Monica sat on the bed wondering what she could do to get back at Abby. That bitch had forsaken her when she needed her the most. In all honesty she hadn't left home. Her parents had kicked her out because they thought that she was too demanding. Just because she had asked for a little money. Weren't they supposed to take care of her until she was able to do that on her own?

According to them, the only thing they could do was pay for her school fees and nothing more. If she wanted them to support and feed her, she had to live in a hostel. Since she had nowhere else to go, she'd agreed. Thomas had refused to take her back in. All because of that sister of his. God how she hated Maggie. That witch had ruined everything. Her life had been perfect post Maggie.

She had a house, a boyfriend who provided for her and men who followed her around like dogs. She was the most beautiful girl on campus. Now? She couldn't even afford to buy a tube of lipstick. Her hair looked like steel wire and her nails were broken. In short she was the village girl now while Maggie was the beautiful one. She knew that because she'd seen her come out of the agency when she had gone to see Abby this one time.

No one would believe it if she told them that Maggie came from the village. The bitch could walk in heels as if she was born in them. Her curly hair was straight these day and on top of that men gathered around her every time she appeared. Okay, maybe she had been stalking Abby when she learnt all that but that was beside the point. Maggie was winning and she was losing. How was that fair?

Who told that village girl that she could just show up and steal her spotlight? She, Monica, was the beautiful one. She was who the men wanted and not that piece of trash. It looked like everyone had forgotten their place and she was going to remind them. Maggie? She was easy. She wouldn't know what hit her. Abby, on the other hand, couldn't be underestimated. She was rich. Her parents would never let anything happen to her so Monica had to be clever. Lure her out of her parents wings and out into the open. It was the only way she could hurt her.

But Maggie had to go first since she was easy prey.

----------------------------

"Okay, one more time. Three steps, hold my hand then swirl. Don't forget the last step Maggie"

"You said four steps Drew"

"It's three. Come on, we don't have time. There's still a lot you don't know"

Nodding, Maggie did as Drew had instructed. They'd been doing this all afternoon and she was tired already but she didn't dare mention it. Drew had volunteered to teach her. Complaining would make him think she was ungrateful. Which she wasn't. Learning all the things he knew in such a short amount of time was hard but she wasn't going to give up. Brian had once told her that with hard work she could achieve anything.

She took the three steps then twirled just as Drew had told her but midway a wave of dizziness hit her. She would have fallen if he hadn't caught her. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine"

"No, you don't look okay"

"I guess I'm just tired. Can we take a break?"

"You should have said something earlier. Your health is important Maggie. Don't neglect it because you're afraid to speak up" he said leading her to a chair in the corner of the room.

"I don't want to disappoint you"

"Nonsense. You're doing great. Can I get you something? Juice, water, coffee?"

"No. I'll rest for a second then we'll go back to training"

"Take your time. I'll be right back"

Maggie wondered what was wrong with her. She had trained harder than this. That first time she joined the agency, she barely slept but had never felt like this. It wasn't the first time she felt dizzy. It had happened yesterday too. Was it something she ate or was she sick? Whatever it was, it had to stop because she couldn't afford to disappoint Drew. He was working so hard to help her and she couldn't let him down.

"Do you feel better? I brought you something to eat" Drew said walking back in carrying a bag of food.

"I'm not hungry Drew"

"But you have to eat anyway. I don't want you collapsing or getting sick. I've seen Abby do this countless times. She over exerts herself and forgets to take care of herself. Love yourself Maggie"

"Love myself?"

"Yes. Eat well, exercise, spoil yourself because no one is going to love you if you don't love yourself first"

Laughing Maggie said "Brian loves me"

"He's an exception"

"Whatever. Is there chicken somewhere in there?"

Drew snorted "Who do you think I am? Of course there is chicken. Eat up then we'll continue practicing"

Since it was six in the evening, almost everyone had gone home. As they ate, Drew told her funny stories about how he messed up his first shoot making her laugh so hard, tears streamed down her face. She didn't know someone like him was capable of doing anything wrong. He was so perfect in everything he did. He was also kind hearted and easy going. She didn't have to feel awkward around him. He'd told her that if they were going to win, they would have to get along really well and have some chemistry between them. Apparently that was how the modeling industry was.

After they were done, he gave her a few minutes for the food to settle down. Then they went back to rehearsing. The steps weren't hard. It was the twirling that got to her. Every time he'd tell her to twirl, she'd get dizzy and stumble. The last time she almost hit the floor but Drew caught her again. This time he sat down with her on his lap, asking what was wrong.

"You're not okay Maggie. Are you sick?"

"No. I just keep feeling dizzy. I don't know what's wrong"

"I do. That is your body telling you to rest. Come on, I'll call you a cab"

Putting her hand on his shoulders she said "No. Don't bother. Brian is going to pick me up. I'll just wait for him"

"Are you sure?" he asked caressing her face

"Yes. Brian....."

"Is right here and he wants to know what the fuck is going on" a voice said startling them both. If Maggie knew anything about jealous boyfriends she would have seen how angry Brian was. But she didn't, which was why she didn't attempt to move off Drew's lap. They were sitting on the floor. To her, Drew was just helping her because she felt sick. To anyone who had just walked in, it looked suspicious.

"Thank God you're here man. I was about to call Maggie a cab because she was..... "

"One more word boy and I'll knock off your teeth" Brian hissed moving towards them. When he was within reach, he grabbed Maggie's hand -which were still on Drew's shoulders - and yanked her up, dragging her out. She tried to tell him to wait so she could take her things but he wasn't listening.

He stopped in front of the elevator and punched the buttons so hard Maggie thought he'd broken them. "Brian, are you mad about something?"

"Shut up before I do something we'll both end up regretting"

"Tell me what's wrong. I don't like it when you get so angry"

"I said shut... "

"Maggie" Drew called running towards them "You left your bag and phone"

"Thank you Drew. It's really nice of you to remind me" she said smiling. The hand Brian had on her wrist tightened.

"No problem. Remember, love yourself more. Okay? Have a good night you two" he winked at her and that was Brian's undoing. Turning around, he punched Drew. When Maggie rushed forward to stop him, he pushed her back telling her to keep her mouth shut.

"Listen you dumbass, Maggie is my girlfriend and it would do you well to remember that. Next time you won't know what hit you"

"What's up with you man? I was just helping your girlfriend. Instead of hitting me you should be thanking me"

"Thanking you? Me? Do you fucking know who I am?" Brian roared advancing on him. Thinking that she should stop them from fighting, Maggie stepped in the middle. To her, she was trying to calm Brian down. To him, she was standing in front of Drew in order to protect him.

"Brian, stop. Why are you hitting him? He hasn't done anything wrong. He was just helping me"

"Okay. So that's how it is then? You're defending him?"

"Let's go home and talk about this"

"There's nothing to talk about here. You have made your decision" spinning around he left. She tried to go after him but Drew held her back

"Let him calm down Maggie"

"But he's leaving"

"I know. If you go after him right now he won't listen. Trust me I'm a man and I know"

"I just don't understand why he's so angry. Did I do anything wrong?"

"You? No way. You're a saint Maggie. You could never do anything wrong. I think Brian is just a jealous guy. He's so much like Abby"

"Really?"

"Yes. Jealous Abby can set this whole city on fire. The Qarimi's are like that. Give him a little time and he will come around. I bet he'll even apologize"

"Okay. I guess I'll just have to go home today"

"Don't you two live together?"

"No. I stay at Brian's place sometimes but I live with my brother"

"Okay, wait for me right here. I'll grab my things and drive you home"

"You don't have to"

"Yes I do. Your boyfriend just left and I can't let you go home alone. It's late"

"Thank you Drew"

"Don't mention it. It's my pleasure"

-------------------------

And it was. To some extent he liked hurting the high and mighty Brian. Just because he had money, the guy thought he could walk all over anyone. Drew still remembered the first time Abby had introduced him to her brother. Brian had taken one look at him  and told her that he wasn't good enough for his sister. Why? There was no reason. Just because he'd said so. Good thing Abby was a rebellious little thing or they wouldn't be together.

That was also another thing. At first he'd really loved her. She was beautiful, rich and talented. Everywhere he went, his friends congratulated him on finding such a beautiful girlfriend. But then she'd shown him who she really was under all that beauty and make up. He wasn't oblivious to the way she treated him. Abby basically shit on his head every time they were together. At one point he might have cared but not anymore. Just like she had her own plans, he had his.

The only thing he regretted was that he had to use Maggie in order to achieve them. She was really an innocent person. She had no idea that she was surrounded by people with evil intentions. He'd seen how much she trusted and admired him. She wanted him to be proud of her. But in his defense, she was really good. She didn't need that imbecile Brian or anyone. Her talent would take her far.

In his own way, by hurting her, he was making her stronger. She would come out of all this stronger than ever before. She wouldn't trust anyone that easily or let herself be fooled again. That was the only thought that made Drew feel better about what he was doing. Although he honestly didn't care that much. In a war, there were casualties. It was up to Maggie to decide if she was the victim or the victor.

"Okay Maggie, let's go" he told her. Down at the parking lot, Drew saw Brian's car. Apparently the guy wasn't a complete jerk. He thought that he would have left angry but this was also better. He was going to take advantage of the opportunity he'd been given. Making sure Brian saw them, he threw his hand over Maggie's shoulders and pulled her into his body "Stop worrying so much. Your boyfriend will realize his mistake. I bet that tomorrow morning he will be on your front door asking for forgiveness"

"I hope so. You don't know how Brian is. He can get really scary sometimes" Like at that moment. He'd gotten out his car and was watching them. Since Drew's car was by the entrance and Brian's in the middle, Maggie couldn't see him. But the view was satisfying. The guy was just about ready to tear them to pieces. Thank God for his jobs, because he'd mastered a poker face.

"Are you afraid of him?" he asked stopping beside his car. Instead of opening the door for Maggie, he leaned on it making her imitate him.

"No. I know Brian would never hurt me"

Brushing a finger on her cheek, he said "If you ever think that he's going to hurt you, call me. You have my number, right?"

"Yes. But you shouldn't think like that. He's not a bad person"

"Sometimes people can surprise you"

"Not Brian. I know him"

"Okay, if you say so. Come on, get in. I'll drop you off"

"Thank you"

"Stop saying that. We're friends and friends help each other" he tapped her nose and she laughed. Just the reaction he was looking for. Drew was aware of Brian watching them the entire time. After making sure Maggie was comfortable, he rounded the car and stopped on the driver's side. Then he made eye contact with him, saluted and left. It would have been more entertaining to wait for his reaction but Drew wasn't stupid. The guy went to the gym everyday. But while Drew did so to get in shape, Brian was lifting weights. There was no need to risk his life unnecessarily.

After all, he was winning here. When he was done with the Qarimi's, they were both going to hate him. But most of all, they were going to despise each other so much that they wouldn't be able to stand each other's sight.

*****************************************

It's an all out war. Everyone is attacking Maggie from all angles and you know how this ends. Someone's going to get hurt for real. Question is who 🤔 🤔