Chapter One Hundred and two

Bella had cried herself to stupor that day, refusing to go outside her room. She could not believe what a fool she had been, living in a world of fantasies all this while. Jay Martins had played a fast one on her, preying on her naivety and thrashing her away. She let it all out, then picking up her phone, she blocked him and deleted his number from her contact list. No more was she going to be a fool living up to his whims. She was going to get through this and that she was going to achieve soon enough. 

She hated what she had become, a pregnant girl, possibly a drop out if she did not have something educationally related when she would be leaving. Whatever the case may be, this child was going to be an obvious reminder of her stupidity and waywardness. She reminded herself. Dozing off in her room, it was not until someone was knocking on her door that she awoke. Her father had come to speak to her, he needed to be a dad to his heartbroken daughter. Bella still had her streaks of tears around her face and it was swollen. She opened the door and went to collapse on her bed. He shut the door behind him, fastening the lock this time to avoid unnecessary interruptions. 

"Hi",he said coming over to her bedside, "Can I sit? ",he asked politely and she gestured for him to join her. It was a tensed moment for her as she had no idea what he was going to say. Clarkson on his own part weighed his daughter, he could tell she had been crying all this while and also that whatever she had with that guy was not the only thing weighing her down. Her mother's death was inclusive. He assessed her, thought over his next words before breaking the encroaching silence. "You do realize that wherever your mom is right now, she would not want to see you this way right? ",he began seeking for a way to strike a conversation. She sobbed loudly, fresh tears dripping down her face again. What was it with women and crying, he thought as he hugged her nervously. 

"Dad I feel so stupid and scared ",she breathed on his shoulder and he patted her back while muttering comforting words to her. He did not know where to begin. His late wife had made a mistake giving her out to the man in question, although he could tell that she had acted out of frustration, so, he did not blame her much. He hugged his daughter, holding her close until her sobbing subsided, then he broke the hug. Taking hold of her shoulders, he looked her in the eyes and said, "I do not try that Diego of a guy and I certainly do not buy his arrangements for you ". She looked up at her father, a question forming on her face, she needed him to clarify what he meant to her. 

Ever since Clarkson had set his eyes on Diego, he did not feel comfortable with the guy. Something about his wide smile and easy personality seemed off. He had travelled around enough to be able to tell the real thing from the fake thing. He had see people smile, people fake smiles when they were angry or sad. He had seen people putting up an act. He was after all a sought after photographer, catching people at different moments was his job. Diego's smile had seemed rather too good to be true to him and there was definitely a lot to him that met the eyes. 

He was a good actor quite alright, but not too good enough to deceive Clarkson. Sometimes they say that smiles that do not get to the eyes did not get to the heart, well that he had discovered to be true long ago. One thing that Diego's perfect show lacked was the emotions in the eyes, and that had made him an object of curiosity. He was definitely up to no good with his show. 

When he had proposed that solution for Bella, Clarkson could see through the loopholes. How does one come up with such perfect plan against someone as they had described to him overnight. It must take months of creative planning to pull it off, and at such, he resolved to let his daughter in on his observations, and possibly if she was going to let him, he would find a way to make her comfortable. 

Relating his fears and theory to Bella, he watched her assimilate it all and had to agree with him that sincerely, no matter how nice he was, he was a really close friend to Jay, so the question she had which was unanswered was that, why had he suddenly turned against a friend he once rooted for? She could see with the help of her fathers eyes that something was definitely up, and it was obvious that there was a fight in the gang. Jay Martins had played his games on her, but then, she was not going to fall for another trap by his friend. 

After all, once bitten twice shy they say.