2.

“You need to tell her before she finds out, Bazyli,” his cousin said, opening the fridge to get a bottle of water.

“We’ve been through this already, Kimora," he said, skillfully flipping the stir fry he was making.

“I know, but according to you, she’s not like the others. She’s not invested in wealth, fame, and all that crap. She’s already made a name for herself. So telling her is just ideal. You know how women react when they find out that you lied.”

"Yes, Kimora, I’ll tell her soon,” he said, dramatically rolling his eyes at her.

Kimora was a runway model and had worked with Alyona a couple of times. She loved her work culture and personality, and she wasn’t happy her cousin’s actions were going to end up hurting her and may even ruin her work relationship with Aly.

Kimora started modeling at the age of 12. It was her passion to do so, and she was glad her Asian parents didn’t talk her out of it or convince her to do something else.

At 25, she was working with most of the big fashion brands in New Jersey, and that’s how she met Alyona. Her almond-shaped eyes were a deep shade of brown. Her high cheekbones framed her face perfectly, giving her a strikingly sculpted appearance.

Her long, silky, jet-black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, adding to her enchanting presence. She stood at 5'9" with a svelte and toned figure, and her every movement was a testament to her poise and confidence.

“ She’s not like everyone, Bazyli,” she added.

“ How’s Calvin, by the way?” He changed the topic, earning a glare from Kimora

After the loss of his wife and kids, Calvin had become a shadow of himself. With the help of his friends and in-laws, he had been able to pull through steadily.

But he wasn’t open to the idea of finding love anytime soon.

Kimora and Calvin had met at an event a couple of months ago. They exchanged contacts and have been talking ever since, flirting here and there, but nothing too serious because of how Calvin felt. 

“ He’s good,” she shrugged, walking out of the kitchen when she heard Bazyli say, “  He needs to know Kim, irrespective of his stand. It’s better now than never." 

“Says the man who hasn’t done the same either; we are in the same boat, Bazy," she responded, climbing up to her room.

~

~

“ That’s sad, so sad,"  Yara said after she had tolerated enough of her trolling for the day. Yara, Ayanda, and Brynn somehow ended up at the same university. Brynn kept going on with how Yara had ended up with her sloppy seconds and bragging about how she was Jax’s first and all.

"Bitch, what did you say?" 

“ I said, You’re a pathetic piece of trash who has nothing reasonable to do with her life than to dump a guy who loved you so much and then troll him because he found someone better. That’s sad, Brynn."

“ Better than me? Bitch, you don’t come anywhere close to me. Not an inch,” she defended.

“ Why troll me then?” Yara raised a brow, waiting for a comeback.

“ She’s not worth your time, Yara,” Ayanda defended her friend, gently dragging her away from Brynn.

“ I’m sick and tired of her trolling my man, Ayanda, when she was the cause of their breakup.”

“Pay no attention to her; she just wants to chase clout to fit in with the popular crowd, nothing else.”

“But that is clearly not happening," a voice said behind them as they turned to see who that was.

“ I’m sorry for startling you. I’m Tia, Tia Williams," the pretty girl introduced.

~

~

~

“ You lost that right, Zac; the fact that I’ve been patient enough to listen to your crap doesn’t give you the effort to talk down on me,” Aly added, cutting him off. She had gone to the shop to grab some snacks for herself when she bumped into Zac.

He looked good, no doubt about that, but he was still that ignorant jerk she knew.

“ Or wh—

"Hey, babe, are you okay?” Bazyli said, walking past Zac to hug Alyona. He saw that she was uncomfortable around Zac and came to her rescue.

Play along. He whispered into her ears.

“Thank goodness, babe; I’ve been waiting for you for a while now. What kept you so long?” she asked.

“ I’m so sorry; was he being a bother to you?” he questioned, facing Zac.

“Oh, no, no. He was just leaving. He was someone I used to know way back,” she shrugged, enjoying the look on Zac’s face.

“ If you say so, can we leave now? Remember, you have a gig with Aikins at 10 a.m."

  The famous model?

 Aly works with her now. Zac thought to himself, making a mental note to check Aly’s net worth as soon as he got to his car.

“Nice meeting you, Zac,” Aly smirked at him, turned on her heels, and walked away, with Bazyli leaving Zac lost in thought.

“ Thanks for coming to my aid, Baz." Aly appreciated sitting in his car.

“ I owe you one,”

“ I’ll hold on to that promise. By the way, who was he? A blast from the past?” Bazyli asked, responding to a text on his phone. He had to attend an urgent meeting in Greece, which he couldn’t miss. He had wanted his managing director and good friend to go in his stead, but it wasn’t possible. They wanted the founder and CEO of the company to be there in person.

“ My toxic ex, he’s my toxic ex, Bazyli,” she added, drawing his attention to her.

“ Did he do anything silly?” he asked, trying to tame his anger.

“ He said some words, but I’m used to it, so it doesn’t matter anyway."

“ It does matter Alyona, don’t let anyone talk down on you anymore. You’re bigger than them now."

"Thanks, Bazyli,” she smiled at him.

“ I was about to call you earlier before I spotted you with that jerk. I have an emergency to attend to in Greece, and I wanted to let you know,” he added, waiting for her response.

“ Awwn, for how long? She pouted. He was the only person, apart from her family and friends, whom she loved to spend her time with.

“ Three weeks,”

“ Damn, the next three weeks are going to be the most boring weeks ever."