Talia's eyes narrowed dangerously and she stared at the woman sitting on the other side of the table.

Mandy choked on the noodles that she had just slurped when she felt the intense gaze being aimed at her face.

Coughing incessantly, she hurried to reach for a glass of water which she gulped down in an instant.

'What the hell!?' She cursed while wiping the tears that had formed in her eyes as the result of the coughing fit that she had just suffered.

Unfortunately, neither of the Zheng sisters was affected by her pitiful state and they sat in silence until she slowly recovered.

"Can I speak now if you are done choking?" Talia sneered at her, not bothering to disguise the contempt in her eyes.

Mandy gritted her teeth but knew that she had to silently endure this treatment if she wanted to teach Lina a proper lesson.

She gave them a quick nod and sat up straight to listen attentively about the plan that they had formulated.

"As I was saying before, you and Jeanette will…" Talia began to narrate the plan that she had come up with to put Lina Yang in her rightful place.

________

The woman who was at the center of all the schemes was at present sitting on the large bed hugging a life-sized baby blue fuzzy teddy bear.

Lina was inside her room at the Luo Residence where Wade had driven her to.

He had an important meeting with a client so he had to leave her there and then hurried back to the office.

Lina did not mind his actions because right now she wished to be left alone anyway.

Butler Mo had interpreted that she was in a sad state of mind by taking a single glance at her body language and hence had sent a cup of steaming hot cocoa to her room.

Lina sat with the cup of cocoa in one hand while the other hand ran over the fuzzy fur of the bear.

This blue bear was a gift that her brother Wayne had given to her when they were kids.

Finishing her drink, she threw herself in the arms of the big bear and let out a loud groan in frustration.

'He actually dared to snub me!' She whined and rolled around on her bed.

Not knowing how to let out her anger, she decided to speak to someone to alleviate her grievances and she knew just the right person for that.

She swiftly reached for her phone that was placed on the bedside table and unlocked it.

Finding the number that she had not dialed in a while now, she pressed on the call button and waited for the call to connect.

The wait was soon fruitful when she heard the ringing coming from the speaker.

'Answer!' She groaned when the other person did not answer even after waiting for a long time.

*Beep…*

Lina's brows furrowed when the call was disconnected after a few seconds and all she heard was a long and disappointing beep.

Not wanting to give up, she dialed again and again determined to speak to this person by hook or by crook.

Finally, her stubborn attempts to reach out to the other person paid off when she heard the short 'beep' which was heard after a call connected.

"Brother Wind!" She cried out in a childish and sad voice which was the evidence of how wronged she felt after today's incident.

Her nose sniffled when she finally had the chance to pour out all her thoughts and grievances about what had occurred to her today.

She then waited for her brother to say something in return and she did not have to wait for long as she soon heard a voice in her ear.

"My baby is sad today? What's wrong?" A deep and husky voice was heard from the other side of the phone which made Lina's frown deepen much further.

'That is not brother Wind!' She scowled when she recognized exactly who it might be.

"What are you doing with my brother's phone, Tristan!?" She growled in an indignant voice.

All emotions of sadness had vanished and now she was glowering at her brother's best friend, Tristan.

"Hush now, lover! Don't spoil that pretty face with those frown lines." The man called Tristan chuckled after teasing her about something she obsessed over, her skincare.

Lina's hands instantly reached for her face and she turned to look at her face in the mirror.

Glancing at her reflection, she sighed when there were no such things as frown lines on her forehead.

"I have no frown lines!" She yelled in reply and scoffed when she heard his hearty laughter.

His laughter was infectious as after a few seconds Lina also joined him, giggling at the prank that she had fallen for so foolishly.

They sat laughing until a certain thought popped up in her mind which made her eyes narrow.

"Tristan?" She called out to him in a sweet voice.

"Yes, my love." He responded with the usual cheesy endearments that he always used for her.

"What time is it for you?" She questioned and sat up straight in the bed.

Tristan glanced at his watch and wondered why she was asking this unexpected question yet he did not hesitate to answer her.

"It's 2 AM, baby. Why do you ask?" He responded with a question of his own.

Lina nodded her head after listening to his answer and her eyes narrowed further.

"So… Do you mind explaining why are you with my brother at this late hour?" She snarled at this guy who was hindering her chance to speak to her big brother.

She was sure that these two men were together right now because under no circumstances would her big brother leave his phone unattended.

Tristan froze when he heard her query and his usual playfulness vanished. He cleared his throat and after a few seconds of eerie silence, he finally opened his mouth.

"Lina… There is something that you need to know. Something very important that I have kept from you." He admitted in a serious voice which made Lina's heart feel uneasy and anxious.

Her heart clenched and she felt a pit in her stomach and there was an ominous feeling that arose in her very being after hearing his words.

"W-what is it?" She stammered and her grip over the phone increased exponentially.

"I… I just wanted to say that your brother…" Tristan muttered before pausing once again.

The anxiety she was feeling rose with each passing second Tristan was silent and a familiar ache in her heart reappeared.

"What's wrong with my brother!?" She cried out, a mixture of anxiety and anger laced in her voice.

Tristan flinched and held the phone away from his ear when he heard her loud screech.

"Oh, I just wanted to say that your brother and I are sleeping together now." He revealed and then let out a loud cackle that sounded just like a hyena's.

Lina's jaw dropped when she heard his answer and an urgent need to strangle him filled her mind.

'Here I was fretting that something untoward had happened to my brother and this guy was just playing a prank on me!' She scowled and just as she was about to give him a piece of her mind, she heard him speaking once again.

"I just want to let you know that I am snatching your brother Wind away from you. You are no longer his most favorite girl in the world!" He declared in a confident tone which made Lina gnash her teeth in fury.

"I will forever be his favorite girl! No one can take my place in his heart!" She snarled right back at him.

His laughter never stopped which had now started to prick Lina's ears.

"I will call back later and I want to speak to my brother at that time and not to you!" She threatened while punching the blue bear which was next to her.

"You can try but I will always be there by his side, love" Tristan did not take her words seriously and continued teasing her.

Lina had finally had enough of his nonsense and decided to not worsen her day by talking to him anymore.

"Go to hell, Tristan!" She glowered and then hung up before he could answer.

Throwing the phone aside, she buried her face into the stuffed bear feeling more annoyed than what she was before she had made the call.

___

On the other side of the world, inside a dark and silent room. There sat a man on a dingy cot with his head lowered and his body slumped forward.

Tristan held the phone before his eyes and stared at it until the screen went dark.

The playfulness, the cheerful attitude had all vanished and what remained was a grave look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, love but I don't think you can talk to him anymore." He apologized while looking at the locked screen on his best friend's phone.

His hand that was holding the phone tightened its grip over it.

*Crack*

The almost vacant room soon echoed the noises that were formed as the phone cracked into two in his hand.

Throwing the now broken phone aside, he dusted the pieces off his hands and then slowly looked up at the ceiling.

Sighing in pain as he stretched his neck to the sides, he straightened his body and steadily walked out of the room, as an eerie silence filled the dark room once again.