Anne stared at her reflection in the chauffeured town car's tinted window, carefully inspecting her made-up face and perfectly coiffed blonde hair. She smoothed out an invisible wrinkle in the shimmering blue satin gown that had been tailored to her petite frame. At nineteen years old, she was already an expert at cultivating her image as the beautiful daughter of one of the state's most powerful senators. As the car rolled to a stop in front of the grand entrance to the place where the charity event took place, Anne took a deep breath. This was her first major public appearance since a scandal last year involving naked photos of her and her ex-boyfriend. Her father had been furious when the photos leaked, fearing it would derail his political ambitions. But the whole thing had eventually blown over with some intense PR cleanup. Still, Anne knew tonight she would be under scrutiny. Anyways, she let out a deep breath and was grateful that Ellis had asked her to be his date at this ev
Anne's heart raced as her phone buzzed with a call. She quickly found her phone from her purse, so as to pick the call. Somehow, calls made her nervous, and even though she would not say it to anyone, she preferred texts. She looked at the phone. It was Ellis. Her trepidation left immediately. She had hoped he would call her after the event, but he never did. She did something, and now he was calling, she could already guess why. "Hello?" she answered sweetly. "Anne. We need to talk," his voice was stern, leaving no room for pleasantries."Oh, hi Ellis. What's up?" she feigned innocence, even though she knew exactly what this was about."Cut the act, Anne. I've been hearing some rumours going around town about you telling people that we're in a relationship," he said, his tone laced with anger. Anne felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She had hoped the rumours wouldn't reach Ellis's ears so soon, but she should have known better. It was her doing, yes. But she did not expect
Emily sat rigidly in the back of her Uncle's car, drumming her freshly manicured nails against the armrest as she watched the city streets passing by outside the tinted windows. Her eyes were narrowed, her lips pursed into a thin line of determination mixed with disdain. She hated how crowded the streets were around this time of day. Ever since the scandal with her parents, she had been living with other relatives.Currently, she was on her way to have lunch at the palatial home of one of the school's private club society queens and her old friend, Margot Kenny. Emily needed to get into Margot's good graces again after a falling out the previous year. Because if she was going to successfully execute her grand plan of reconnecting with Ellis again, she would need Margot's assistance. She had initially given up on pursuing him, but after seeing Ellis appear in Forbes list, she changed her mind. But she decided that she would be more subtle this time. She would pretend to change her char
Anne was soaking up all the attention from being the school’s Queen. She had also managed to convince Ellis to hold on a little bit before she would tell everyone the truth that they weren’t together. She begged him to not destroy her reputation by being the one to tell everyone that she lied. He decided to just give her the benefit of the doubt. She promised to find some other reason for the truth that would be less humiliating. Days and days passed without the girls actually confronting each other, until one day at school when they accidentally ran into each other at the restroom. Emily sighed as she pushed open the door to the ladies' restroom. It had been a long day at school already and it wasn't even lunchtime yet. She just needed a few minutes to herself to regroup. She was basically a pariah in school now. All her friends had left her, either because they didn’t want to get in Ellis’ bad book for being on her side, or because they were following Anne about. As she walked t
The harsh fluorescent lights of the restroom became even harsher as Emily splashed cold water on her face. Her mascara had smudged into dark tracks, and the tear streaks stained her cheeks. Anne's parting words echoed in her head. She had never been called ugly before, and especially not by some girl that she was now fighting over Ellis with. Emily bubbled with fury that was hotter than the tears rolling down her cheeks. She could not even believe that she was crying because of that good for nothing Anne. Anne, with her perfectly coiffed hair and that annoyingly condescending laugh, had put her in her place. So much for a confrontation!She had really hoped to be the one putting someone in place as it regarded her and Anne, but here she was sobbing like a middle school girl just because she had been called ugly. She straightened her back after wiping the last streak of tears from her left cheek and looked at herself in the mirror. She was done crying. Now was time for some confidenc
Anne was feeling satisfied with herself. She felt like had conquered Emily and whatever confidence it was that Emily had left. Now, she had to do something that Emily could never bring herself to do. Anne decided to go look for Ellis at the Royale mansion that evening after school, since he had not been in school that day. She wondered why he did not come. She would feign concern for Ellis's absence at school, and do what she had ultimately come for. To tell a lie against Emily. Anne knew that Emily was dead to Ellis and she decided to use this to her own advantage. She wanted to play the smart, quick game.And so, that evening, Anne made her way to the Royale mansion in her expensive car. She had dressed up in what she considered beautiful — a very short leather skirt that exposed her thighs and a crop top that exposed her belly. She was looking provocative, which was another of her aims. To seduce Ellis. The Royale gates swung open, to reveal a manicured expanse of lawn and a spraw
“Hello sir.” Anne greeted cheerfully. She was so sure that Mr Cyrus liked her, after all, he was the one who arranged for her and Ellis to be dates to the event a while back. He had no idea that Mr Cyrus didn’t like her father, and that dislike extended to her and her whole family. They were known for using underhanded tactics to achieve their aim. Just like how her father used blackmail to ensure that Mr Cyrus would make Ellis go with Anne. Mr Cyrus wasn’t stupid, he knew that the man’s aim was to make Ellis like Anne so Anne would become the next Mrs Royale. And from the look of things, Anne was also in on her father’s plan. "How is your father? How is he recovering from the financial scandal He got himself into recently?" Mr Cyrus replied without smiling back at her or being polite.Anne's heart plummeted. Shame washed over her, a hot flush creeping up her neck. The scandal was a dark stain on her family, a constant reminderthat they may soon fall from grace."He is doing well," s
After a while, Mr Cyrus spoke again, directing his attention to Lisa. "Lisa?""Yes, sir," Lisa answered. "What is your educational background like? For some reason, a discussion like that never came up all the times that George talked about you. I guess you both were too busy rolling around in bed to actually have a conversation like normal people."Lisa made to speak, but before she could answer the question directed at her, George had picked it up. "She's a high school drop out, dad," George said, rolling his eyes. What good were these questions? It was not like Mr Cyrus did not know that Lisa was not the woman that George wanted to get married to. Why was his father suddenly interested in her life? Was he planning on actually welcoming Lisa?Mr Cyrus looked at Lisa. He was a little disappointed to hear that she didn’t finish high school. Not because he was looking down on her, but because he was a firm advocate for education. He had several charities to help people who couldn’t