Familiar Strangers

The Little Scheme

Betty watched, seething, as the girl Antonio had arrived with casually sipped her drink, as if she owned the place, after causing chaos at the party. Anger flared inside her. Betty had gone around greeting her friends, introducing the young misses and masters, and everywhere she turned, whispers followed. People were asking about the girl,who she was, why she came with Antonio and commenting on how striking she looked. And the worst part? She was dressed so simply, yet all eyes were on her. It was Betty’s birthday, and she was supposed to be the center of attention, so she thought.

And so she decided to change into her second outfit when she overheard one of her girlfriends babbling, “She’s beautiful! I wonder if she and Antonio are dating they’d make such a great couple with their looks and charisma. Did you see how they walked in side by side? Oh, what a power couple they’d make!”

Betty’s eyes narrowed, daggers practically shooting from her stare. She kept quiet, letting the words sink in, until the girl beside her nudged her to look directly at the mysterious girl. That was all it took, Betty’s frustration spiked, and she pivoted sharply, heading toward the bar.

As she drew closer she saw the girl chatting with Master George. The Stevens were only a few ranks below the Walters, and George had always been on Betty’s list—a conquest she had yet to claim. Yet here he was, casually engaged with this newcomer. Who is she? Betty’s mind burned with irritation as she clenched her jaw.

“Hey, you’re Antonio’s secretary, right?” Betty said as she stopped behind Marissa and George.

Marissa turned at the voice. Seeing Betty, she offered a polite smile. “Hello, Betty. Nice party.”

Betty scoffed and planted her hands on her hips. “Were you not trained on how to behave among socialites?

Marissa lifted her brows and set her drink down, giving Betty her full attention, trying to understand what this unreasonable princess was yapping about. A small crowd had already started gathering.

Betty stepped closer. “As a secretary, you should be next to your boss at all times. And were you drinking? Did you come here to party, flirt, and seduce people?”

“The last I remember, Antonio went upstairs with you,” Marissa said, hands crossed in defence pose.

“Antonio?” Betty’s voice shot up in pure disbelief, like the name burned coming from Marissa’s mouth. “Wow. The audacity. Even people in this room with higher status don’t call him that.”

Marissa sighed. “Look, I’m not here for drama. I’ll leave you to your party and go find him.”

She stepped around Betty without waiting for permission, heading toward the staircase she assumed led to wherever Antonio disappeared to.

Hearing Marissa call Antonio’s name so casually and watching her walk away made Betty’s anger explode. Her nails dug into her palm as she turned to stop her, but then she spotted Antonio coming toward the stairs. That pushed her into action.

She snatched a full glass of wine from her friend, marched straight to Marissa, grabbed her wrist and spun her around. The wine splashed all over Betty’s own white dress and the glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, the perfect “accident.”

“Ahhh!” Betty screamed, staring down at her ruined dress as if she had been attacked. “My dress is tailor-made!”

Marissa blinked, stunned and a little entertained by the dramatic performance. Before she could speak, she heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned to see Antonio walking toward them with quick steps.

“What’s going on here?” he asked.

Marissa stepped back until she stood beside him, watching the scene unfold with raised brows.

Betty looked at her with trembling lips and watery eyes, practically pointing at her without lifting a finger.

Antonio’s expression tightened as he looked at Marissa. “Did you do this? I told you to stay out of trouble.”

Marissa snapped her head toward him. “You think I did this?”

“Well… would she purposely spill wine on herself?” he replied.

Marissa scoffed. “Considering that is exactly what she just did, yes. She would.”

“I saw you when I was coming down the stairs,” Antonio said.

“Did you now?”

“Apologise,” he ordered.

“What?” Marissa stared at him, completely incredulous. “You want me to apologise?”

"Don't let me repeat myself," he said, voice firm enough to freeze the air.

Marissa scoffed, swept her gaze across the shocked crowd, then marched straight to the nearest person holding a glass of red wine. Before anyone could react, she yanked it from their hand, spun back toward Betty, and splashed the entire drink across her face.

A collective gasp tore through the room.

"You b***h!" Betty shrieked, as she tried wiping her face.

Marissa turned to Antonio, eyes locked on his with bold defiance. "This one, I did. And I still won't apologise."

Antonio shouted her name in pure frustration. "Marissa!"

But she was already turning to the crowd, her patience snapped clean in half. "Screw you all and your pea-sized brains!" she shouted, tossing the empty glass aside without caring where it shattered.

She stormed out.

Jackson, a.k.a Kenny, who had quietly watched everything unfold, slipped out right behind her.

George, stunned for several seconds, finally snapped back to reality and sprinted outside. He arrived just in time to see Marissa slide into a sleek car he recognized instantly. Kenny’s car.

And then they were gone.