When stars align

Trap

Back at her apartment, Anna watched the screen with narrowed eyes, one hand gripping her mug of tea.

“She’s so *desperate,*” she muttered.

Back at the restaurant, Claudia leaned in just enough to make the picture look intimate. “Smile for one?” she asked, already holding the phone up.

Emmanuel exhaled, letting her take the photo. But the moment she looked down to edit it with a glittery heart filter, his jaw tensed. He wanted to leave. But this was about keeping things calm. Controlled. No outbursts. Not yet.

Jasmine’s phone buzzed again.

**Anna:**

*Post that selfie. Now. Caption: “Love brunch with my almost.” Let’s see if she takes the bait.*

Jasmine smirked, lifted her mimosa, and casually tagged herself at the location.

Within seconds, Claudia’s phone buzzed. Her eyes flicked down, and she froze.

She turned her head slightly—just enough to catch Jasmine at the bar.

Their eyes met.

Jasmine raised her glass in a silent toast, her smile razor-sharp.

Claudia’s was happy and thought she had won Jasmine over,but she couldn’t make a scene. Not here. Not yet.

Instead, she leaned in closer to Emmanuel and whispered, “It’s nice when people stop *watching* and let us be, isn’t it?”

Emmanuel looked her dead in the eye.He tried containing the irritation in his heart towers the flirtatious spoilt brat sitting right in front of him.

“Claudia ,” he said evenly, “you’ve been staging a photoshoot since you sat down. Who exactly are you trying to convince?”

Her smile faltered. Just for a second.

From the bar, Jasmine phone buzzed again.

**Anna:**

*She’s cracking. Stay there. Let’s see how far she takes it.*

Jasmine grinned, flagging the bartender for another drink. She loved the way Anna was playing the game, by letting the enemy think she has the upper hand. Showtime was far from over—and…..Anna had front-row seats.

*****

Claudia got back home feeling as tho she owns the world. She rushed to her father’s study, to share her good news.

She rushed in then took a seat. Her father look at her, waiting patiently for her to spill the beans. But Claudia was full of smiles for a whole minute before she started talking.

She opened her mouth to talk and her father took a deep breath. “You’re finally done smiling, Claudia” he cuts in.

She rolled her eyes. “We’ll…..let’s start with this…. I have an alliance with someone who hates Brianna, and she’s been of great help to me, especially today.”

Her father was pleased with her. “That’s beautiful, keep it up daughter” he said in patting her hand .

She smiled with a lot of confidence. “Did you see the pictures online?. She helped with the pictures and created an account for me.”

Mr. Bernard also felt good about it. “You have a great choice of friend.” He said praising her.

She felt like her adrenaline was going to burst, then her phone rang and it was “Jasmine”.

Claudia pointed to her phone happily. “She’s the one calling me, daddy”.

Her father’s face lit up with happiness. “Pick up and let’s hear what she wants to say.”

She picked up the call and pressed the speaker button. “Hello darling, do you like the pictures from today?”. Jasmine asked with enthusiasm like they’ve been friends for long.

Claudia and her father beamed with smiles. “Of course I did” she replied happily.

“We’ll i have a suggestion, why not talk to some bloggers to make beautiful posts about you and even create a fan base. All you have to do is always find a way to take pictures with him” Jasmine said with enthusiasm in her voice.

Claudia and her father, bring the gullible people that they are, were happy with the proposal. Her father nodded positively to it. And she replied her too. “That’ll be nice,Jasmine. Do you have any blog company in mind?” She asked.

Unknown to them, Anna was listening over phone call. “I know a particular one, but I haven’t reached out to them yet” she replied.

Claudia and her father thought about it. “What about I call you later and I search for a blog company too?”

Jasmine was okay with it. “Okay then” she replied and waited for Claudia to hang up the call.

Claudia and her father thought about it and they settled for using the blog company Jasmine proposed. “Even of things turn out badly or Emmanuel gets to know about it. Then we can easily put the blame on her.” Mr Bernard advised.

She held her father’s hand. “You’re right, daddy”.

On the other hand

Jasmine smiled at Anna. “What next,planner” she teased.

Anna paused for a minute. “We’ll look for a company that’s at brink of collapsing due to spreading fake rumors and offer them what they can’t afford to loose, so we’ll be safe till I’m back and everything unravels”.

Jasmine nodded positively. “But not just that, to be on the safer side. I’ll use a new phone and a fake sim,then all the transactions with the blog company will be under her name”.

Jasmine could her the clap of hands but she thought it was Claudia. “You could see, that I’m very smart.”

Anna gave her a thumbs up. “Of course you’re damn smart” . Cleo was pressed and needed to go into the bathroom. “I’ll call you later….. I want to pee.” Cleo got up and Jasmine saw her,but the call was cut before she could say anything. “You should have waited a second,Cleo.” Anna rebuked her.

Cleo rolled her eyes. “Even if she saw me, we could still give her some suspense”

Anna held her forehead. “Whatever” she muttered.

No surprise

The golden glow of the setting sun filters through the wide windows. The coffee shop is cozy and warm, filled with the smell of cinnamon and espresso. Anna sits at a corner table, nervously stirring her iced latte. Her phone buzzes. It’s a video call from Cleo. She quickly answers.*

Brianna finally had a reason to smile. “There you are! I was starting to think you ghosted me”

Cleo appears on the screen, wind-blown and slightly flushed, standing outside an airport terminal.*

Cleo had an awkward smile. “Hey, Bree. Okay, don’t hate me.”

Brianna thought it was something bad. “Oh no. What happened?”

Cleo drew a deep breath. “I’m at JFK. My parents sprung a surprise family trip to Italy. Nonna's turning 80. It’s... kind of a big deal.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait, what? Italy? But—we were supposed to surprise J.j together tonight!”

Cleo looked stressed. “I know. I know. I feel awful. I even have a lot of little souvenirs in my bag ready to go. I was so excited. But Mom and Dad literally booked the flights yesterday and told me this morning.”

Anna tries to smile. “Well, at least one of us still gets to surprise her. She has no idea we met here and were supposed to go back together—or supposed to be.”

Cleo responded. “Please give her the biggest hug from me. And record it. I wanna see her face when she realizes one of us is there.”

Anna smiled then nodded her head positively. “Promise. And hey, we’ll do a redo when you're back. Full surprise 2.0. With glitter this time.”

Cleo grinned. “Glitter and maybe pizza to match my new Italian aesthetic?”

Anna agreed. “Deal. Now go have fun with Nonna. And FaceTime me when you land.”

Cleo nods. The screen freezes for a second before the call ends. Brianna stares at the screen for a moment, then smiles to herself and picks up her phone again to text Jasmine.

Anna texted. “Hey, you home? I’ve got something for you…”