The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance

Love Hurts

Following Carol's disappearance, a large-scale search took place in Egypt's capital. Rumors that it was the result of the curse spread like wildfire. The news of her abduction was all over the front page of the newspapers:

AMERICAN MILLIONAIRESS, MISS CAROL, HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED!?
Miss Carol, who was at the exhibition of the King's tomb, went missing.
Despite the duel efforts of the police department, as well as her brother Ryan and the entire family, they have yielded little success in their search.

"Has Carol been found?" Ryan asked anxiously. "Carol! Where did you go?"

"Who took Carol away?" Miss Lido sobbed.

"Madam!" Nanny said worriedly.

"It was Isis, I'm sure of it! I'm so sorry... if only I had been faster!" Bonnie said, frustrated with her own helplessness.

"Carol! If I hadn't left you alone, everything would have been all right! I'm sorry..." Jimmy cried.

Bonnie canceled all her summer classes so she could focus on finding Carol. Jimmy, Raz, and Yasmin also helped when and where they could. But no matter how desperately they searched, they couldn't find any trace of Carol or Isis. A whole month went by without any new clues, and May became June. And then, one day, Raz and Yasmin came by to visit Bonnie with some bad news.

"Um, Bonnie... We know how important Carol is to you... but we really think you ought to take a day for yourself once in a while..." Yasmin began cautiously.

"Yeah, you've got your own problems to take care of..." Raz added less carefully, earning himself an elbow to the ribs.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Bonnie asked, frowning in confusion as she eliminated a few more possible hiding places on her map. Since they hadn't had any luck finding Carol in the city, she had decided to try looking in the desert and used her allowance to hire a guide so she wouldn't get lost.

"Well, it's been a while since you've seen Jerry... right?" her friends ventured carefully.

"Yes, but he said he had big art project that he needed to work on, so... What?" Bonnie asked, furrowing her brow when she saw the looks on their faces.

"Bonnie... It isn't an art project that's keeping him away..." Yasmin said gently, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "It's... It's another woman." Bonnie stared at her friends in shock, stunned. No way...

"Are you sure?" she asked, not wanting to believe it.

"Yes. It's Mandy," Raz answered with regret. "We've seen them together on campus... It looks like she sank her claws into him while you weren't around."

"... What?" Bonnie ground out with a dangerous flash in her eyes. Oh, hell no. She immediately rushed over to the nearest phone, dialed her boyfriend's number and waited patiently for him to pick up. She wanted to hear his side of the story. Her heart sank and her stomach dropped when he answered. The first thing she heard was Mandy's very distinctive laugh in the background.

"Just a minute, babe! I gotta answer the phone!" she heard Jerry tell her as he placed the phone against his ear. "Hello?"

"... Hello, Jerry," Bonnie said as her grip tightened on the phone. 'Babe'... That's what he had begun to call her after they started dating.

"Oh, uh... Hey!" he responded lamely, sounding surprised to hear from her. "What's up?" he asked, lowering his voice. Apparently, he didn't want his 'guest' to overhear their conversation.