On the next day, the whole hell broke loose. As soon as I woke up, I found my phone filled with missed calls and messages from by friends. Some to congratulate me, some to demand to know how my photo landed in the tabloids.

Someone had taken a picture of Blake and me by the pool. If was taken the moment before he'd pushed me into the water. It looked like we were in a lovey-dovey embrace. His one arm around my shoulder and the other on my hip, the two of us looked in a gaze. Without knowing the context of what had truly just transpired between us, it did look like there was something going on between us.

Jake called and yelled at me, asking me how I could have done that to him. I didn't even try explaining myself. The picture told a very different story. And that is what others chose to believe.

All throughout the week, my friends messaged me every day wanting to know how things at the new school had been for me. All I offered was that it was all great. I was embarrassed to admit to anyone how things truly stood. This photo only cemented the belief that things could not have been better for me. I chose not to contradict them.

I was almost relieved when my friend Lisa called me. This could only mean one thing - she partied too long last night.

"Hope, you gotta help me," she moaned as soon as I answered the call. "Please, please, jump in at "Happy Sundays" for me today."

"Happy Sundays" was a fancy restaurant that Lisa worked for on the East side of town. It just so happened that she liked going out a lot and sometimes she'd get too caught up with some guy and forget all about work on the next day. I jumped in for her a few times before and everyone knew me there.

"Again?"

"It's the last time, I swear," she assured me over the phone. I could hear music in the background. Sounded like she was at some after-party.

"What time?" I asked. I had taken this weekend off from the diner, so I'd have time to catch up on school stuff. But maybe going to work today would do me good. Better than staying at home and dwelling on how horrible my week had been. Her job paid good money plus tips. I was keen to get the money back that I spent on Highridge uniforms.

"Starting at 9.30 until 2pm." I looked at my watch. It was just 8.30am. If I hurry, I'd have enough time to get ready and drive there. So I agreed.

Some time later I pulled up in front of the restaurant and the work began. It was a hugely popular place by the beach and the hours were passing by rather quickly. Lisa's boss didn't mind me jumping in again. He had tried to recruit me a few times, but I preferred the diner. It was just around the corner of my house and I liked the surfer crowd and the tourists more than bowing to the rich snobs on the East side.

It was almost 1.30pm when an elderly lady walked in. She was dressed impeccably and wore the bare minimum of makeup, not like some of the others around here that were her age.

"A table for two," she told me. "My grandson is just parking the car and will be here in a minute."

"Happy to help, mam," I told her and guided her to one of the tables in my section that just got freed up at the terrace. I helped her take a seat and as I turned to get the menus, I found myself face to face with no other than Blake!

"You again!" I told him with as much ice in my voice as I could master. I was still very angry about what had happened the night before.

"I could say the same. Are you stalking me?"

"The world doesn't revolve around you, you know. I was here first. How about you go somewhere else? I am sure that there are plenty of restaurants here that would be more to your liking."

"You'd love that, wouldn't you? It just happens that my grandmother likes this place best." And he walked around me and took a seat in front of the elderly lady that I had just helped sit down. So that was his grandmother. I could see a hint of resemblance there now that they were facing each other. "The menus," Blake told me with a hint of command in his voice. I wanted to snap at him but thought better of it.

I took a deep breath and went to get the menus. As much as I hated it, there was still half an hour left before my shift ended. I resolved to behave professionally and stay away from their table as much as I could. I brought them the menus and went to serve the other tables.

Sometime later, Blake raise his hand to call my attention. They were ready to order. He saw that I saw him, but I made him purposely wait as long as I could without anyone else noticing.

By the time I finally approached their table, he was drilling me with his eyes.

"What would you like to order?" I asked in a sweet voice, giving them both my best smile.

"Ravioli with brie sauce, please," said the elderly lady. Just then, an acquaintance approached her and she got distracted for a moment with greeting them. I turned to Blake, waiting for his order.

"Spaghetti a la Napolitana," he told me.

"Sure. Would you like it with poison? I mean, extra pepper?" I asked innocently.

"Very funny," he replied, handing me the menus.

"Coming right up," I said and went to submit their order.

What the fuck is she doing here? Was my first thought when I walked into the restaurant. I've been here many times and have never seen her here before. Having her here was the last thing I needed, given that I had important matters to discuss with my grandmother. Thoughts of her haunted me all night, and it seems that even on a weekend I won't have respite from her.

She had the restaurant uniform on and it reminded me of the one I made her wear last night. And that train of thought led me to remember her body, a glimpse of which she gave me. The red bikini was still burned into my memory and then the moment I had her pinned under me, on my bed, and that nipple...

I shook my head.

My grandmother spoke to me, but I had a hard time concentrating on the conversation. My eyes kept looking for that disaster of a girl. I could see she was set on ignoring me. She barely ever looked in my direction and if she did, it was just a quick glance and then she'd look away again.

"...I agree with your father," my grandmother was telling me in the meantime. "It would do you good to start working in the family business as soon as you graduate. You could start with a few hours a week and once you graduate, you'd go full-time. You'd be a big help to your father. Who, as you know, also started early."

This comment brought me back to reality. My father was set on getting me involved in the family business. I, on the other hand, of course, didn't want any of that.

"I don't know if this is the right thing for me. I don't know what I want to do with my life yet."

"What's there to know? The family business will one day be yours."

Everything in me resisted that idea. That is why I wanted to meet with my grandmother today. To convince her otherwise. She was one of the biggest shareholders in the family business. Not just my father's but the entire Shields' conglomerate. If she was somehow to be made convinced that I was not ready yet or better yet not suitable at all to be working in the family business, that could mean freedom to choose for me.

"I don't see myself in the business. I need time..."

"You had 19 years for that. The time has come for you..." I lost track of what my grandmother was saying, as just then a bunch of guys came in. I knew them well. With her ponytail waving left and right, she guided them to one of the tables and went to get the menus. She didn't see the way they checked her out. Was she even aware of how much of a treat she was to those guys? Every single one of them was thinking right now about how to get into her pants. It was plainly written on their faces.

"Waitress?" My grandmother called to her and it slapped me back to reality. She approached us, this time without hesitation.

"Yes, mam, how can I help you?" she asked politely.

"It seems that my grandson has taken a keen interest in you. Could you please give him your phone number so he can finally start paying attention to what I am saying?"

An incredulous look appeared in her eyes. She glare at me with suspicion, I on the other hand felt like I was caught red-handed.

"I am sorry mam, I'd rather die than give your grandson my number." She really said that. Can you believe it?

"Do you know my grandson?"

"Unfortunately," she replied.

"What's wrong with him?" My grandmother continued to interrogate her. Her eyes moved from me to her and then back again.

"Let me see. Your grandson, mam, is arrogant, rude, violent, spoilt, entitled, and a bully. I don't think any girl with half a brain would ever find anything interesting in him."

"Is that so?" My grandmother was now drilling me with her gaze too. "You seem like a smart girl to me. It would do him good to be spending more time with a girl like you, who could teach him better manners."

"A girl like her?" I said giving her my most condescending look. "Let me see. She is an upstart, has no respect for personal space and property, and has a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh, and didn't you know, grandma, she threw a book at me just a few days ago."

My grandmother was a keen reader and valued books greatly. The last comment was bound to set her against the girl. And I wasn't disappointed. My grandmother looked at her accusingly. I barely contained my laughter.

"My mother was a librarian. Believe me, mam, if I say that I have great respect for books. There was just nothing at hand and your grandson greatly deserved to get thrown something at. It would have of course pleased me more to throw a brick at him."

"Is that so?" My grandmother said. Now she gave me a displeased look, that I so well remembered since I was a kid. It made me cringe slightly inside as if I was 6 again. "I appreciate your honesty, my dear. What is your name?"

"Hope, mam."

"Hope and further?"

"Hope Collins," she added.

"You look somehow familiar..."

"Rich Collins, the head of the Police Department, is my father," the girl volunteered. At hearing that, my grandmother gave her an evaluating look, head to toe.

"So, so. He is your father. How did someone like Rich father such a pretty thing like you?" she asked. I could see that my grandmother's gaze made the girl feel uncomfortable.

"Anything else, mam?" she asked, keen to leave.

"Some sparkling water, please," my grandmother replied. She couldn't get away quickly enough.

"At least someone is telling me some truth about you and what you are up to," my grandmother told me with displeasure.

"She has a grudge against me. You can't believe anything she says. "

"Our enemies speak the truth our friends would never do. I am the one to blame. I should have taken you in. After your mother died, your dad had too many women with questionable backgrounds around. The influence they had on you. What some of them did to you..."

"Grandma, stop it." I leaned back on my chair and crossed my arms. Not that again.

"You never wanna talk about it."

"I spend years talking about it to the shrinks you forced me to see. I don't want it anymore. Please. Let's drop this topic."

I could see she wanted to say more. We just stared at each other for a few moments. My grandmother could be very stubborn. My father and I got the same stubbornness from her plus all the stubbornness that came with the Shields package.

I was relieved when she finally changed the topic.

"I think I've heard enough to make up my mind. It won't do at all to put you at the helm of the business once you graduate. I will recommend that you start from the bottom and work your way up."

"No," I gasped. Things have just taken a bad turn. I counted on my grandmother sparring me the involvement in the family business, not drugging me into it even deeper.

"Yes, it will help you appreciate better what the family has built...," she said.

"I do appreciate what the family has built," I replied with barely contained indignation.

"You will appreciate it even more if you work for it."

"I don't want to. You can't make me..."

I was pleased with myself. This jerk deserved it. As I waited for the sparkling water to arrive, I gave their table a quick glance. Blake sat with his arms folded in front of his chest, looking very displeased. When I approached their table again with the bottle, I heard him say, "I don't want to. You can't make me..."

He gave me one of his icy looks when our eyes crossed. I placed the water bottle on their table and went to serve other tables. Not even a few minutes passed when someone grabbed me by the elbow.

"Follow me or I will make a scene." It was Blake. He pulled me toward the passage that led to the restrooms. "You go right back there and sing praises about me to my grandmother, or I'll get you fired."

I was pinned against the wall and he was towering over me. It was slightly unsettling.

"You can't. I don't even work here," I replied. He raised an eyebrow and a hint of confusion appeared on his face.

"What the hell are you doing here then?"

"I'm just helping out. Today," I replied. I raised my arm and showed him the time on the watch. "And I will be done in 5 min."

I pushed him away from me and made an attempt to leave. He blocked my way anew.

"Where do you think you are going? I am not done with you yet."

"I don't care," I replied, raising my head higher. "Get out of my way or I'll scream all the way to your grandmother's ears."

In my eagerness to leave, I didn't see a man coming our way. I almost knocked him over. But it was no other than Blake who pulled me back toward him, allowing the man to pass.

"Stay away from my family," he told me. His face was very close to mine now. His breath tickled my hair. We had each other's gaze for a moment too long. He then moved around me and returned to his table.

I on the other hand was glad my shift had finished, I collected the money and headed out.

After another meeting with Blake, I wished more than ever that Jackie was here. She would have found something amusing about this whole situation. I went to see her at the hospital in the afternoon and took my laptop along. I wanted to see her, tell her what had happened, how crazy my week had been, and also show her the flash drive's contents. I couldn't wait to get a closer look at it.

Jackie was in the same state as usual. I heard a knock on the door. I knew who it was. I opened the door and pulled a little girl into my embrace. Her name was Bianca and we were great friends. Bianca is just six years old and her mother was also in a coma, also after a car accident. She'd been here longer than Jackie. It saddened me to see a child going through this. Bianca often came here with her father in the afternoons and knew practically everyone in the hospital by now.

"Hey," I told her. "How are you, honey?"

"I'm ok. I dreamt last night that mummy had awakened and we were a happy family again."

"Oh, honey. Don't give up hope. We will get them both back. That's what we agreed on, didn't we?"

She nodded. We chatted a little bit, then I gave her another hug and she ran off.

I put the flash drive into the portable laptop and began scrolling through the contents of Blake's computer.

"Damn!" I exclaimed after a while. He was not as stupid as I thought. There were just some personal pictures on it and nothing else. I thought I had outsmarted him, but it was the other way around. I should have known that with me in the house he would not just leave his laptop around, unlocked. Was it all a trap?

My heart began beating fast. I checked the files and of course, there was one that was a Trojan horse meant to steal data from me. Well, luckily I wasn't using my main laptop either and I wasn't connected to the internet.

I considered going back and trying to get the real data, but what he told me before pushing me into the pool still gave me shivers. I wasn't gonna risk another standoff with him in his bedroom.

I began scrolling through the data again. There were pictures of him and his friends. On many of them, he was with different girls. There's gotta be something he had missed.

I looked at the Trojan horse file again. It was perfectly executed work. Better even than what I would have come up with. Something made me doubt that Blake would take the time to do it. But they had at their fingertips a guy just right for this job.

Justin. Looks like he and I needed to have another talk.

With a sigh, I closed my computer and looked at the watch. It was time to head back home.

I found my dad waiting for me in the kitchen, the newspaper snippet with the picture of me and Blake from last night spread out on the table. He wanted answers. I told him that I only went to the party because everyone else was invited and I thought I could make some friends. That I had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the Shields heir. I felt like my dad was disappointed in me for some reason.

"He was only standing behind me and this photo was taken right before he pushed me into the pool."

"You can date any other boy at that school, but not him."

"I know, you hate the Shields. I promise you've got nothing to fear." That seemed to have been enough to calm him down.

When I looked at my phone, just about to head to my room, I saw a message from Liam. He was asking me how I was doing and whether I was free to do something tomorrow. Liam was asking me out! I was still angry about what had happened the night before. I could have died. While I told him to stay away from me, it wasn't Liam's fault what had happened and I had enjoyed his company until then. Very much.

Too much.

And I wanted more. I wanted to see him. While he didn't remember me back, yet, I could sense that he liked me. He had tried to help me as much as he could. So I decided there was no point in being angry with him.

And I truly wanted to see him again.

If Jackie was here, she'd jump up and down in joy. If there was anything good about this whole situation, then it was my reviving friendship with Liam. So I agreed to see him the next day.

Besides, it would give me a chance to learn more about Jessica and why she truly left. If someone knew more about it, it would be Liam.

Later that night, when I went downstairs to grab some water, Dad was in his study. I heard him talk to someone over the phone.

"Yes, I told her that...," I heard him say. Silence. "Yes, I know, sweetheart." More silence.

I snack up to my room and closed the door. I have been suspecting for a while that my dad has a secret girlfriend. Now and then, I'd catch him talking over the phone to someone. I wanted him to be happy. I wonder if I should finally offer him to introduce us. It's been such a long time since my mom died. In a few years, I'd go to uni. I'd want to see him with someone who makes him happy.

I smiled. I'll bring that up as soon as the opportunity arises. I'd be curious to know what kind of woman my dad is seeing.