When stars align

Winning over

Cleo (private investigator) lounges across the bed, eyes sharp, scrolling through social media on her phone and pressing on some things in her laptop.

Cleo grinned at her. “Okay, found her,the name is ‘Claudia Bernard’, her Daddy’s rich, family’s traditional, and she posts inspirational quotes like she invented inner peace. She’s a social media butterfly and a party monster. She has quite deleted posts about her from secondary school but I can’t get to know what exactly it is. She’s definitely got some skeleton in her cupboard which they’ve used money to help her cover up.” Cleo detailed all she saw on the system.

Anna nods in understanding, she bends over and reads over her shoulder. “She believed she could, so she did.” Wow. She really *thinks* she’s the main character.”

Cleo nodded. “Yeah, well. Let’s rewrite the script. And activate the bad b***h in us.”

Anna stands, pacing. “I don’t want to ruin her life. I just want her to know what she’s walking into. She deserves to know he wasn’t exactly “single” when this match was arranged.”

Cleo reasoned with her. “So we don’t go full scandal. We go *surgical*. Make her uncomfortable enough to question things... and let Nuel’s family see the cracks” Cleo added .

Anna’s eyes flicker. An idea forming.

** Anna decided to ask if Cleo could help her investigate Emmanuel’s father. “Could you help me investigate his father,you should know about him right?. Hit just investigate but dig into him. Let’s see what we can get.”

Cleo nodded positively. “Yeah, I met him at a gala party. He’s not dumb.”

Anna nodded. “Then we go to him. We tell him the truth—*all* of it. Not to break the match, but so he knows his son’s been playing two sides. If this fiancée is such a catch, let her family know the full truth too. No surprises after the wedding”.

Cleo answered. “Alright but we can’t get to their house without being to his company”

Anna was confused. “His company?. He’s just a shareholder. Why that much security?.” She shrugged.

Cleo looked at her surprised. “Don’t tell me you don’t know that he owns The whole of MAXIMUM D groups of company” she asked.

Anna furrowed her brows. “Own a company? Explain to me” she queried.

Cleo looked at her and understood what was going on and she decided to burst the bubble. “Seems like your sweet boyfriend didn’t tell you how rich is father is” she said

She was more confused. “He said his dad is a shareholder and he also is at the company branch where I work in our country.”

Cleo laughed hard. “For your information,his father owns the company and all the shareholders are his children. He’s the best businessman I’ve ever seen. He has no strangers on his shareholders list. Except for board of directors and other positions. But the shareholders are his own 9 children gurrrlll.” Cleo said with all enthusiasm in her

Anna got furious. “Do you mean Emmanuel has been lying to me for over 3yrs now?”

Cleo sighed. “Not like that. According to what I’ve gathered about him,he doesn’t like people knowing he’s a Dennis and I’m sure the girl also didn’t know he was that rich”

She shrugged. “Are you trying to cover up for them?”

Cleo sighed. “That’s not what I’m saying. It shows here that she attended the same school as him,so it means the whole marriage thing is from her family. Just saying.” She said raising up her hands.”

It dawned on Anna why he was a large spender. “No wonder,he’s always spending thoughtlessly”

Cleo smiled at her. “Now you know.”

Anna continued. “I’m done being the quiet one,Cleo.”

**Cleo clicked her tongue. “Then let’s plan this right. You reach out to Mr. Kapoor, request a respectful conversation. No drama, just facts. Meanwhile, I slide into Miss Claudia’s DMs—kindly, of course—with some... archived memories of you and Emmanuel from the past eight to one year.”

**Anna Smirked. “If she’s truly the one instigating this marriage thing, then she’ll never be respected the same way again.”

**Cleo agreed with her. “And if karma does its job... maybe she backs out herself when I message her. It will Save face. Saves you the trouble.”

**Anna,stayed quiet and pressed her lips firm together. “I’m not doing this to win him back. I just want the truth to have *weight*.”

*Cleo nodded again. “And it will. Trust me.”

She went to her and gave her a big hug. “I missed you so much, God knows you’re the savior I needed.”

Cleo held her tight. “Don’t forget you owe me food.”

Anna raised up her head and smiled at her. “I love you so much, that’s why I’ll order for some food first, then I’ll cook for you when we get back home”.

Cleo raised her hand like a child. “Yay that’s my bestie” she replied while doing a triumphant dance. “Jasmine will be so surprised to see me “ she said.

Anna looked at her with smiles. “Let’s call her” she proposed.

Cleo didn’t buy the idea. She nodded her head negatively. “I want to give her a surprise “. She answered.

The food arrived. They clink their spoons like wine glasses, sealing the deal. Revenge wasn’t the goal—but justice? That’s personal.”he definitely really trust j.j” Cleo said.

Anna nodded. “Yeah…..you know she’s got a listening ear for everyone.” She shrugged

Cleo sighed. “Thank goodness she does. Or else this might have come as a shock to us all…. You Know?

******

Video call—couple

The glow from the phone screen lights up his face. He answers the call, forcing a smile as her face appears on screen.

Anna was with a big smile as usual. “Hey, babe! I missed you.” She said giving him the puppy look.

He forced back his emotions,wishing she was with him, then he wouldn’t have faced much trouble or any of what he was facing. “Missed you more. How’s Zanzibar?”

Anna answered cheerfully. “It’s beautiful. But it’s not the same without you.”

He chuckles softly, but there’s a weight in his eyes.

Anna noticed the tiredness in his eyes and knew it had something to do with Claudia. “You okay?” She asked curiously.

He replied her quickly. “Yeah, yeah. Just tired. Long day.” He lied.

She tilts her head, studying his face. “You sure? You seem… off.”

He quickly answered avoiding eye contact. “Nah, I'm good. Just... you know, work stuff. Nothing major.”

She doesn’t look convinced. “You don’t have to pretend with me. Even from here, I can tell when something’s bothering you.”

He swallows hard. He knew he had been telling too much lies since Claudia came, his smile faltered for just a second before he pulls it back.

He took a deep breath. “I just don’t want to ruin your night.”

She softens, eyes warm. “You could never ruin it. Talk to me. What’s bothering you?. I’m here—even from thousands of miles away.”

He hesitates,but he couldn’t bring himself to tell her anything.

Finally letting out a quiet deep breath. “ I miss you. More than I thought I would.”

Silence, soft and full of feeling. Then Anna replied, she had imagined it will be hard for him to tell her. “I miss you too. So much. We’ll get through this, okay?”

He nods, felling like there was another meaning behind her words. His eyes glassy, but smiling for real this time.

Out with the b***h

The upscale brunch spot in Midtown buzzed with soft jazz and the clinking of mimosas. Emmanuel sat uncomfortably at a private corner table, dressed sharply in a charcoal-gray suit. Across from him sat Claudia , dressed in a pale pink silk blouse, smiling sweetly and laughing just a little *too* loud at everything he said.

He barely touched his drink.

“I’m so glad we’re finally doing this,” Claudia cooed, casually reaching across the table to brush imaginary lint from his sleeve. “No press. No chaos. Just us.”

Emmanuel offered a tight smile.

Across the restaurant, Jasmine sat alone at the bar, oversized sunglasses perched on her nose, pretending to scroll through her phone. In reality, she was recording the whole interaction—every fake giggle, every not-so-accidental touch, every perfectly timed selfie Claudia snapped with Emmanuel in the frame.

She tapped her phone twice. A live feed of the video was already streaming to Anna.

**Text to Anna:**

*Operation Barbie Snake is in full swing. She’s got the claws out—but he’s ice cold.*