The hard way!

Amy heard Alice call out, "You can come here now, Amy."

So, she walked towards the corridor behind the stairs & saw the girl pushing some huge cardboard boxes with huge difficulty.

She smiled at her, "You can go in now."

Amy nodded and entered while Alice released her breath.

Daniel came out from behind the boxes & looked at her. She silently gestured him to go upstairs. And thus he went upstairs.

---

Zach was fiddling with a Rubik's cube when his manager called him. He was in his Mansion, lazing on the sofa. He immediately picked it up.

"Hello! Jess!"

"Zach! Your revelation about being classmates with Alice is making headlines, you know."

"Yes, I saw it."

"Both of you're popular at the moment. It's better if you release her photo, implying that you're the best of friends."

"I understand."

"Of course, people will not take things lightly."

A smirk formed on Zach's face, "No worries! She'll not escape this time."

"All the best!"

Zach hung up & immediately opened his laptop. But to his surprise, each & every photo that he had accumulated after such a huge hard work, were vanished from his laptop. When & how did this happen?

He tried searching other files & folders, but lo! Not a single photo could be found. What the heck was going on? He immediately gave his manager a call.

After listening to his explanation, his manager quickly came up with a solution, "You can write a post on it, can't you?"

"Hmm", Zach furiously nodded.

After hanging up, Jess received another phone call from an unknown number.

---

In the dark room, Lily was still grieving over the foolish way by which she tried to win over Daniel. Her last mistake did teach her a good lesson. These few weeks she had been trying to find some ways to get close to Daniel. After all, after losing her job as RJ did cost her much. But luck seemed to look upon her side when she saw the headlines about Zach & Alice.

So, today she decided to contact the infamous Zach Schultz through his manager. Her call got through one ring.

"Hello?", a female voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Is this Jessica Mendel?"

"Yeah? Who are you?"

"I'm RJ Lily."

"RJ Lily?"

Realization quickly hit hard on Jessica's head.

"What do you want?", she seemed annoyed.

"Can I talk to Mr. Schultz?"

"No! He's busy!", Jessica added rashly.

"Think about it", Lily said calmly, "It's about Alice."

Jessica squinted her eyes before answering, "Okay, I'll let you know later."

Then, she hung up. A smirk played on Lily's lips. Yes, her plan was working!

Soon, Daniel would look away from Alice. If Daniel can't be hers, she won't allow anyone to be near him.

---

Black Villa

In the master bedroom, Jake was spoon feeding Eddie her favorite soup when the doctor. The previous few days he checked on her, he could say that Eddie's condition took great leaps & bounds to improve. She was doing quite well these days. About her fashion brand, she had been ushering designs seating at home with the help of Jake. Soon, the doctor left after having a look. The room was designed according to Eddie's taste. Pictures of models wearing her brand were all over the wall. Of course, there were her photographs too, like the one when she got her first award.

"Have some more!", Jake extended the spoon to her lips.

"Ah...", Eddie just opened her mouth while she kept typing furiously on her laptop.

Jake really enjoyed feeding her. She was like a kid who was really busy with a huge assignment at school.

"Medicine time", Jake called out.

"No!", Eddie pouted.

"Are you sure?"

Eddie nodded furiously.

The next moment, Jake put the pills in his own mouth. Eddie squinted her eyes & looked at him suspiciously. His long arm reached over to her and his hand held Eddie's chin. He pressed his lips against hers.

A cool tongue, accompanied by the bitter taste of medicine, invaded Eddie's gustatory nerves.

Eddie was alarmed and then she felt his lips completely block her breath.

The pills slid down her throat as her breath stopped momentarily. Even after the medicine had gone down, his tongue was still exploring her mouth, not wanting to leave.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally released her lips. Eddie coughed fiercely. Jake noticed her ears had turned red and his face broke into a smile. As she raised her head, he handed her a cool cup of water, "Drink some water to help yourself."

Eddie speechlessly glared at him.

Jake moved closer to her, full of amusement, "Why? Drink yourself or shall I make you drink it the hard way? I already warned you before."

She huffed, "Maniac!"

She snatched the cup of water and quickly took a huge gulp.

Jake nodded in satisfaction, "Good girl. Don't try to challenge me next time."

Then he left the room with an empty bowl of soup. After he left, Eddie's face broke out into a smile & she landed on the bed with a thud. She buried her face in the blanket & rolled from side to side. Indeed, she was blushing furiously.