The following day I woke up in a very good mood. I felt so light and I wasn't able to hold my smile. There was no reason to smile but Daniel's advice to keep smiling made me do it.

To burn the extra calories I gained overnight, I went to the gym which was on the second floor of the building I live in. I was running on the treadmill when Trish took the treadmill left to mine and started it at the lowest speed.

"What's with the extra workout?" She asked walking leisurely on the treadmill.

"Burning extra calories flowing in my blood," I managed to speak despite the fact that I was breathing heavily due to running.

"Extra calories? What made to gain extra calories?" Evan asked taking the treadmill to my right.

"Cheat day!" I replied in short.

"Woah! Cheat day? All of a sudden? I don't even remember when you last had your cheat day." Trish stopped the treadmill in surprise.

I too terminated my running process and sat on the edge on the nearby flat bench.

"What exactly you two want to know?" I asked sipping the water from the sipper. They both rushed to me; Trish sat beside me and Evan sat cross-legged on the floor in front of me.

"Did Daniel give you a chance to explain?" Trish asked.

"Well, yes and he forgave me." I smiled secretly.

"That's amazing." Trish clapped her hands. "Share the details!" She chirped.

I shared the details of where he took me how he forgave me.

"And that's how I ended up gaining extra calories." I finished.

"Well, thanks to him that he at least made you smile." Evan sighed. "And thankfully you didn't end up hating one more man." He finished. I rolled my eyes at his last remark.

"So, what happens now?" Trish asked nudging my side.

"With what?" I frowned in confusion.

"Daniel and you, of course."

"We're friends now," I replied standing up from the bench.

"Friends? I thought Daniel would ask you to be his girlfriend! I never expected this from a man like Daniel." Trish sighed in disbelief.

I face her and scowled. "Girlfriend? Now, where is this stupid idea coming from? And I was the one who offered friendship which he accepted wholeheartedly."

"Goodness, Eloise, what should I do to you?" Trish pulled me back on the bench. "What's wrong with this pretty head of yours? Which woman in her right mind would offer a hand of friendship to an extremely hot man like Daniel?"

"What do you mean by an extremely hot man like Daniel?" Evan, who was sitting silently scowled at his girlfriend. Trish ignored him and focused on me.

"Eloise, you are not at the age of making men your friends. You need a man in your life. You need a boyfriend." She threw her hands in the air in frustration.

Do you think I'm at the age of making friends?

Daniel said the exact words. Did he mean the same as Trish? No, he was just teasing me.

"You are making no sense here, Trish. I'm happy the way I am." I retorted back.

"You are not." She mumbled lowly.

I couldn't deny that fact. She was right. I may show everyone that I was happy but only I knew that deep inside I was lonely. I too needed someone who will love me and only me without asking for anything in return. I needed someone to make me happy; to show me the path of love.

I shrugged off the thoughts as they were making me feel dejected.

"Evan." I faced him. "Your girlfriend is crushing over another man. You're failing to be a good boyfriend." I teased him to divert the topic which was focused on me.

Evan gasped and stood up. "I'm a good boyfriend. Trish is just... Just... Trish, why did you call him hot? Am I not hot enough for you?" He asked her in disbelief.

I smirked at them and walked away.

"Eloise Nicole, I'm going to get back at you for doing this to me." I heard Trish yelling at me.

I laughed. I love to tease them. I love to put a little fire of healthy jealousy between them. This makes them talk more to solve their issues, clear any misunderstanding; make them spend more time with each other. This makes their bond stronger.

:::::::::::::::::

I was at the studio, standing in front of the camera with three other models shooting for a clothing brand. We were posing for the click when suddenly someone stopped the shoot.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop?" I asked.

"Miss Nicole, someone is here to meet you." The crew member said.

"Who?" I frowned.

"Me!"

I closed my eyes in exasperation. Rick Hashington. What the heck is he doing here?

"Miss Nicole, I have something important to discuss with you. Let's talk in private." He announced loudly. Everyone present there looked in my direction.

"Mr. Hashington, as you can see I'm in the middle of the photoshoot, so please, wait until I'm free." Though I was irritated by his presence, still I spoke politely.

"I think you are forgetting who I am. I don't wait for anyone. You should be glad that I came to meet you personally." Rick exclaimed intimidatingly.

He was making a scene so I had no option but to talk to him. I was about to approach him when Evan came to me.

"Eloise, you're not going to talk to him." He whispered so no one could hear us.

"I have to otherwise he won't leave."

"Then I'll come with you. I'm not leaving you alone with him."

"Evan, I'll talk to him in the studio itself. Don't worry, okay." I said and walked past him.

Rick led me to one of the green room and shut the door.

"I was waiting for your call but you never called to give your answer, so I had to come personally. You should feel honored." Rick said crossing his arms across his chest.

"Mr. Hashington, I made it clear to you that I won't work for you on this," I replied keeping my head high.

"And I made it clear to you that I only want you." He raked his eyes on me from head to toe. Pervert!

"There are many models out there waiting to grab the opportunity. Why are you not giving them a chance? After all, you are known to give chances to new women in the industry." I dared to say.

He chuckled. "Feisty! That's what I like about you." Then he started taking slow predatory steps towards me. "But Eloise, you don't decide who I want and who not." His eyes became hard, he was trying to intimidate me but I stood on my ground.

"Mr. Hashington, I don't remember that we ever decided to be informal. It would be better if you keep it professional." I said sternly.

"Who said I'm not keeping it professional?" He stood a hand distance from me. "If I wasn't keeping it professional then you would have agreed to work for me till now." He smirked evilly.

I knew what he meant by that. I glared at him. How dare he think that I would ever sleep with him!

"Why is the atmosphere getting serious?" He loosened his tie. "Let's make it a little normal. Let's talk about you." He paused for a second. "So, how's everything going with Daniel Adams? I heard that you're spending quite some time with him."

"Where is this conversation going? My personal life is none of anyone's business." I snapped.

"But it is my business. You have leisure time to spend with Daniel but you don't have time to call me?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Mr. Hashington, I think you don't have anything important to discuss. I must leave." I tried to walk past him but he stopped me by grabbing my wrist.

I instantly removed my hand from his grip. "Keep your distance, Mr. Hashington." I gritted my teeth.

His eyes flared in anger. "Do not talk to me like that. You don't know what I can do to you."

"I'm not scared." I glared at him. If he was considering me as a meek woman then he was wrong.

Suddenly he started laughing. "Oh, Eloise what should I do to you?" You know you're my favorite one otherwise, you wouldn't have dared to talk back to me 'cause I wouldn't have given you a chance to do so." Then he stepped closer with an intimidating aura. I stepped back to create a distance but my lower back hit the counter of the dressing table.

"I think we have enough of nonsense talk. Let's get to the point." He stepped closer until he was inches apart from me.

"You have a favor to return and according to that you can't back away. If you do, I can do what I please. You know, in this industry words matter a lot and your mother gave her words to me. So, I can ever take your career away from you. I can bring out your mother's name too, she did ask me for a favor, right? And believe me, no one will question because I rule here. What will happen to your reputation and your mother's reputation? Have you ever imagined that? "

"You can't do that."

"Oh, believe me, I can, darling." He whispered evilly. "But I don't want to force a beauty like you." He raked his finger on my arm. I angrily swatted his hand away. He looked at his hand and smiled wickedly.

"Beauty like you are born to be pleased. And I can please you. I made it clear that I want you and I won't stop until I get you." He whispered in my ear and stepped back.

"I'm again giving you a chance, after all, you are my favorite. I will patiently wait for you. And this time, I will call you." He smirked and left the room.

I slumped on the nearby chair and groaned. I wasn't scared of him but I was frustrated. Why did mom ask for the favor from a disgusting man like him? I knew that giving me work was an excuse for him to get closer to me. What he doesn't know that I am not an easy target.

"What did he say?" Evan's voice rang in my ears. I looked up and sighed.

"What else? He is trying to apply his vile ways to make me work for him."

"I told you not to talk to him alone but you never listen to me." Evan raised his voice.

"Not now Evan." I stood up from the chair. "I'm leaving, make an excuse for me."

"Where the heck are you going now?" He asked angrily. I didn't give him an answer as I myself didn't know where I was heading to. I just wanted to get out of this place.

Outside the green room, everyone eyed me intriguingly. Their prying eyes were reflecting perplexity. The studio filled up with murmurs. I was sure that these people will gossip about me until they come out with something to make my life hell.

Ignoring them I went out of the studio and took the first taxi I found. I asked the driver of the taxi to drive on the streets until I decide where I wanted to go.

The driver drove the car aimlessly in the busy streets and I sat on the backseat looking out of the window thinking about my life, my choices, and the difficulties I had to go through every single day.

I overthink everything and I can't help it.

I wonder if I wasn't a celebrity then would my life be so chaotic? I don't think so. I think if I had a different job, I would have been more relaxed.

After almost twenty minutes I asked the driver to stop the car. I paid the driver and thanked him for cooperating with me. I looked up in the sky to see the weather was changing. It was about to rain. Thinking that shopping could give me some distraction, I went inside an almost empty clothes showroom I saw when I was in the car.

It was a bit calming that there were fewer people in the showroom. As I couldn't find many things of my liking so I just bought a silk bathrobe and lingerie I liked. I collected my clothes bag and exited the showroom. I started strolling aimlessly on the sideway when suddenly rain started pouring heavily.

I covered my head with the shopping bag and started running to find a taxi when suddenly a car stopped near me and a familiar voice reached my ears. I was surprised to see him.

I couldn't help but think that...that person has got a new hobby, that is to make me sit in his car in the middle of the road. And he was none other than Daniel Adams.

"Get in the car, Eloi."

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