Chapter 66: We Let In A Rat
“It’s just a week away, and you are just telling me now? Now of all time?” Merissa asked exasperatedly, her eyes filled with rage and disbelief as she stared into Zach’s indifferent eyes.
“What do you mean I have to look for another model to work with? Where will I get a good model at this time? Are you expecting me to pick from those leftover crumbs? If that’s your suggestion you can forget it!” She exclaimed with a flushed face as she began pacing up and down the living room of her apartment, in nothing but her flimsy night dress.
Zach sat down with an indifferent expression that masked the anxiety he was feeling. It has taken him all the courage he could summon, with a lot of overthinking, to finally conclude on this outcome.
Cutting off all relations with Merissa before it was too late.
After his breakup with Lily and his continuous study of the series of events that had happened around her in the past few months, he could tell nothing good would come to those who opposed the silent and easygoing girl.
He, like everyone, had thought that she could be easily manipulated. Not until, after her accident, did she start showing her well-sharpened claws.
To save himself and his budding career, he had decided to let go of his obsession with attending the nationals with Merissa, Lily’s biggest enemy. Sitting up, he looked at the anxious Merissa and shook his head with a pitiful expression.
“Let’s break up,” he announced, and Merissa stopped in her tracks with a bewildered expression. Her expression soon morphed into one of surprise and then contempt.
“Is this about that peasant again?” She demanded with a scoff as she stood in front of him with her hands folded. Zach stood up and walked towards her, his cold eyes meeting her angry ones.
“What if it is about her?” He asked.
“What will you do?”
“Push me down the stairs?”
“Frame me?”
“Ruin my reputation to make yourself look good?
Tell me what you’ll do if it is about her, huh?” He asked one after the other.
With each question, Merissa’s blood ran cold. Those were the things she had done to Lily and some other people that had stood in her way.
“I was only with you to fulfil my plans, but now, being with you is nothing but a hindrance to the said plan. You’ve been nothing but a nuisance since I agreed to Collaborate with you,” he continued coldly.
“I regretted ever joining hands with you. You want me to join you for the nationals, With what design? Do you think I don’t know how you’ve been turned down by everyone who you have approached to make the designs for you?”
“When will you learn that you are nothing without her? All your success is all thanks to Lily.”
As he said those words, Merissa slapped him across the face with a flushed face. “How dare you?” she gritted out. “How dare you compare me with that lowly peasant?” She seethed as she glared at him.
“I was only telling the truth; how is that comparing you to Lily?” Zach replied with a chuckle.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.
“If I’m to make a comparison between you two, it will be an insult to Lily and not to you,” he added, further annoying Merissa, who was just a moment away from losing her sh*t.
“Do you think I’m afraid to expose your dealings with me?” She threatened and Zach laughed, a hearty laugh that made him hold his stomach, “Oh please, Miss Smith. I would love to see you do it without evidence,” he replied.
“Unlike you, I always manage not to leave a trace and except you, who everyone already knows as a liar and a manipulator, no one else knew I was involved with you,” he added with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Like I said, I was only using you to achieve my goals and I’ve always known that our partnership will come to an end sooner than later. You could not even keep your only source of great design. How could you keep a man you have added no value to?” He asked coldly.
She bit her lips and turned away from him. “Leave!” She ordered. “I don’t want to ever see you anywhere near me again. If you ever appear around me again, I promise to make your life a living hell!” She threatened and Zach shrugged, picking up his phone and keys from the chair.
“I don’t plan on being around you either. I hope you learn your lessons and turn a new leaf soon,” he said, exiting the apartment.
Seeing him gone, Merissa screamed and threw the vase at the wall. “Fucking piece of shit!” She screamed. “All of them are nothing but useless idiots!” She continued rampaging for several minutes until her phone started ringing.
Her face brightened up as she noticed the caller. “How is it? Did you get it?” She asked immediately, not waiting for the other person to speak. There was a short break on the phone, followed by a cautious whispering voice.
“It’s going to be a lot more difficult than we planned,” the person reported, and Merissa frowned.
“What do you mean by that? Aren’t you one of her people already?” She asked.
“Of course I am, but it’s not that simple. We are only given work, and we are being closely supervised; stealing the designs is going to be difficult since we are given separate parts of a design to work with,” the lady on the other side of the phone reported.
Merissa, hitting a huge wall, once again lost her cool as she threw her phone against the wall. “Why the heck is nothing going as planned?” “What do you think? It’s gorgeous, right?” Alana asked as she twirled in front of the mirror, checking how much her flowing blue dress fitted her.
Lily lifted her head and looked away from the commercials she was editing for the official page. She gave Alana a once-over and nodded approvingly.
“It matches your skin tone and goes well with the event. You have good eyes,” she compliments, making Alana flush timidly.
“Thank you! Too bad I had to get it ready-made; I wanted to make my dress for the event by myself,” Alana sighed with a pout while looking in the mirror.
“You’ll have more of it to attend in the future. By the way, what is Evie up to these days?” Lily asked curiously. After her return to the city, she had been too busy setting up the store and establishing it as a company to follow the news about Merissa or Evie.
Her goal was to set the momentum for Lily’s fashion before going to the nationals, where she would eventually leave them all in awe and loyal to her brand. Hearing her question, Alana groaned as she went into the side room to change out of the dress before replying.
“Well, she asked me to take her along as my plus one for the award party, and I agreed,” she explained, and Lily raised a brow.
“Why would you do that?” She asked.
“Because I know she’s up to something again.” Alana chuckled “Her parents are having a fallout right now due to the problem she caused.
It’s usually her mom siding with her and her dad against her, so I think she and her scheming mother are up to something again. I’m just not sure what,” she explained with a shrug as she took her seat beside Lily.
“Will you be alright? You don’t need me to help you with anything right?” Lily asked.
“Of course! You have nothing to worry about, even though I’m like this. I grew up in the Thompson family, and I have their rotten blood flowing through me. Since I don’t have to worry about implicating my parents, I can hold my own against the mother and daughter duo” She grinned reassuringly, and Lily nodded.
“I’m just a call away if you need me.” Alana stood up, ready to leave, when she suddenly remembered something.
“Why did you ask me to give those guys different parts of different designs to work with?” she asked, and Lily smiled mischievously.
“Because we let in a rat!”