Acquaintance

Just as Emma backed away from the railing, she bumped into someone. She turned around wanting to apologize but was speechless to find that it was someone she knew.

"Oh my, if it isn't the ace of our finance department." Emma's face fell at her words. It was the campus beauty, Bella Nielson, who was at daggers drawn with Emma.

As horrified as Emma was to see her here, she did not want to acknowledge her. Bella never liked her and it was safe to say the feeling was mutual.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would be crying in your room, depressed over your broken engagement." Bella sharply said as she inspected Emma, her gaze becoming troubled as she saw the wrinkles on Emma's dress.

"Don't tell me your grandfather revoked your rights to inheritance and left you penniless because of that painting." Bella had a gleeful look in her eyes.

Emma sized up Bella. It wasn't a surprise that Bella knew about her circumstances. It would be weird if she didn't as the news about her had been going viral for the past few months.

"Do you also hear a monkey screeching?" Emma calmly said as she looked around as if to find the source.

Bella's face changed and she stomped her feet. "You know what, you deserved it."

"You don't need to tell me what I deserve. I know better than anyone else about my qualifications. How about you? Did you finally catch your boyfriend cheating on you?" Emma hit where it hurt the most. Even if her engagement was broken, she had never been in a relationship with Max.

However, it was different with Bella as she had been dating for 3 years. Emma had told her about her boyfriend's infidelity but it backfired so she left Bella to deal with it on her own.

Bella did not snap back at Emma which was odd as she had always retorted her. She looked downcast but Emma could care less.

Emma sidestepped, wanting to call it a night as she didn't want to talk to Bella. She had come out to let reality sink in only to be disturbed by the same people asking the same questions.

She didn't want to answer why she had broken up with Max or how she was feeling. And worst of all, she did not want to be told that she had deserved all of this.

Just as she tried to move, Bella stopped her. She grabbed her left hand and started walking. Emma was perturbed by her behavior.

'Has she gone crazy because she saw her boyfriend cheat on her and wants to kill me?' Emma thought as she struggled to get out of Bella's grip. But heaven knows what had gotten into Bella as she not only didn't let go but also started walking at a quick pace.

"Bella, let go of me." Emma cried out when she couldn't get rid of Bella's vine-like grip.

Bella paid no attention to Emma's cries as she forced her into a barren and grim section of the terrace where it was pitch dark.

Emma was startled by Bella's impulsive behavior and was overtly attentive to her surroundings. She didn't want to end up dead because of a psycho who was cheated on by her boyfriend.

Bella finally let go of Emma's arm. Emma quickly rubbed her arm which had most likely bruised but was equally surprised by Bella's actions.

"You know what, Emma." Bella began, her back facing Emma. "I hate you. It will never change. I hate you so much that I wish you would just disappear."

Bella hatefully said. "I hate how you are always perfect. I hate how you always pretend to be kind. I hate you even more when you chase after Max. But what I hate the most about you is how right you always are." Emma was surprised at the confession. She never knew that's what Bella thought of her.

Due to the darkness, Emma was unable to see Bella's tears but she could decipher from her voice that Bella was crying.

Emma was annoyed as she should have been the one who was supposed to be crying as she was the one who was hated.

"You know, I was happy when I read the news that Max broke up with you." Emma was beyond irritated at this revelation. She didn't need to know how happy someone was to see her crushed and defeated.

She clenched her jaw as she turned wanting to walk away but Bella' next words put a stop to her actions.

"I should have celebrated your loss but I felt bad for you."

Emma was baffled at her statement. Just a moment ago she was saying how much she hated her and was happy to see her devastated and now she was saying she felt bad.

Emma wanted to shake Bella to put her in her right mind. Why was she saying contradictory things? Had the cheating made her go senile?

"Don't misunderstand. I still hate you."

"Then what am I to infer from your previous words?" Emma asked vexed by her irregular thoughts and speech patterns.

"What I mean is that it is shameful to be humiliated by some unknown mistress. You didn't even do anything to clear your name online. Have you lost your sharp tongue along with your brain? Why didn't you make her life miserable? I feel embarrassed seeing you like this as I consider you to be my rival. How am I supposed to go out when I have a gutless enemy like you?" Bella ranted her thoughts as she cleaned the snot with the hem of her frilly dress.

Emma was disgusted and wanted to vomit out her dinner. After comprehending the sob-covered context of her speech, Emma simply sighed.

"What good would it do to take out my anger on that girl? She only did so much to accuse me. The person worth taking action against is the one who brought her there and gave her the confidence to go against me." Emma said in a hoarse voice.

After a while, Emma said: "And I can't take do anything bad to that person."

Bella listened carefully as she watched Emma, knowing fully well that she wasn't going to take revenge against that person. At least, not now.

"But you always advocated that one should not forgive cheaters," Bella said confusedly.

"And I'm not saying that you should forgive them. Look at me," Emma showed her bandaged hand, "I smacked him even when we were not in any relationship."

"You did the right thing." Bella sounded relieved after hearing Emma.

"Why do you sound so relieved? I highly doubt you are happy because I hit Max for ruining our engagement." Emma was nonplussed by Bella today. All her actions were odd and confusing.

"So, what are you doing on the cruise?" Bella quickly changed the topic.

"I'm on a trip. What about you?" Emma did not think too deeply about Bella's evasion of her question.

"Same?" Bella answered unsurely.

"Why are you so obsessed with me? I thought you hated me." Emma tried to break the ice that was formed after Bella's answer.

"I told you, I still hate you. It's just that when you lose to someone lower than you, I feel like I have been defeated by that person as well making me irked." Although her reply didn't make much sense. Emma decided to buy it.

"Now it's your turn. What happened between you and James?" Emma felt refreshed talking to her. The suffocating feeling, whenever she talked with Bella before, was nowhere to be found.

"It's just as you said. He had been cheating on me." Bella held the parapet as she looked at the seawater.

"How did you find out?"

"I didn't need to find out. He had been so open about it as if he really wanted to get caught cheating." Bella exhaled.

"He bought her the same promise ring as he had given me a year ago."

"When I confronted him about it he laughed and said that he thought I was so dumb I might have never guessed it and was thinking of bringing her along with us to this cruise trip that we had been planning as I wouldn't even know." Bella stopped crying and wiped off the tears.

"Guess what I did." Bella looked at Emma's bandaged hand as she gave her a weird smile.

"Anything legal." Emma laughed as she saw Bella shaking her head.

"I forwarded the voice recording and a very intimate video of him and his mistress to his conservative Grandparents. Not only that, I didn't forget to post anonymously on the internet. Thanks to that articles about you and Max have gone down a lot." Bella smiled at the end.

"You're evil," Emma commented as this video was a warrant that James wouldn't get a single penny from his Grandparents.

"Less than you," Bella replied as she breathed a sigh of relief. Talking to Emma refreshed her mood.

Basking in the silence, both Bella and Emma were startled due to a noise.