Chapter 2 My best friend

Cassandra

I would never take on something I didn't believe in. My principles were above all.

"I need to know all the details before I can accept your case, Tiff. I don't want our friendship to cloud my judgment of the situation. But if I can't represent you, I'll recommend someone as good as me."

"But I want my friend by my side in this moment, Cass!" Tiffany whined, standing up and stomping her foot in a very childish manner, something only she could pull off.

"I will be, for sure. But not necessarily as your lawyer," I replied honestly. "Come on, calm down, and tell me everything about your relationship with Noah Abrantes. I'd also like to know if you have any prenuptial agreement."

As Tiffany recounted every detail of her relationship, from the beginning of her romance with the wealthy businessman Noah Abrantes to the present day, which wasn't a long time as they had met just over a year ago, I found myself lost in thought. I always could focus on what someone was saying and bring other facts to mind, aligning information at every moment. However, at that instant, all that passed through my mind were images of the handsome and despicable man my friend had married.

I had the displeasure of meeting the extremely wealthy and arrogantly rich businessman, Noah Abrantes, during a party organized by the majority partner of the law firm I worked for. The moment I laid eyes on that man, I felt something different-antipathy, I would say.

I didn't like Noah Abrantes, and I didn't hide my feelings for a minute. Every time I looked at him, my expression made it clear what I was feeling. Some colleagues even questioned what the problem was and if I was upset about something that happened at the party. I would just deny it and look in the direction of that infamous and handsome man, I couldn't deny that.

But he never noticed my presence, and a more observant person might say that this was the main reason for my gratuitous hostility. Meanwhile, he was surrounded by several beautiful women the whole time, all seemingly eager to please him at every moment. Noah distributed smiles to all of them and managed to keep them all satisfied with the attention they received from the billionaire businessman.

It disgusted me because he seemed quite pleased to be the center of attention. When I saw him leave accompanied by two of them, it turned my stomach completely. They didn't even hide their intentions as the "threesome" left, each clinging to one of his arms.

Despite that event being a business-oriented affair, entirely focused on the corporate side, Noah Abrantes seemed to be in a fifth-rate nightclub, behaving like a sort of god, smiling and drinking. His attention was entirely on those women who seemed to be shamelessly offering themselves to him, not caring that there were several vying for that man's attention.

When Tiffany told me she was dating him, I almost revealed my impressions of him. However, as she was noticeably enchanted by the CEO of Abrantes Enterprises and had even distanced herself from me since then, we weren't as close anymore. I didn't feel comfortable interfering with her happiness, and I wasn't sure how my impression would be received by my then-best friend.

I had only seen him once during the office event and decided that wasn't enough to form a complete profile of a person. Even though the sample hadn't been the best, he might have just been enjoying his bachelor status. Anyway, when a few weeks later, she told me she was marrying him, I ended up telling her about the party and how he seemed to be a womanizer. Tiffany didn't care about that; she just went ahead with her plans, and in no time, she was already marrying Noah Abrantes.

When this happened, I was doing a specialization in my field, overseas, and couldn't attend the mega event that took place. Still, everything had been widely publicized by the media, and I assumed I had been mistaken about the businessman because, as the famous saying goes, appearances can be deceiving.

Now, however, listening to everything Tiffany was telling me, I realized I was more right than I thought, and the guy was truly a massive playboy who didn't respect his wife. The fact that he was a married man hadn't changed anything in his "romantic" and active life.

"I understand that love makes people accept various things from each other. But I also believe that everything has limits, Tiff. And you've endured too much!"

"I love him, Cass. A lot. And he always promised that it would be the last time. And the last..."

"I know exactly how it is. Despite never having been married, or even having had any serious relationships, I had heard enough stories to understand what she was saying. My clients always had similar stories. My mother went through all of that, and even though I was just a child, I always told her that it didn't have to happen. That she could break free from that vicious cycle. Just because the man in question was my father didn't mean I would agree with what he did. I grew up with that mindset, and today I try to help women get out of abusive relationships and help them bounce back. If they could also gain financial benefits in the process, even better. We would squeeze every last penny out of those scumbags.

'I'll represent you in your divorce case, friend. And Noah Abrantes will regret everything he did to you, you can be sure of that.'

'I'm so happy to have you by my side, Cass. You've always been so intelligent and hardworking. I'm very proud of you, you know?'

Tiffany approached me and hugged me tightly, the tears forgotten and a beautiful smile on her face. That's what I sought in my profession. Wiping the sadness off my clients' faces and bringing hope for justice, because they deserved more than a man to deceive them with false promises of love and loyalty.

'Noah Abrantes won't even know what hit him. He'll pay for all the betrayals where it hurts the most, his wallet.'

We stepped back and looked at each other with the complicity of childhood friends, and I saw once again before me the girl I had known before, a person full of dreams and expectations for a better future.