"Dear love, our paths crossed for a reason. Some call it a coincidence but I beg to differ. Fate brought you to me when I needed someone the most."

___

"I can not believe they actually sent you an invite." Bianca scoffed, tossing the card in front of her best friend. "Especially after the  they pulled, please."

Carmen stayed silent as she picked up the invite and began to read what was written out loud,

"With great pleasure,

Farrah Sinclair

and

Elijah Morris

invite you to join them

at the celebration of their marriage

Saturday, June 9, 2018

at two-thirty in the afternoon..."

Not wanting or needing to read anymore, she softly shook her head placing the card back into its envelope and pushed it to the side.

Though her eyes burned with tears threatening to fall, she refused to cry over them again. They didn't even deserve the tears that fell for the last year.

Still, she couldn't seem to push back that familiar ache in her chest at the mere thought of them. It has been a constant struggle to move on and simply forget what happened, and lord knows she has tried but failed miserably every time.

"That just shows you they don't care about your feelings. , I doubt that they ever have." Bianca stated, giving Carmen a sad smile. She absolutely hated seeing someone she considered as a sister goes through what she had to endure. It wasn't fair that someone as sweet and caring as she was get mistreated.

"I should at least go and show my support, to let them know I'm not bitter," Carmen mumbled, feeding herself a spoonful of strawberry yogurt, one of her favorite comfort foods.

Staring at her as if she was mad, Bianca stood in front of her with hands on her hips. ", are you stupid? That woman who claimed to be a "friend" is about to marry the man who she blatantly stole from you. And you're over here talking bout "show my support" girl, shut up."

"She didn't steal anything. He left willingly, remember?" Carmen reminded her, glancing at the white envelope.

As much as she wanted to put the entire blame on Farrah, she couldn't.

She blamed both of them, equally.

Farrah for betraying their friendship and crossing the line of pursuing someone that she knew was taken, and Elijah for allowing another woman to come in and ruin what they had created. While she knew that Farrah didn't owe her anything, it was the simple disrespect for another woman's relationship, especially one she called a friend, that left Carmen feeling hurt. And Elijah's lack of respect for the woman he claimed to love so much.

It took the strength of a thousand men to hold her back from killing them both when she confronted them.

"Maybe so. I still felt like you should've just let Trey and his boys shoot up the restaurant, instead of having security pull you out after approaching them."

Carmen made a face, still not believing that Bianca actually had her hood cousins ready on standby just in case. But now that she sat there, it didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"Now that I think about it though, you probably would've been thrown into somebodies jail cell since you would've been the main suspect." Bianca thought out loud, tapping her chin. "I could see it now, you being featured on ID channel's Deadly Women as a woman scorned who hired hitmen to kill her boyfriend and his side chick."

Loudly laughing at her own words, Carmen eyed her up and down with a mean mug painted across her face. "Then you'll be beside me in said jail cell because I'm snitching."

"That's cold best friend, I would've broken you out," Bianca says, seemingly hurt before cracking a smile. "But seriously, all plotting murders aside, I really don't think it's a good idea for you to go."

The last thing Bianca wanted to have to do was pull up and cause a scene if Carmen called her crying. She has been dying to get her hands on Farrah and Elijah since everything unfolded.

"I have to. It's the only way that I can get the closure that I need to really move forward." Of course, she knew that she could plot her revenge and completely ruin the ceremony with all the evidence of their betrayal, exposing them for all their worth but it wasn't in her to do such things.

Her mama has always taught her to remain gracious and patient. That karma would work her magic when the timing was right.

, maybe the both of them deserved each other.

"Fine, if that's what you really want to do, I'll respect it, BUT, the moment you don't want to be there, leave."

"What? You're not going to be my plus one?" Carmen teased, eating some more of her yogurt.

Making a "tah" sound, Bianca tossed her hair dramatically over her shoulder. "I don't think bringing a .45 to a wedding is acceptable because I will definitely let bullets fly as soon as those fools say I do."

Giggling at her friend's blunt honesty, Carmen sat back against the wooden chair she sat in as Bianca answered an incoming call from her cell phone. Being a high in-demand event planner, she always stayed busy with offers constantly being thrown in her direction. That's why her randomly stopping by Carmen's restaurant was surprising, to say the least.

While Bianca talked to whoever was on the other line, Carmen's mind began to float back to her encounter earlier today.

Lee Jong-Suk.

She seemed to repeat that name since his odd but cute introduction.

Having someone randomly grab her like that scared her, and when she turned around she was about to give whoever a few choices of words until her eyes met his.

Since she's been living in New York for the past four years, she has come across plenty of handsome before but he...he was something entirely different.

Her heart seemed to stop momentarily before beating wildly inside of her chest.

He was someone nothing short of a dream. Handsome beyond words.

And the way he looked at her as if she was the most precious jewel had her stuck for a while until she remembered to introduce herself back.

The only thing on her mind as she stared at him was an insane feeling that she felt to be close to him.

"Damn Carmen, is the yogurt that good?" Bianca questioned, watching the loving look that she was giving the sweet product.

Snapping from her gaze, Carmen blinked her eyes rapidly, realizing where she was. "...Yes." She answered unsure as the sound of someone walking through the kitchen double doors caught her attention.

"I know we're closing boss lady but an urgent order just called in asking if you could whip up your famous cajun shrimp linguine? They said they'll wait and pay extra." Questioned Celine who was one of the waitresses. Her big pretty eyes looked at Carmen, waiting for an answer.

Holding up one finger, Celine nodded, placing the phone back to her ear. "She says it'll be an hour...great, see you soon."

"You can head on home Celine, I'll close up since I'm staying back."

"Thanks, boss lady." She smiled, untying her apron as she proceeded to the locker room to grab her things.

After bidding her goodnight, Carmen sighed and stretched as she stood up to prepare to cook. "Do you need me to stay to keep you company?" Bianca asked, not wanting to leave her all alone now that everyone had gone home.

"I'll be fine B, I'm a big girl," Carmen reassured her, pulling her in for a hug. "You just get home safe."

Playfully rolling her eyes, Bianca gathered her purse that Carmen was sure costed a pretty penny and pulled out her keys. "And since you insist on going that matrimony made in hell, we have to go dress shopping. The least you can do is show up looking damn good." She stated, already having a few places in mind that she wanted to take her to.

"One of the only times I'll let you have your way." Bianca always preferred the y side of things and Carmen wasn't about to front like she didn't want Elijah to regret how he did her once he laid eyes on her.

Locking the entrance once Bianca had left, Carmen made her way to the back and pulled out what she needed to make her infamous dish. Putting on some music to make the time go by easier, she quickly went into chef mode.

Her love for cooking was all thanks to her father who basically taught her everything that she knew. He was the main reason she even considered even opening up her own place, to begin with. If it wasn't for his encouragement, along with her mothers, she would've never gone for it, especially in New York where the competition was fierce.

She owed a lot of her success to Bianca for knowing all the right people, who showed up for her grand opening. The reviews and praise she received the following day boosted her restaurant tremendously.

DonnaMarie 36 has been booming ever since.

Forty-five minutes later she was placing her finished product into her restaurants custome carryout container with pieces of toasted french bread. Leaving the used dishes to soak, she bagged the container and made her way to the front, where she sat waiting at the bar with a favorite glass of wine.

It wasn't rare to receive orders late after closing hours, especially from a few celebrities who favored her place. She never complained because of her love for cooking. Plus they always paid a hefty amount.

A soft knock on the glassed doors brought her attention as she glanced over to the entrance where a figure stood waiting. Remembering she locked the door, she hurriedly went to unlock it, allowing her guest inside.

"I apologize for that. It's just I was here alone an-" She paused mid-sentence once she looked to see who she was speaking to.

Jongsuk stood there facing her with his hands placed in his pockets, and that breathtaking smile on his face. He had always heard good things about DonnaMarie 36 and the beautiful woman who owned it. However, he wasn't expecting that woman to be her until Jae-ha pulled up a picture of her standing in front of the restaurant with that dimpled smile he hadn't been able to get out of his head.

"Carmen," He whispered, slowly looking her over. Her name seemed to drip like honey from his lips.

"I didn't think that I would ever see you again," She tells him absentmindedly. After their brief encounter, she had to leave after receiving a call dealing with the restaurant. She had to force herself to walk away from him, half forgetting the ice cream cone she had that began to melt down her hand.

"I guess some things fall into place when needed be," He stated as his eyes bord into hers. There was a pull between them, an attraction that couldn't be denied.

He wasn't sure how and why he felt so strongly about a woman he had just met today but everything in him wanted to know who she was. His status or who he was no longer played a factor whenever he was around her. She was special, he could sense it.

"I suppose it does,"

____