"Carola, I saw your husband Albert at Aeterna last night."
"And guess what? His archenemy Latham was there too. The two almost got into another fight."
"Another one?" Carola looked over, her curiosity barely hidden. "Why do you say that?"
"You didn't see the news before? I heard Latham actually hit Albert. The story got buried pretty quickly though."
Carola bit her lip. She knew exactly why those two couldn't stand each other.
"So, what happened yesterday?" she asked.
"Oh, right. Apparently, Latham is getting married soon too. Everyone's curious about his fiancée, so his group had a get-together and he brought her along."
"It seemed like Albert wanted to go over and say hi."
Carola remembered how Albert had shown up out of nowhere last night, saying he was bringing her a late-night snack. Now it made sense. He must have just come from Aeterna.
"And then?" Carola pressed, her voice tight.
"What do you mean, 'and then'? Oh, after he tried to say hi? From what I heard, they didn't even run into each other. That's just what people are saying though."
Carola's nerves were stretched thin. She needed to know if Albert had figured out that Dorothea's fiancé was Latham. With the wedding less than a week away, she couldn't afford any surprises.
She had planned to spend the afternoon shopping, but now she just grabbed her bag in a hurry. "Kiki, you go ahead. I have something to deal with."
She headed straight for Albert's office.
Albert was still in a meeting when his secretary came in to let him know Carola had arrived. He frowned, just slightly.
"Have her wait in my office," he said.
Carola paced back and forth, anxiety bubbling up as every minute crawled by. After nearly an hour, the door finally opened. Albert walked in, looking clearly annoyed. "Carola, didn't I tell you not to come here looking for me?"
He realized he sounded a little harsh, so he softened his tone. "It's just been really busy lately. We're getting married soon, and I'll be taking a week off for the wedding. There are a lot of things to sort out before then."
Carola forced a smile. "Sure."
...
Meanwhile, Dorothea was busy with her own wedding preparations with Latham. Well, calling it preparation was a stretch. Mostly, Latham just took her along to check out venues, and Dorothea was fine with letting him handle the details.
She spent most of her extra time at the hospital, keeping her grandmother company during her recovery.
When visiting hours ended, Dorothea walked out to the parking lot and found Carola standing by her car.
Carola was dressed all in white, exuding an air of pride. "We need to talk."
Dorothea pulled open the car door without even glancing at her. Her voice was cold. "I don't think we have anything to talk about."
"Dorothea!" Carola stomped her foot and blocked the door, her tone sharp. "What, are you scared?"

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