“That little wench! How dare she humiliate me!”
Harper stood outside of the women’s bathroom. Her back leaned against the door. She glanced at her wrist watch. The time told her midnight was still about two hours away. She shuffled her weight from foot to foot. The back of her legs cramped.
She heaved a sigh.
This night turned out to be longer than she thought.
At the other side of the door, the bathroom had been monopolized by two women, one in hot pink and one in navy blue. The former paced over the floor and fumed at her misfortune. Her indigo eyes blazed and her heels clacked against the tiles.
“Are you sure about what you saw?” Nicole asked for the nth time. She had her arms crossed over her chest. A frown pulled her lips into a frown. The bathroom lights were hot. Sweat began to form underneath her evening gown.
Charlee halted in her steps. She turned around. If smoke could float out of her ears, a fog would have surrounded them by now. She had never been more offended. Sure, she had her share of lies but never to someone close to her.
They should know her better than that.
“Don’t believe me? Why don’t you check the news?” Her voice sneered, mocking her friend’s doubts. She should have chosen Harper instead. “I’m sure a lot of people are now talking about Ambryan and his woman.”
The amount of compliments and praises from the bystanders sickened her. What ‘Cinderella of the Century’? The girl was nothing more than a gold digger, trying to climb up the social ranks. Ambryan’s influence would open doors for her.
She knew it.
And she took advantage of it.
Nicole took out her phone, exhaling sharply. She opened an app with a bird icon. It was her trusted source for the latest gossip. The app led her to home page and flooded her eyes with short chirp posts. It seemed that the bird community was buzzing.
(A/N: Don’t you mean ‘chirping’?)
#ambeevan was trending.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwg0qyxAp3C
#AmbryanHathaway was trending.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGKj7xDr47
#EvangelineReed was trending.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtyNDcmeHT
#AthonRainbowLaunch was trending.
Clicking the top hashtag, the first post came from a gossip page.
```
WARNING! Not for the bitter single people out there! 444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAWCTIpy5o
#ambeevan alert! world look out! this couple is about to blaze through your hearts! just look at these photos. aren’t they the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?!
*insert images*
```
The first photo showed a shot of the couple from the party. Evangeline held Ambryan’s tie in her hands, grinning up at him. The second one had Ambryan standing behind her as she conversed with his companions. Both wore a smile while his hand settled on her upper back.
Then, there was the third picture.
Evangeline had buried her face on Ambryan’s chest. The latter’s arm had snaked around her shoulders. A smirk stretched his lips as he stared down at her. They seemed to be having a private joke. His expression suggested teasing from his end.
It was the first time Ambryan Hathaway showed such a face in public.
“Wow,” Nicole gaped, her deep brown eyes blinking repeatedly. Her thumb scrolled through the chirp replies. A lot of red hearts colored the page. “I can’t believe this.”
“I told you—”
“Is this biatch really shameless?” She scoffed. Disgust painted over her face. “Evangeline was talking with Mikael before this. And all this time she had a boyfriend? How vulgar of her!”
Charlee stiffened. Her brain processed the information. “You’re right. She was with Mikael.”
She didn’t get a good look but she trusted Nicole’s judgement. She remembered how furious her friend had been about the rookie’s behavior. They probably acted intimate at that mini bar.
“This must be how she landed a project with Mikael. Then, she had the audacity to flirt with him,” Nicole continued. Her mind devoured all of the available messages, facts and opinions from the posts. “Are these people blind? We couldn’t be the only ones who saw them.”
“It’s probably a paid reporter,” Charlee growled. Avery’s companion had a digital camera. He had to be the one behind this. “Not only that but also I think the whole Hathaway Family is behind this story.”
Nicole switched to another hashtag. Her screen now showed posts about Evangeline. A few users had filmed her walk and created gifs. One displayed the model as she threw her scarf backwards. The fabric fell in slow motion. The petals hovered in mid-air while the scarf looked like a cape.
``#EvangelineReed slapping you in the face with rose petals.``
Another post used the one where she climbed down the stairs and landed on the platform, stating, ``#EvangelineReed is me when I walk into class just before the bell rang.``
One user captioned the same gif as ``I was today years old when I found out this is how you’re supposed to walk down the stairs IN HEELS. Ya’ll I cannot. How did I not realize this?!``
“This. Is. Absurd.” Nicole scorned, shaking her head. It had to be fake accounts. How could this woman gain favor in a matter of hours since her debut?
“I agree.” Charlee replied. “That rookie needs to be knocked down from her pedestal.”
Just because Evangeline became Ambryan’s girlfriend didn’t excuse her from humiliating others. It didn’t grant her immunity on wrong doings. Even so, it shouldn’t be something done in the first place.
It was obvious that power had inflated the model’s head.
“Any ideas?”
“We could always play in her own game,” Nicole suggested. She locked her phone screen and glanced up. Crease lines appeared on her forehead. “I am positive that a lot of these chirpers are not real. We just need to do the same.”
“Then, what?” Charlee countered. She owned several of alternate accounts already, using them for her own benefit. They were easy to make. It wouldn’t even take more than a minute. The crucial part was how to use them.
If they make one wrong move, the whole thing could collapse.
Their efforts would be thrown to the trash bin.
…
…
…
“For a pair of scheming women, you both have loud mouths.”
Charlee and Nicole whirled their heads to the last cubicle.
A woman their age stepped out. Her light blonde hair cascaded in ringlets. Smokey eyeshadow framed her amber eyes. The dark red lipstick she wore matched her wine-colored gown. Her pale legs peeked through the slits of her skirt.
She seemed to have walked out of a gothic ball.
Ignoring the others, she tucked her bag under her armpit and headed for a sink.
“What the—When did you get here?” Charlee panicked. She exchanged looks with Nicole. Did this woman hear everything they just said? They weren’t familiar with her. If they weren’t careful, this person might be someone who could ruin their life.
Running water echoed around the room. “The next time you check if anyone occupied the cubicles, don’t just peek under the door. It’s easy to hoist up legs.”
“Are you going to tell on us?” Nicole demanded, taking over the conversation. She stood behind the stranger and glared through the mirror. “Because I doubt anyone would believe you.”
They had been tricked.
Why would someone do such a thing? Only one answer came to her mind. This woman had wanted to overhear their conversation, keeping quiet all this time. They hadn’t heard a single noise from her.
She stayed behind for a reason.
But what?
“Tell anyone? I don’t have such interest,” the woman snorted, not sparing a glance. She reached for tissues from a dispenser and dried down her hands. “I have much better use of my time than fabricating a story about a two-timer.”
Nicole rolled her eyes, not believing a word. “Really now?”
The woman raised her eyebrows. Her hands paused in mid-air. A mocking laugh breathed out of her wine lips. “Well, excuse me. I’m not a crazy that would eat up any rumor and create a tidal wave out of it.”
“Do we have your word on that?” Charlee interrupted. She stood at the woman’s right and listened to the conversation, observing the person’s face. It could all be a lie.
“Oh, please.” It was the woman’s turn to roll her eyes. She threw away the damp tissues in the garbage bin. Her hands went to her hips. “I have nothing to prove to you. Whether you believe me or not is not my problem. I said what I said. Take it or leave it. It’s you who would be the one troubled by your decision.”
She took a step back and headed for the exit. A mischievous glint kindled in her gaze. Her skirt swayed behind her like leaves fluttering in the wind. Her heels filled in the silence and created daunting presence—something that would linger even after she was gone.
A smirk tugged her lips.
If those two figured out her clues, she might just change her opinion of them.
Harper felt the door open.
Amber eyes met a pair of black monolid ones. Harper stared at the woman as the latter passed her by. Air stopped from flowing in and out of her lungs. It seemed like she was in a movie where time moved in slow motion.
…
...
...
It sped back up once the woman left the premises.
Shaking her head, Harper blinked out of her daze. Her eyebrows scrunched towards where the stranger disappeared to. A nagging sensation berated the side of her head. She had seen that face before.
‘Who was that woman again?’
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