Damn! This trip to Berlin came at a very wrong time.I muttered silently as I buckled my seat belt and waited for the plane to take off. The journey hasn't even started and I was missing Bella already.I brought out a pretty box from a bag I held and opened it, inside was a lovely silver ring I had purchased few days back to propose to Bella this weekend but then it had to be suspended for this trip. The offer was actually too good to decline as I was payed twice the amount for the job plus I didn't need to spend a dime for anything through out the time duration of the work. I would just have to compensate Bella by preparing a more elaborate proposal for her when back. She had once mentioned about wanting her proposal to be quite a big surprise that would send every of her friends into a wave of jealousy..she wanted it videoed and posted in all her social networks and platforms..even though I knew some of who she wanted to do that for, the idea wasn't exactly sitting well with me as my proposal to her wasn't for show off but a declaration of wanting a lifetime together with her. How Sad she looked when I told her about the urgent trip I had to make, she requested to come with me but then I knew it wasn't possible as she wouldn't want to leave her work behind. I assured her a wonderful surprise on my return and that brought back the smile on her face. I quickly closed the box and carefuly put it away inside the bag as someone came to take the seat beside me. I froze for a second as I recognised the lady who came to seat beside me. Theodore Ken! How's that even possible?. She looked up at me for a moment and smiled in greeting before turning away. She didn't seem to recognise me but then I didn't expect other wise. She still looked as gorgeous and lovely as she was five years ago even more now and those smiles of her still had a way to make a man do her bidding. I looked away sensing a growing anger as I remembered her for who I knew her to be. Her looks only hid her true nature. I laid back my head and closed my eyes in a bid to ward off the unpleasant memories.
***
Seeing his earlier reaction made me grin in satisfaction. I seem to have been able to successfully captivate him at first glance. I had to pretend not to know who he was or that I was the one who made the deal with him. My sitting close to him at the plane was a way of giving him a first hand awareness of me before we officially meet, but then the sense of familiarity with him felt more stronger when our gazes met. I tried recalling where exactly we must have met but to no avail. It really took me quite some willpower to refrain from stealing glances at him because..Man..He looked too damn hot physically that those pictures didn't do enough justice to his features. We alighted from the plane and went in different directions. But unknown to him, we were to meet and stay together at the same location because I had rented a lovely little cottage at castle park and sent him the address earlier before the trip without informing him that the place was meant for the both of us..if I had, he might not have conceded to it and that would greatly affect my plan. I boarded a cab to castle park and thirty minutes later I arrived at the cottage. I knocked at the door and after a while the door opened and Vick stood there with the look of surprise plain on his face followed by confusion.."Uhm Good day, you must be Vick the photographer? " I asked quickly "Aaah yes, and....?" He drawled questioningly " I am Theo, the lady you will be working with for the shoots. we seem to have just met on the plane. I am sorry I didn't recognise you earlier "I lied. He looked quite speechless and didn't seem to want to let me in " I'm sorry you weren't told about this but i figured the work would be more easier and save me a lot if we shared the house together " I explained dryly " the house is quite big for just one person and I don't think there will be any need to encroach on each other's space on anything other than work..so you have nothing to be worried about" I said explaining further...there was more silence as he kept staring at me and at this point I was beginning to lose my cool. "So? Can I be allowed in ? I am quite tired from the trip" I said hastily." I am really sorry Miss Theo, forgive my manners. I was just a bit taken off guard by your sudden appearance. its nice to meet you. Do come inside" he finally said as he made way. "Thank you, I guess it hasn't been quite long you arrived considering the time we alighted from the plane" I asked a bit more cheerfully now as I dragged my box inside. " I was just unpacking when you knocked"he replied.. "uhm, I hope this trip didn't disorganise your schedules ...and if it did, I'm really sorry about it ..it came very urgent" I asked like I cared "it's alright ma'am, it's all part of work" he said calmly, " And am grateful for the positive feedback, this means a lot right now..though it's not like I couldn't get someone else for the job but I wanted it to be someone who would do this perfectly and flawlessly and you were recommended" "Okay let me leave you to continue with unpacking while I do same..we should meet at the living room in two hours after we must have freshened up so we can discuss" I suggested. He nodded as he pointed to a room across for me to settle in before leaving for his which kept me wondering why the sudden change of attitude. His reaction to seeing me again was quite different from earlier..He had the look of suspicion and quiet observation on his face which kept me wondering if he had caught up with something... Mmmm It seems i have to be more cautious and play it cool and slow..I gently took in my bag into the room and began unpacking.
***
Different thoughts Crossed my mind as I finished unpacking and laid down on the bed a bit tired. The thought of spending a month in the same house with Theodore didn't sound at all pleasing, as a matter of fact it sounded threatening. This couldn't just be a coincidence, could it? Was it planned? why did she come up with the name Tee Kay instead of using her real name? I certainly would have recognised her and all these would have been avoided quickly. She must be up to something, just like she was back then. If Bella knew of this recent development, she will definitely demand that I return to Hamburg immediately or she would be right here in an instant. No I will take care of this myself as I would like to know what she has up her sleeve I said silently. If this wasn't for business alone then she should get ready for a disappointment because I do not intend to let her have a way, not this time and most importantly not to Bella. She had caused her pain once and I don't intend for that to repeat again through me. Anger surged in as I remembered how foolish I was five years ago at college.Theodore, a girl I once dreamt of having. She was every man's dream. So beautiful, gorgeous and graceful. Her smile was literally everything to me and despite being a billionaire's daughter, she appeared so humble, sweet and kind. She flowed along with everyone she met not minding the status. You wouldn't tell she was from a wealthy home. This was what attracted me more to her. A time i once cherished the most was a day after class, I was preparing to hurry out as usual to my photography lessons when I heard a sweet voice call out to me. "Hi.. Uhm Vick right?? I turned towards the voice and lo she stood there like an angel smiling so sweetly at me that I had to repress an urge to touch those lovely cheeks of hers.I felt like her smile was made just for me alone. And her voice, so melodious I could dance to the tune forever. I felt so pleased that she knew my name.." I'm sorry for interrupting but can I have your pen for a minute please... I need to jot down something real quick and I can't seem to find mine" she requested and without delay, I rummaged through my bag for a pen until I found one. Our hands brushed slightly as I handed it to her and that contact sent chills to my system..At that moment, I received an urgent call that made me dash out of class immediately as the call was related to my mum being ill. "Hey Vick, your pen" I heard Theo say after me but I was unable to comprehend anything at that moment.So I left without a word. The next day, She didn't show up in class but she had someone return the pen to me with a thank you note attached to it. Ever since that day, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I always try to stop myself from stealing glances at her during classes. I even took pictures of her without her knowing. I tried approaching her severally but then she was always surrounded by guys and I realised that I wasn't the only one who was so into her. The realisation of that got me jealous all the time and prevented me from letting her know my feelings for her for fear of being turned down. But that didn't make me give up as I thought of other ways to catch her attention. I anonymously started sending her gifts and flowers with love notes attached to it. Then at some point, I added my digits behind each note hoping for her to call to atleast to know who the secret admirer was. i once saw her wear one of the gift i gave her, a golden necklace and that made me so happy, but then Weeks passed and even months and she never responded to any of the letters or gift. i felt really discouraged, frustrated and almost gave up. I decided to send a final note requesting for us to meet at the school bridge the next day with time stated if she wanted to know who I was.
At the bridge the next day, I looked my best as I waited hopefully for her to show up while holding flowers behind my back.. I waited close to an hour but she never showed up. A girl walked along the bridge, past me then stopped somewhere behind me..I noticed she was crying but I didn't pay any attention to her as my focus was on the hope of seeing Theodore. she said something some minutes after that caught my attention. "How could you do this to me??" I turned and noticed she was on a phone call still with tears in her eyes.."You knew Theodore is my best friend. How could you?" I became alert at the mention of Theodore..." No, don't you dare lie to me about you not knowing...even at that, How could you??...Don't ever call me again... I wish you both well" i heard her say as she hung up and burst into another wave of tears.. It may be a coincidence.. I mean there are lots of people with the same name. It definitely can not be her...I thought calmly not until I heard her say out loud " Theodore Ken, no matter how rich and wealthy your family may be, it doesn't give you the right to take what belongs to someone else... I treated you as my sister but is this how you choose to repay me?.." She asked no one in particular as she cried bitterly, obviously not knowing she was loud..Now my curiosity has been pricked. I walked towards her offering a handkerchief. " Take" she looked up at me with eyes reddened with tears then cautiously accepted it . "Thank you very much" she said as she wiped her face with it. "Care to share?" I asked gently but burning with the urge to know what Theo must have done wrong or why she should cause a girl to cry.." Thanks for this but it's really none of your business " she responded quite rudely. " Mmm..well you made it my business with the way you shouted earlier, you can actually confide in me you know, I'm definitely good at keeping secrets... But then if you still ain't okay with it..There's no problem" I waited for a moment and was about turning away when she asked "How would you feel if you caught your best friend in bed with your girlfriend?" ..." okay... that's quite a question.. but first of all, I don't have a girlfriend.. Well not yet...still hopeful though...okay I think..uhm I would be really mad if that ever happens to me" I answered after a thought. She heaved a heavy sigh " well, that's what just happened to me " she said sadly.. " How did that happen? " I asked curiously.. " I caught my best friend kissing and making out with my boyfriend in his room..God! I can't believe Theo could do this to me??" "Wait a minute! Do you mean Theodore, like the wealthy Theodore Ken" I asked to be very sure as I prayed hard for it not to be.. She nodded then asked" you know her?" "Aah, well,n..not really..we are just.. Uhm, in the same class" I responded flustered. " well, I will really advice that you keep this between us as it will do you no good if it's known publicly.. Her father is famous..you know " she hinted which I quite understood. I was speechless as I tried to digest what I just found out. I can't seem to comprehend the fact that the girl i liked so much and wanted to be mine actually preferred to take someone else's man instead.. All my efforts and months of waiting were all in vain..oh, how she must have laughed at the letters in disinterest and have someone throw them away while trying to sleep with her best friend's boyfriend, else what other reason could explain why she didn't respond to me all this while.. I thought bitterly.I couldn't begin to place the emotions I felt at that moment..disappointment, anger, frustration. I felt like i was the one cheated on..I felt like an idiot for not realising sooner the type of girl Theo was. It was humiliating to know that I had my heart broken before even given a chance to confess my feelings. I looked at the lady beside me who was still sobbing but not as much as before and asked her name. "Bella" she replied. I handed her the flowers which where meant for Theo "Can I have your phone?" I asked. She gave it to me a bit reluctantly. I dialled my number on it and saved. " That's my number, you can call me anytime you need a friend to talk to okay? Cheer up. You are a lovely lady and I'm sure there is someone else out there who will appreciate you more" I said finally to her also consoling myself in the process as I turned to go.. " you didn't tell me your name " she said bluntly ." It's saved on your phone " I responded not looking back."Thanks for everything " she shouted behind me and I waved back in acknowledgement as I walked back home feeling downhearted. But that was when I got to know Bella more. She was like a recovering process for me at first as we both helped ourselves heal from the pain one person caused us..We began to call each other, hangout, kept each other company till we felt something stir between us and decided to take it to the next level. From that day forward, I made sure to always avoid Theo in school until we graduated. Now seeing her again after four years made me realise how angry I still was about the whole situation which was actually good because it would help me keep her at bay for the duration of time we had to work together. I got into the bathroom for a shower as I prepared to meet her later in an hour.