

Talk shows and videos were posted all over social media featuring either screams of disgust or celebration of the unexpected news both ends of the spectrum being voiced publicly and passionately.

Portia was at crossroads when it came to her emotions although she adored the attention and the gossip blogs she was being featured in but she needed time to fully digest that she had lost the battle and when Portia answered and accepted Milan's request to meet up for brunch, she knew that it would resolve in it all being thrown back in her face.

"Oh, so you decided to come!" Milan beamed, strutting in and placing down her Chanel Purse onto the polished table.

"Yeah, so did you!" Portia returned a smile, hers being completely fake and turning into a cold glare afterwards. "30 minutes later."

"Oh so the shade starts early!" Milan replied coldly as she took her seat, maintaining the smile that she waltzed into the building with.

Portia hadn't been able to take in the beauty of the spacious restaurant interior, Milan had left a negative mark on her thoughts all morning which made it almost impossible for her to focus on anything else.

Inside of the restaurant stuck to the sophisticated and chic trend that all the other brunch places had quickly fallen into. LA was known for falling in and out of love with venues from nightclubs, restaurants and everything that sat in between. It made it almost impossible to know where to be and which one deceased hotspot could murder your social status for eternity.

This restaurant had a white and red theme, with glass tables that paired with bouquets of roses that were carefully placed in the centre of each table to fill the room with an inviting aroma and a large glistering chandelier towered over the classically decorated room.

Milan brought Portia's wondering eyes back to being focused on her, her words beginning to confuse Portia immensely. "So, you're probably wondering why I'm-"

Portia's left eyebrow raised in uncertainty, Milan subtly pointing to the consistent camera flashes that they failed to notice before.

"Of course they found us, at least I had more time than I did at my last run in with the paps." She thought silently, tucking stray hairs that failed to remain in her sleek ponytail behind her ears.

"Just tell me why I'm here, I'm used to them orbiting around me like planets by now."

"Oh, I guess I'm not the only one being questioned about the engagement then?" Milan's snobby yet satisfied smile returned with a vengeance, her flawlessly toned chocolate body leaning forward as she toyed around with her diamond ring.

"Mm."

The two girls then fell into an uncomfortable silence, both staring back at each other with icy glares that exchanged more words than single looks normally could.