CHAPTER 5

She can’t believe what happened. How come Jane was still the model? She made sure that it will mess her up. Why did this happen? She had no clue about what really happens. Her mind is full of these thoughts while driving, nowhere to go. She just wants to drive trying to find an answer to all her questions.

“I have to do something. I want to know what happened. This is not right! THIS IS NOT RIGHT!” she screamed herself to her extent and she stepped on the brake as hard as she can because of the frustrations she felt right now. The wheels made a screeching sound due to the sudden break. It stopped at the side of a highway. She leaned her head at the steering wheel and rest for a while.

Her heart was pounding due to her release. Breathing heavily as she shut her eyes and try to think away.

“I don’t know what to do. I didn’t expect this to happen.” Her mind was blank. She can’t think of anything that can be the reason why her plan fails.

She looked on her right side to see that she was on a bridge. She walked out of the car and went to the pavement. The cool breeze is thumping her face, it sends calmness in her head. She was savoring the air while breathing slowly.

“What a nice view in the evening,” she murmured as she looked up to see the stars that covers the sky like a blanket.

As she was enjoying herself to the view. Her phone ring. She pulled it out of her purse and saw an unknown number. She was about to cancel the call but it ended and a message pop up on her screen.

“Pick up your phone. I know the reason behind why Mr. Alarcon didn’t pull out Jane and also the one who recommended you to help Claire.” Her face lit up as she reads the message. When the phone rings again, she immediately taps the answer button.

“Hello?” she said.

“Hello, Ms. Sabria. You did the right decision to answer my call. I know what you’re thinking right now. You want to know what happened but you don’t have anyone to ask about, am I correct?” The man on the other line said with confidence.

“Why do you care? I don’t need anyone to help me. I have my own ways to know what I want to figure out. And who the hell are you?” Her eyebrows started to raise together with her voice, because of the rudeness she heard from the other line.

“Are you sure you don’t need my help? This might be faster than your so-called own ways. Think about it. I am already here, offering you my help and you just have to accept me. I just find it unfair on your side. But I guess I was wrong to call you. Sorry for bothering you. Bye.” The guy seemed to tease her with his words and Bria suddenly made a second thought.

“Wait!” she said abruptly to stop the man from hanging up the call. She take a deep breath and analyzed the situation. He is right, this is faster than my way. Maybe he is saying the truth. And he had no any reason to deceive me. She thought. She then replied.

“I...  I need to hear what you really know about it. Let’s meet. I want to hear it. But make sure that what you will tell me is all true. If not, you will be a slice of dead meat if you try to deceive me.” She threatens the guy.

“Ohh. That was so frightening. Hahaha!! Okay, I got it. So where do we meet? Drop the place, time, and day,” he said coolly in the middle of a chuckle.

“I’ll text you the details. Wait. By the way. Who are you?” she curiously asked.

A short sigh came out of the other line before he replied. “You know who I am, but you just have no interest to know me well. Maybe after we met things might change.” After that, the guy hangs up the call without saying his name. And that made Bria think.

Who the hell is that guy? I know him? Since when? Where? And why did he wants to help me? Is he one of my neighbors? Classmate? Fan? She had so many questions on her head but she can’t find any answers to them.

“Agh!! This is so frustrating!” she said as she lies down on her bed. All the questions are rummaging inside her mind while driving up until she’s already got home.

Bria remember the text message she gave to that person, she picked up her phone and check her message.

Let’s meet at a small restaurant near my school St. Benedict University along with the Luxemburg highway, tomorrow at 7 pm. She looked at it for a minute and then turn off her cellphone again

“Am I doing the right thing? I mean, I don’t even know this man, but why do I have a feeling that he’s telling the truth. Oh, God! This is making me insane,” she said talking to herself, and out of frustration, she rolled herself with the blanket like a spring roll. She fell asleep thinking about it overnight.

When the morning came, Bria went to the gym and tried to divert her mind, and did some workouts to keep herself from thinking of what could be that man will say to her. But it didn’t help a lot. After an exhausting workout, she went to a library where she reads a book about interior design. She almost forgot that they have a project to do because she was crowded by her thoughts about what happen to her plan as well as the mystery guy who called her.

“Get a grip Bria, you have to maintain your grades at school. You have to focus yourself, Focus. Focus,” she talks to herself again as she flips the book and continues reading it.

Hours have past and it’s already 2 pm, she went home after an hour of researching and doing her project. Now she was just killing her time as she can’t concentrate on anything. She always looked at the clock to see the time and her mom noticed it.

“Honey, why do you always look at the time? Do you have an appointment or maybe a date?” her mom said as she was peeling some tangerines to eat.

“Nothing mom, I’m just having a meeting with someone later tonight,” she replied and took a piece of peeled tangerine on the plate and ate it.

“Someone, I know?”

“No mom, just ahh... Someone I met quite some time now.”

“Okay, but remember, come home early,” her mom replied with a slight grin on her face.

“Mom, I haven’t even left our house yet. How could you? Hahaha!” she said laughing as her mom laughed as well.

“Why? I’m just saying.” Her mom teased her as she move her shoulders up and down while taking a bite of tangerines.

“Oh, you’re hopeless,” Bria said in between her laugh.

 When the sun starts to sets, Bria is now on the way to their meeting place. While driving, her phone ring and she saw a message coming from the guy she will meet.

“See you later Ms. Sabria.” She finds this man a little strange. But she just shrugged her thoughts and continued driving. She arrived at the restaurant 30 minutes before their call time.

Sabria walk towards the door, a security guard opened the door for her and welcomed her. She roamed her eyes on the restaurant. She saw the very cozy and elegant ambiance inside, which has dimly lit and she can smell the foods that have been cooking in the kitchen visible to the customers at the right corner of the place. She feels hungry by the delicious smell, so she look for a seat and saw a two-seater table near the window. While she is waiting, a waiter approached her and gave her the menu.

“I will order when my companion is already here,” she said and put down the menu.

The waiter smiled at her and nod before he left.

She checked her watch and saw that it was already quarter to seven but the guy is not yet around. So, she took her phone out of her purse and was ready to call him but she heard a man’s voice suddenly talking to her.

“Ms. Sabria, hello.” A tall good looking man with a fruity voice is now standing in front of her while smiling from ear to ear.

She quickly scanned the man. He has a pair of brown innocent-like eyes with round transparent eyeglasses. He has ash brown hair and a fringe haircut that is complemented his pointed nose and a small lip.

Okay, enough of that. I think I saw him somewhere. I can’t remember where though. She thought.

The man slightly wave his hand in front of her eyes as he tried to seek her attention.

“Are you done fantasizing me?” he said and grinned.

Bria got pissed off at his words and she instantly raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms together. “In your dreams. You’re so full of yourself. I just can’t figure out where I first saw you. Don’t conclude some nonsense things. Such an *sshole. Hmp!” As she rolled her eyes and looked away.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’m just kidding. Can I have a sit?” He didn’t wait for her reply and immediately sat down on the chair before Bria.

“You don’t remember me? Really? I felt a little bit sad about that. We are actually schoolmates and we’re also in the same modeling agency.” He added and drink a cup of water beside him.

Bria suddenly faced the guy to look closely at him. “What? Schoolmate and a model? What a small world huh?” As she tries to recall all her co models around the agency, she suddenly snapped back. “Aha!” she exclaimed as her eyes widened and pointed her finger at him. “Now I remember you. You are Henry right? The one who won to be one of the models for Mr. A****n’s fashion week?” She clapped her hand once as she knows she was right.

The guy laugh and said, “I prefer calling me Theus. Henry is so common.”

“Well, you have a point. So, what news do you have in your pocket?” she said not beating around the bush.

“Woah! You’re too fast? Do you have another appointment? If not, let me take our dinner first. Can I?” As he picks up the menu on his side and choose a portion of food.

The waiter immediately walked towards them to get their orders and told them that it will take 10-15 minutes to prepare.

When their food is served, Theus took a bite of beefsteak and chew it. “Hmmm! This steak is so perfect. This is so delicious and tender.” He savored every bit of his steak but Bria feels like she’s wasting her time watching him eating his meal.

She holds her glass of red wine and sips a little before she clear her throat and starts to talk. “Are you just gonna eat like that or start talking about what you told me last night?” She is starting to get irritated.

Theus pointed his mouth full of steak, he was chewing it slowly and then swallowing it little by little. He finished it by drinking water.

“Come on, I didn’t want to waste food. This is so expensive to me,” he said. When Bria just raised an eyebrow, Theus felt sudden chills. “Okay, okay, I’ll start talking. Your eyes are terrifying you know?” Bria didn’t reply and just wait for his next words.

Theus cleared his throat. “So here it is. Esther was not the reason why Claire called you for help. It was Jane.” And with that name being mentioned, Bria suddenly felt his insides boiling with anger.

“Wait, hold a second. Did you mean that it was all Jane’s fault? AGAIN? That *sshole! She really didn’t disappoint me for always ruining my plans. I’m really going to kill that b*tch!” she said with greeted teeth and tightening her grip to the point that her nails scratched her palm.

“Yeah, it was Jane. Claire actually needed someone to help her with the decorations but no one wants to help, all the members were all avoiding her and pretending to be busy. Jane noticed her and talked to Claire. She said that you are good when it comes to arts and crafts so she recommended you to her. But I think she didn’t have any bad intentions to that, she just knows that you have talents and you can showcase it.” He explained while eating.

“What? No bad intentions? You don’t know a thing about her Theus. She is the most pretentious person that I’ve ever met. She was like a snake, even though you gave all the love and care it needed. In the end, it will pierce its sharp fangs onto your skin and will leave venom on you until you die. Do you know what I mean? So you better not fall for her trap. Or else.” She warned him.

“Really? But in the short span of time that I’d spent with her, she is a kind woman. She cared and was nice to everybody. She even bought us…”

Bria is now so angry about what Theus was about to say, so she immediately glared at him and harshly pricked the knife on her steak. That’s where Theus stopped talking and pursed his lips as he gesture with his hand to form a zipper to his mouth.

When Bria put down the knife, he eventually added. “You know what? There’s something weird that happened a few weeks ago, Jane’s dress was torn into pieces and found in her suitcase. She cried a lot but Mr. Alarcon just got slightly mad about that, he said that it is just a replica. Mr. Alarcon said that he always makes sure that his works are safe in every fashion shows he attended. He always had a replica of his creations and that’s what the model wears on their practice before the event so that when unexpected circumstances happen like Jane’s, he is not worried about his beloved creations. Shocking isn’t it?”

Bria has no words to say. How could she act carelessly, why did she missed that very important fact about Mr. Alarcon? But he also didn’t say it in any of his interviews or blogs. This is so insane.

After their conversation, Bria went to the library to clear her mind and to digest all the words she heard from Theus. She always went there when she has a problem or suffering from anxiety. The library is the only place where she can think and breathe from toxic things. Now she needs to think of another way to get back on her. She will not stop until she reaches her goal.

When she already had a plan on her mind, she went straight to her home and lock herself in the room to sleep, for tomorrow will be the start of a war.

When the morning comes, Bria wore a pair of peach floral sundress and 3 inches heels as she was about to go to school.

“Mom, I got to go. See you later. Love you,” she said walking straight through the door and open it, and got inside her car.

She reached the university and parked her car inside the parking lot on the left side of the school. As soon as she entered and walked into the university, all eyes were on her. They looked at her like she was a celebrity. Some students, especially men, are saying hi to her. And the girls are envious of her beauty. She wants this kind of attention that it boosts her confidence even more.

As she enters the room, her classmates are saying hi to her and compliment her dress. She smiled at them, but when her eyes turned on her left, she saw Jane reading a book and not minding their business. She was pissed off, and because of that, she walked past her side and intentionally shook the book to make it fall on the ground.

Jane looked at her annoyed, but she tried to avoid a conversation with Bria and just silently picked up the book on the floor and put it back on her desk.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Jane, I didn’t know you were there. I thought it was a piece of trash,” she said as she rolled her eyes and locked her eyes to Jane.

Their classmates laughed at her words but most especially at Jane.

“I don’t have time for this Bria. Stop your silly jokes,” Jane replied with a blank face.

Bria winced her face and said. “Silly Jokes? Do you think this is a joke? Well, I’m dead serious dear. You really look like trash.” She stops and then added. “No, scratch that. In fact, you are close to a speck of dirt. Dirt that always clings to Dash and can’t be removed no matter what.”

Their classroom was filled with laughs coming from their classmates. Bria felt a little bit of satisfaction from their reaction and most especially Jane. Her face is so epic. She thought as she also laughed at her.

After a minute, their professor came in to start their class. And with that, she slowly walked to her chair but glanced again at Jane and smirked before facing to the front.

While their professor is discussing a topic, Bria cannot take her eyes off of Jane. Her presence only made her fume with anger. She can’t wait for the right time that she had planned the night before.

“Okay class, that’s it for today. See you all next time,” their professor said and walked out.

While everybody is busy packing their things inside their bag, an announcement coming from the radio club at their school suddenly talks on the microphone.

“Announcement! Announcement! All students, please proceed to the Audio Visual Room in building number 2, a special video coming from one of our Top students will be played and you will surely enjoy it. The video will start as soon as the room is full. Thank you.”

The students who hear the announcement are all chattering. They are curious about what they will be watching in the video.

They start to rush into the room, all of the students are curious and excited about the video. “Is it some kind of a proposal? Maybe, one of the students here is trying to make a romantic proposal for her girlfriend,” one of the students asked her friend. “Yeah, I think so. Maybe, she wants to marry her. Isn’t it so sweet?” her friend said.

When the room is full of students, the door closed slowly and the video starts to play.

“What’s that?”

“Is that CCTV footage?”

“Is this for real?”

“Oh, my God. I know that girl.”

“Oh, no wait. That is Jane, right? From the interior design class?”

“What the F man, that is your crush right?”

“She is making out with a guy.”

“Wow! That is so f*cking hot.”

“Hey, My eyes. My poor eyes. Can you stop the video, my mom will disown me if she finds out that I am watching this right now.”

Instinctive chattering filled the room. All are shocked by what is in the video.

It was the CCTV footage coming from the room of Dash on the building where Bria found out about the relationship of the two.

While it was playing, a loud banging sound of the door suddenly hear inside the room. It was Jane who ran out immediately after she saw what was all about the video.

Then there was Bria watching the whole scene with a smirk on her lips. She saw the awe on Jane’s face that suddenly appeared after she saw the video clip. She hurriedly ran towards the door and slammed it shut as she left the room.