"It seems I will be getting married before you do Theo" Bella said excitedly after a lovey dovey phone call with her boyfriend who I was yet to know of...The call was obviously meant to get me jealous..." Oh really" I said giving her a sidelong stare.." Yes babes, with the way I see things going with Vick..it won't be long before he comes proposing to me..As you must have noticed, he can't seem to stay a moment without wanting to hear from me" she said giggling in a way I found annoying. " What does he do?" I inquired.." He is into photography.. He is a very well known professional photographer here in Hamburg"" she elaborated "mmmmm, you know, I never thought you would ever want to settle for a photographer" "yeah, I never thought that as well, but then you don't know where love leads you too..You Theo,daughter of the owner of KandT group of companies might end up getting married to a begger" she said..was that a curse or what?. " you know, Vick is such a sweet soul, that's why I love him so much" she continued."you must be one lucky girl then" I said, letting out a half smile in an attempt to suppress a breeding anger." Oh yeah, I really am.., I finally found a man that's mine alone" I nodded to that" let me get us a drink" she said as she stood happily and went in..She was right when she said she finally found a man for herself alone..All the men Bella ever had were never hers to begin with, she seemed to derive joy in taking men that belonged to someone else including married men. At first I tried to caution her on her way of life but she adamantly told me how it was her life and also added that I should stop interfering and probing in her life ..Bella was my childhood friend and a best friend until college when I caught her in bed with my ex boyfriend Dan. She never knew I found out and I pretended not to know about their affair even after I and Dan broke up till date..but one thing for sure is that I plan on returning back the hurt she caused me..it's been more than five years already and i think the perfect opportunity I have been waiting for has just arrived, which was...what did she call his name again?... Yeah Vick! She seems to be so in love with him that for the first time Bella actually sees a future with a guy and plans on settling down...The feeling of seeing the guy you love choosing your best friend over you at the end sounds very perfect for a pay back..i smiled wickedly as i felt pleased with my plot, " what's making you smile that way?"Bella said as she approached with a tray of juice and two glasses cutting me off my thoughts.. "Oh, I was just..uhm.. wondering what name you would give your kids.. after your marriage of course..and if you will name one after me" I responded more heartily. "Oh that..come on, he hasn't even proposed yet talk more of getting married or having kids yet..let's get there first then we can start discussing that" she said grinning from ear to ear as she poured us drinks obviously feeling good with herself. Her smile suddenly faded as she handed a glass to me then said "But come to think of it Theo, between both of us, I most expected you to be the one thinking of getting married right now that's if not married already, considering the fact that you were such a hotcake back then in school, well you still are though with your outstanding beauty and gorgeous figure.But it's surprising to see that you have no serious relationship ongoing..why?" She asked like she didn't have an idea already.. "Well you know, After Dan broke up with me for someone else, I still haven't been able to move on or settle in with another guy" I said observing her keenly..she looked away guiltily as she grabbed her glass "That's true and am very much aware of how much you loved him and also how terrible Dan was for inflicting such pain on you but girl it's been 5 years already, don't you think it's time to move on with your life and be happy?..there are countless of guys out there that will die for an opportunity to have someone like you in their lives..And Dan is probably out there having the best time of his life while you while away yours" she said a bit seriously, if I didn't know otherwise I would have believed she actually meant well for me..and even if she did, it doesn't stop the fact that she had to pay for her betrayal to me.. "It's not like I haven't been having fun as well, it's just that I don't want any serious relationship yet" at least not until I take away 'your' serious relationship,I added silently "But then you are right...I think it's time to get me a serious date, I can't be the only single one here" I said with a smile and she laughed.." Oh yeah, I totally agree..you need to be next in line after me you know... That would mean you being my bridesmaid and catching the flowers" she said laughingly.. I smirked silently.. Too ahead of herself isn't she?..such over confidence.. We shall see about that.. "Point of correction though, maid of honour..its very important" I replied dryly.." My bad..of course who else would fit that role if not you " can it get any worse than it was already... Any minute more here and I might just have to break a head.."yeah...uhmm babes..I gat to go now before it gets dark..I will see you later again okay" I said as i stood and headed for the door.." Okay a minute, let me see you... " " No, you don't have to, I can see myself out..later then..Bye" I said cutting her off as I left her apartment...
***
At noon the next day, I stretched out on the bed, smiling to myself as I scrolled through Vick's pictures on my phone through his social media pages. He looked quite handsome and very fashionable...it seems fashion and photography goes hand in hand. He had this calm, self assuring demeanor and poise that was quite breathtaking but then he looked very familiar..in a way that made me feel we must have met somehow before but I couldn't place exactly where... Scrolling further, i saw some beautifully captured images and videos, most were of his clients and some were of nature, one was of an unsuspecting butterfly that was captured unawares as it was about leaping off from a flower. The imagery was really beautiful as it pronounced its lovely colours and features. He seemed to be really good at what he does..Then i saw a picture of Bella smiling happily into the camera and i felt my countenance change as i saw more pictures of her and Vick looking very happy together.She doesn't deserve to be this happy not after being the cause of my unhappiness.i dropped my phone in anger as i began to think of a way to take Vick away from her especially before he gets to propose to her. If i could get Vick far away from Bella atleast for a month, i could achieve something. An idea propped up immediately as I began to think of booking a photography session with him that could last a month..Berlin would be the perfect location for that...and though we have not met before but i would also need to make a slight change to my name just incase Bella might come across it to avoid any suspicion. Without delay, I grabbed back my phone and took out Vick's number which I had secretly gotten from Bella and dialled using a private line.He picked on second ring." Hello" he said into the phone. Mmmmm, such lovely deep voice. " Good day, this is Miss Tee kay, am i on to Vick's Photography?" I asked pretending not to know.."yes you are, how can i be of help please?"he asked.." Yeah, uhm you were actually referred by a friend to be a wonderful professional photographer and i would want to work with you on something very urgent..i want to book a session that may last upto a month depending because uhm this is something that will involve travelling". I said trying to sound business like "Mmmm..that would cost quite a lot but if you are in, I will check my schedule and let you know when we can commence and how we can go about it " he said.." I don't know how to say this but like I said it's very urgent as these shoots will be used for many brands and will be needed in a month's time..as it is, I would even love for us to start right away..the earlier the better" I insisted..there was a little pause before he said " uhm, i'm really sorry but this is quite sudden, it would have been perfect if you had made an earlier booking because i have other sessions that are already scheduled for the mont....." " i know but this came in an urgency and i came to you because you were highly recommended, so please i need you to do this for me...i'm willing to pay twice the amount and i will take care of every expenses needed for this " I pleaded..cutting him off a bit...another pause, longer this time.." I'm willing to make a down payment if you wish before we start" i added, " i will get back to you on this please" he finally responded.." I await a positive response " I said hopefully then added a thank you before hanging up.. I was positive he wouldn't reject this offer. It won't take long before he calls back to accept the deal but then was this worth it? Because this was about to cost me a lot now including Time, money and resources..could this be worth the stress? I asked myself thoughtfully.i might be the daughter of a well known and wealthy CEO but then i wasnt known to spend money on frivolent things such as revenge.If not for how Bella mocked me earlier for not having a man yet while hers was about proposing marriage and all and also how she boasted of having a wonderful relationship knowing fully well she was the cause of mine once crashing down, I don't think I would have thought of going through this stress right now all in the name of getting revenge. I could still remember the pain I felt on seeing her in bed with Dan..I tried overlooking everything to make things work between Dan and i after that but he still chose to leave me for her a month later with the excuse that he had found someone else he was in love with...the thought of that still had the ability to make my blood boil..and here I am, contemplating if the stress was worth it..of course it was. The pain she would feel on seeing Vick and I together in a month's time would be more than worth it..the pain of receiving a break up in place of a proposal will definitely be worth it..I had the looks, endowment and capability of winning the heart of just any man if I set my heart to it and i might not find another opportunity if this passes by. So stupid of her to think it was because of Dan I chose to remain single, all these years I made sure to keep my relationship life private and away from her prying eyes else she seemed ready to keep mingling with every man I meet..I made sure that never repeated itself again at least not until she learns her lesson the hard way. I stood up to make myself dinner as I waited for his call.. It wasn't up to an hour before he called back and demanded for an upfront payment before he finally agreed and then We finalised on meeting up at Berlin in two days. 'Now the first phase has been achieved , it's time to prepare for the next phase' I said to myself Smiling victoriously".