CHAPTER 49: PLOT

The couple Waka waffle stared at each other in silence. Alisha’s hands clutched on the bouquet of flowers even tighter and when she noticed that Dante wasn’t going to say anything anymore.

She gave him a sheepish smile before leaving but Dante held her back. It had been a weird habit of his lately, always holding her whenever she wanted to leave.

"What do you want?" She asked. "I already said it’s cool between us."

"Does that mean I can kiss you whenever I want?" He asked.

Her stomach flipped as she scowled at him. "Don’t get ahead of yourself."

Dante grinned. She’d never seen her smile before, at least not at him, and he was aiming for that to happen but it seemed he would need to crack better jokes next time.

"You can leave now. Don’t you have your office to return to?" She asked, cocking up an eyebrow.

"But I want to see you. Also, I think it’ll be good to convince the media more about our relationship when those videos the staff took gets uploaded. So, I’ll stay," he responded.

Alisha could only give him a smile before she turned to leave once again. Thankfully, Dante didn’t stop her.

Reaching the main area where the photoshoot would be taken, the photographer demanded for a costume change.

Alisha walked out of the changing room, wearing a rose golden satin dress that flowed down her legs. The fabric was so soft to the touch, revealing her slender shoulder blades and the staff couldn’t help but steal a pic or two of her.

Katherine walked out, wearing a green satin that matched the color of the jewelry. She looked fitted but she didn’t have as much effect as Alisha did.

"Start," the photographer said and started taking pictures. He would instruct them on what to do, how to do it and when to do it.

Dante watched as his wife posed for the camera. He glanced around, feeling weird before he fetched his phone and took a few pictures of her.

"This time, I want Katherine to stay behind Alisha and strike a powerful pose, while Alisha stays in front. The colors of your dresses are already beautiful enough so all you need to do is look naturally in the picture," the photographer instructed.

The two women did as he instructed, but an idea popped into Katherine’s mind when her heels stepped on Alisha’s dress.

The photographer didn’t say it but it was obvious he wasn’t satisfied with her pose. He only smiled at Alisha. Nix was a big deal. If he said any word to the CEO, that woman might start to reconsider.

"Good, now pose," the photographer almost yelled and clicked pictures after pictures. While the crews on set tried to hold things despite how exhausted they were.

The photographer looked into his camera and nodded in satisfaction.

"Let’s take another break for the next few photos. You can go change your dresses," he said.

Alisha straightened, satisfied with the outcome so far. She’d expected Katherine to do something against her but the latter hadn’t even said a single word to her yet. She felt disappointed.

Right when she was about to step down the stage, she heard fabric rip.

Since it was a satin dress, the texture was soft and delicate, giving it a clean fresh cut up to her butt. Alisha almost stumbled on her feet because she hadn’t expected it.

Everyone turned to look at them.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was standing on your dress. Please, forgive me Alisha," Katherine said with a gentle and regretful look.

Alisha resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Katherine’s childish moves. She wanted the latter to look for trouble and try to make things hard for her, but not to act so childish and repeat the same thing.

Alisha didn’t say a word as Katherine gave her a smile and walked away.

"Did she just intentionally rip Alisha’s dress out of jealousy?"

"She’s trying so hard not to be bitter but she’s not really a good actress at all."

"Goodness, to think I was a die hard fan of that woman. A cheat and a jealous bitch."

Alisha calmly stepped down while Maxine quickly came forward with a cloth to wrap her up. The tear had been so huge it reached up her butt, revealing everything.

Dante watched in silence, but immediately glared at the men who were staring at Alisha as if they hadn’t seen a beautiful woman before.

A few minutes later,

Both of them came out of the dressing room with a new set of outfits that complimented their bodies.

The set was a little tense now after what Katherine had pulled earlier.

The photographer repeated the same thing again, by instructing them on their poses and everything they needed to get done.

Unlike the other two shots, he wasn’t very satisfied with the current one. He’d been managing Katherine the entire time. Although her confidence and pose seemed to have shrunk when she stood right next to Alisha, now, it seemed she was mimicking Alisha’s pose in a mocking way.

The photographer looked into his camera, thinking he was starting to see things.

"What is going on?" He couldn’t help but wonder. "Katherine, please fix your expressions," he added with an edge to his tone.

They’d been there for almost seven hours already and this was their last shot. Everyone was tired and it would be really childish if Katherine was intentionally doing this.

After what seemed to be a hellish hour of trying to take perfect photos, the photographer called it over, putting his camera away.

Alisha stretched her body in exhaustion, oblivious to the expressions Katherine was making.

Everyone started clearing the set so they could retire home.

Maxine gave Alisha a quick thumbs up before leaving to speak with the photographer.

"You’re getting really good at this, maybe I should come to you for lessons," Katherine suddenly said, searching for cameras. When she didn’t see anything, she grinned.

"Maybe you should. That way everyone will get off quick and you can get the time to plot my downfall," Alisha remarked.

"You’re right about that. However, what if you’re unable to walk again?"

Immediately, the memory of that horrible night flashed in Alisha’s mind.

Before she could respond, she felt her body falling and her face collided with the floor.