Andrei put his hand over his eyebrows to shield his eyes from the blinding lights from the midday sun, entering the floor-to-ceiling glass window of the living room, facing the harbor. He was wearing his boxers while Tiffany was fully naked. She was lying on the floor on her stomach. Her back was shining brighter than the sun with how much coconut oil she slathered all over her body. She was sunbathing.
"Hey, what's the plan for our graduation trip?"
"I was thinking of asking Lilly to ask her father for a yacht but with what's going to happen I doubt that it was possible." She lifted her huge eyeglasses over her head and grinned at him. "Or I could make her life a little more difficult and ask even though I know what's going to happen," she giggled.
Andrei exhaled a soft breath. He clearly understood that Tiffany was being plain mean but he does not have the balls to tell it to her face. He was thinking of his own that could not function if she wasn't around.
They holed up inside Tiffany's secret apartment in this high-rise residential building for about two days now. And they did nothing but eat, drink, watch Netflix, and have sex. He wasn't complaining, although, at the back of his mind, he was thinking of the things that he has to do for the school graduation. And it has nothing to do with a trip to a Greek Island or party in a private yacht. He was thinking of preparing for the University and where he would get the money to finance his studies. He did get a scholarship but since his father won't support his schooling after finding out that he wasn't taking pre-med courses, he's in deep water.
However, he has to be here, listening to his girlfriend's devious plan to make her best friend's life miserable.
He got up from the couch and strode to the bare kitchen. It only has a 7 feet refrigerator, the cheapest in the market, and a microwave on top of the normal kitchen features that were included in the unit. The apartment with two bedrooms was sparsely furnished.
He opened the fridge and got bottled water. While twisting its cap, he leaned against the marble counter and glanced in the living room that has nothing but a long couch, two armchairs, and a glass table under a TV that was mounted in the wall. Only one of the two bedrooms has a bed.
He still couldn't understand why Tiffany bought this place but didn't furnish the apartment. As far as he knows, he's the only one who knows about this place and she made sure to make him promise that it would remain that way.
"Hey, come here!"
He was jolted out of his thoughts with Tiffany's excited voice. He threw his empty water bottle in the trash can and returned to the living room. He had to swallow hard because Tiffany was standing in the middle of the living room, fully naked, glistening from all the coconut oil.
"What is it?"
"Look at this shit!" She threw her phone to Andrei who was confused because the excitement in her voice was replaced with anger.
Without a word, he watched the video that made Tiffany angry. It was a short clip talking about the unexpected merging of Morgan, a famous high-end boutique with Grayson Empire which is a major player in real estate. It was tagged as bold. The news report didn't fail to mention that the merger happened under the new CEO of Grayson Empire—Matthew Grayson, the youngest son of Lucas Grayson.
"It is indeed unexpected," he said in a small voice.
"Shit!" Tiffany screamed and threw her empty glass that broke when it hit the TV on the wall.
The loud sound of the TV crashing on the floor made Andrei bend down on the couch, grabbing his jeans and his shirt. He put on his clothes quietly.
"Listen, Tiff, I don't know what's your deal with your anger over this matter. But it is wrong in—" He heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. "I think I'll go ahead."
Tiffany stood motionless and watched her boyfriend walk out of the apartment. When she heard the door close behind Andrei, she flinched. She looked around the room and saw the broken TV and cried.
She's frustrated. Andrei wouldn't understand the reason for her frustration because she wasn't a girl. She told her father that she passed C University and wanted to take up a pre-law major but her father blatantly told her that she should study something else since she's a girl and won't be given any position in their law firm anyway. The family business will be for her brothers.
She dropped down on the floor and cried. Her mother soothed her anger by telling her that she should focus on finding a good husband—preferably a rich one that could provide for her needs since that's how it should be. A woman should be provided by her husband. She knew it was bullshit but what can she do?
And in her frustration, she saw the life of Lilly as something enviable. She has everything. She's an only child and the sole heir of her father's empire. She thought Lilly would fall down because of the rumors that Morgan was on the brink of bankruptcy. Yes, it was indeed. But that was before Gray Empire bought half of the store shares and now the Morgan is stronger than ever.
Lilly's life is a freaking fairytale while hers was going down the drain. Life is so unfair! She's prettier and smarter than Lilly. Lilly is nothing but her lackey at school. She's the queen bee and Lilly is nothing but her subordinates!
She wiped the snot on her nose and picked up her phone to dial Andrei's number. She screamed and was about to throw away her phone when he didn't answer her calls. But then remembered that her allowance was already given to her and she had already maxed out her credit card limit. Buying a new phone is a pain in the ass, especially since she will go on a graduation trip.
She searched for Lilly's number on her phone and sent a message.