Trap

Zach held Mandy's hand very tight, his grip almost breaking her wrist till he let go roughly.

Mandy staggered, but Lia held her before she could fall.

Tiffany looked at him, and when their eyes met, he's the first to walk away like he's not the one who just stopped Mandy from slapping her.

Though...if he hadn't, she'd have done it herself.

There's no way she'd let Mandy slap her, she's not that easy.

"Doormat!" Mandy shouted after Zach as he walked down the hall, but he never looked back.

Mandy angrily left with Lia, and Tiffany left for the park with her friends.

"I should have slapped Zach earlier, how dare he play prince charming after that heartless breakup last night" Yvonne scoffed.

"Calm down, you're always on the edge" Pascal said with a grin.

"Of course, I hate him!" Yvonne replied, and Tiffany smiled.

Yvonne has always been the protective type of friend, and she counts herself lucky to have her every single day.

"I should be on my way, need to go see mum" Pascal said.

Pascal's mum is bedridden in the hospital, actually.

"I and Yvonne will come see her at dusk" Tiffany said.

"Sure, see you guys" Pascal stroked both their hairs before leaving in his car.

Tiffany entered Yvonne's car with her.

"So..gist me. You haven't given me the full gist! You had the D of the richest man in this country in a nightstand, and you think it's something light? Girl, you're a star! And the fact that he's Mandy's brother? More juicy!" Yvonne gushed like a fan girl.

"You think I did the right thing?" Tiffany asked, looking unsettled.

"What did I always tell you? If you ever get a break up, the best drug is getting laid by a guy more handsome than the bastard and fûck the bastard out of your system. Ryat defeats Zach in every aspect. The money? The face card? The manliness? Oh kill me" Yvonne gushed again, and Tiffany smiled.

"And then...your mother's shop can finally get the adverts, exposure and expansion that it needs. You've got 2M, babe. Make use of it and dispose the guilt" Yvonne further said.

"You'll end up pushing me to hell" Tiffany laughed.

"We'll go together. Don't worry, ride or die till forever falls apart" Yvonne replied, cackling as she drove them out of the university.

--

[Stella's Bakehouse]

Stella's cake shop is small shop in an underdeveloped area since it's the area Stella could afford.

She doesn't get enough customers cos of the poor and unexposed state of the shop, but at least she earns enough to feed herself and her daughter.

There are different cake show-glasses, housing different flavors and colours of cake, both big and small bites.

Stella is sitting in the shop alone, no customers as usual when Tiffany came down from Yvonne's car.

"Bye Stella!" Yvonne saluted funnily from the car window.

"Bye, troublemaker" Stella replied, and she drove away as Tiffany entered the shop.

"You were supposed to have classes till 4" Stella said.

"Second class got postponed, meaning tomorrow is gonna be packed, pray for my survival" Tiffany made puppy faces.

"Lazy ass" Stella poked her daughter's cheek, and Tiffany chuckled, then she took her hand, holding eyes with her.

"I intend to expand your shop, mum" she said.

"Expand? We're poor, Tiffany" Stella frowned a bit.

"What if I say I can do it? Just give me three days, and I promise you'd move out of this place to a bigger and more exposed shop in a open area, then you'll get the needed adverts too" Tiffany replied.

"You're making me think harder than I've ever done, did you win a bet? Jackpot?" Stella maintained the small frown, and Tiffany rubbed her knuckles.

"I call it jackpot" she said, and Stella blinked, her frown disappearing.

--

[Ryat's Penthouse]

With his work glasses on his eyes, Ryat sat in the lounge, working with all his attention on his laptop screen.

Landon sent him a new article about the Chinese food brand. Their boss just got involved in a homicide scandal, and the company is plummeting already.

He's still reading when Landon's call came ringing on his phone, and he swiped green, resting back on his chair.

"I already sent five repeated copies of the article to your father, he should be glad he has your type as his son and learn to stop being a dîck" Landon said.

"Call for a meeting with the small food business owners tomorrow, I chose to work with small scale this time" Ryat said.

"Sure, and about the Tiffany girl you told me to look into, I found nothing about her at all. She's not a rich girl so there's no g****e record. Would have been better if you have a picture of her" Landon replied.

Ryat stood, his movement fluid as he walked to the glass wall through which he stared at the beautiful vibrant city of America.

"It's fine, goodnight jerk" he said, ending the call with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He didn't even hire a doll tonight at his usual doll site, and it's strange.

It hasn't happened in a long time—him not hiring a doll.

His black PJs clung to his muscular skin as his body flexed against the fabric, and he removed his glasses.

Will he really not meet her again?

His thoughts were interrupted when his phone buzzed with a text from a number saved as ‘Rat’

It's Mandy.

"You never call, and whenever I call, you're never fast to pick, it's unfair BB! (big brother)" She whined.

"What's up?" He asked modestly, an hand in pocket.

"What do you mean what's up? It's dad's 62nd birthday party in two days and you're not even participating in the preparations. I know you both clash a lot, but it's hightime you start tolerating each other" Mandy complained.

"I'm not attending the party" Ryat replied, hanging up before she'd say anything else.

He went to his cellar to pour himself a cup of wine, and as he took a sip, the fruity scent of the wine made him drank more and more, till he got intoxicated.

--

[Briggs Mansion]

"BB hung up on me!" Mandy whined like a kid.

She's with Harvey in the dinning, and they're eating with Julie, her mother.

Julie is a quiet woman who rarely talks, just like now.

She only drank water despite Mandy's whines.

"I wasn't expecting him to come, you can leave him alone" Harvey said.

"You were trying to push the Chinese food brand on him yesterday, but today they got involved in a scandal. Do you even make researchs before imposing stuffs on him?" Mandy said.

"Whose side are you on?" Harvey looked up from his plate of steak.

"I'm not chosing sides!" Mandy replied sharply, and the old man cleared his throat, returning to his meal.

"How's the preparation for the birthday party going?" Harvey asked, directing the question at Julie.

"Everything is in place except the cake, you said you'd love to order from where you like" Julie finally spoke like she's measuring her words before speaking them.

"I'll take care of the cake, mum" Mandy chirped, dropping her fork and picking her phone before rushing out of the dinning.

She went to her room, pacing as she dialled Lia's line.

"Hey babe!" Lia's loud voice came from the other end.

"What's the name of Tiffany's mum's shop? I'm planning a trap" Mandy asked.

"Stella's Bakehouse" Lia replied in a beat, and Mandy immediately hung up.

She googled Stella's Bakehouse, and she gasped when she saw it since she didn't expect it.

"They're on the map? Aren't they supposed to be poor? Last time I checked, it's a small scale shop" she muttered.

But then...it doesn't change anything.

She dialled the line she found, and it was Stella who picked.

"Hello? This is Stella's Bakehouse" Her welcoming voice spoke, and Mandy made sour faces before trying to speak nicely.

"Hi, a 5ft cake with vanilla flavoring is needed for a birthday party in two days, how fast do you work?"

"Five what!" Stella gasped in shock.

"You can't?" Mandy scoffed.

"No, I'm only surprised, and I'll definitely make it happen, but the—"

"The payment? Just send your details to this account, and I'll send you a million for a start" Mandy cut her off.

"Really? I'm on it! I'll make sure you keep patronizing us!" Stella said.

"And can you make your daughter deliver it?" Mandy asked, admiring her pink nails..

"Why? And how do you know I have a daughter" Stella's voice cooled.

"I once patronized your shop when you weren't around, and she treated me well. I'd love to see her again and maybe make friends" Mandy lied.

"Of course, my Tiffany is a sweet, sweet girl. She'd do the delivery, and thanks for patronizing us" Stella replied appreciatively.

Mandy ended the call with a click and bursted into a shrill laughter.

Two days to come, she'd teach Tiffany a bitter lesson at the birthday party.