If there is something I realized in my situation now, that is I can't hide forever. I cannot hide behind Colin's back forever. I need to face my fears and be the person Athena will be proud of. I can't be Geoff's prey forever. Either I will fight against the predator or I will hide and be scared for the rest of my life.
The next day, I told Nancy about my plan.
"What? Are you nuts?"
"We can't be like this forever. Eventually, Athena has to go to school and I can't tell my daughter that we have to stay home if Geoff finds out where she is studying."
"I got your point, but why don't we just wait for Sir Colin's plan? I'm sure he will never allow your monster ex-husband to hurt the two of you, including me and your mom"
"Yes, I know. But should I depend on him forever. What if something happened and he is busy with his work, or he's out of town? Should I wait for him to fix the problem or should I try fixing it on my own?"
"But he is here now."
"I don't want to be scared forever. I want to live freely, like other people. I know you also want your family to meet Athena and me, right? Then we shouldn't be like this forever. I hope you understand me."
"I understand you and you know I always support you. I am also worried about what might happen."
"Nothing will happen. I need your help to get all the details that we can use. From now on, I will stop hiding."
That day, we searched for all information we get about Erica. We stalked her social media accounts and any rumour about him and Geoff. We wanted to know where she usually goes or what she usually does. We also searched for any negative news about Geoff and his company. I need to get as much information as possible.
Of course we never told my mom about my plan. She spends most of her time with Athena and when she asks us what we are doing, we always say it's about the new business we want to venture in.
We found out that Regina usually goes to a department store where she is one of the shareholders. She spends most of her time in ther buying luxury items like bags, shoes and perfume. Luckily, she posts all her activities in her social media homepage. She always post pictures of items she bought and the food she ate. She also usually post sweet messages to someone she calls 'My Man' but she never revealed a picture of the said man.
"I'm sure that's your evil ex."
"I guess so but it doesn't matter. We don't need that information."
"These posts are normally on a Tuesday. That is two days from now. Do you think she will go to the store again?"
"Probably. We can wait for her there."
"You are insane."
After almost a week of planning and researching, the day has finally arrived. I and Nancy prepared to ourselves to go out that day. While she wears a simple jeans ans shirt, I chose the best dress I have in my closet. I got a mini red dress that is half leg in length. I chose black stiletto to match my outfit and accessories. I asked Nancy to help me put makeup. It should lool natural but elegant. This is my first time to wear such a dress. For others, maybe it's an ordinary mini dress but for me, this is the sexiest I have worn so far.
"You look perfect." Nancy said.
"Do you think mom will not be suspicious of us? What will we tell her if she asks me where I am going?" I and Nancy are staying in the master's bedroom while mom and Athena are playing in the living room.
"Tell her you will attend a party."
"How about Colin?"
"We have to get back here before he comes. I'm sure he will be upset if he finds out we are hiding something from him."
"Let's go then."
Nancy went out first to check where my mom is. We have to avoid her from seeing me in this provocative dress. I'm sure, she would ask me to change my dress once she sees me. She is such a conservative woman.
When Nancy was certain my mom is in the kitchen, I slipped out from the room and waved to Athena to say good bye and gestured a kiss to her. She waved back at me and we left the unit as fast as we could. We wil just send a message to mom.
In the lobby, we were greeted by the two men and one woman who were hired to be my family's body guards. I asked the woman to stay behind since two men are enough for our journey. We hopped in the car and left for the department store.
...
Unlike other department stores, this one does not have many customers strolling around. I guess that's one difference between a department store for the rich and the one for ordinary people like me. We headed straight to our destination which is the Prada store on the second floor. Erica posted in her social media account that she will buy a new bag in here. We actually don't know what time she will come but for sure it should be before night time. She needs to use what she buys to wherever she will go tonight.
We decided to look around in the store across it and wait for our target. Not long after, Erica arrived with her assistant and they entered the Prada store. Nancy gave me a final retouch and I went to the store with my two body guards.
Inside the store, Erica's voice is resounding. She is talking about her plan to go to an exclusive resort tomorrow and she needs to buy the things she would bring for tomorrow.
"What do you think about this dress? Ah, never mind, this, this and this." She pointed for the things she would get.
The clerk grabbed all the things she pointed without any reply. I guess they already know her and they avoid saying anything so as not to make her feel upset.
When I saw she is choosing colognes, I went to the cologne section immediately and grabbed the bottle she was looking at.
"Excuse me but I will buy that one." She looks at me straight in the eye and based on her look, I'm sure she didn't recognize me.
"Oh, but I got it first. You can choose others on display or better yet ask if they have the same one in stock."
"Why don't you do that instead? I will pay for that one." She said to the clerk.
"I will pay for it. I got it first and I think you have your store policy, right?"
"Don't you know me?" She asked the clerk. "I'm sure you do, so pack that one in a bag. I will buy it."
"Why do you always insist on what you want? If something is taken, then you shouldn't touch it anymore."
"Excuse me?"
"Don't you recognize me, Erica? I'm the second wife of your ex-husband whom I believe is now your present lover."
"Oh, you look human now. How can I recognize someone who used to look like a dog?"
"And how can I forget someone who always looks like a pig? By the way, you gained a lot of weight, didn't you notice?" She mentioned that she feels stressed when she gains weight in one of her posts in her account.
"How dare you!" Her assistant and the staff in the shop are all quiet. They seem to be enjoying the show in front of them.
I turned to the clerk. "Here's my card."
"I said I will get it!" She tried to reach me and was attempting to pull my hair when my body guards arrived as quickly as they could. They stood in front of me and didn't allow Erica to come near me.
"Wow! Who is helping you now huh? Whatever you do and no matter how you dress, you still won't look as elegant and sophisticated as I am. You will never look rich!"
"I doubt that. You look like a barbarian now with your attitude." I got the card back from the clerk and she gave me the bag with the perfume inside.
"I said I will buy it! Don't you know that I am one of the shareholders here? I will make sure everyone of you will be fired."
"Poor you. You look like a child who didn't get her candy."
"You still look like a trash to me. You are nothing!"
"So? Haha! One more thing, please tell my ex husband he doesn't need to look for me, I will meet him the soonest." I left the store with a smile on my face. I could hear Erica shouting but I don't care anymore. I now learned how to play their game, I'm not yet an expert but I will soon be. And they have to watch out.