Vintage Cameras & Arrogant Jerks

1. You May Be The Darling Daughter, But I'm The Trophy Wife

1. Chapter One: You May Be The Darling Daughter, But I'm The Trophy Wife

*

"Miss Riley," Tinkerbell exhaled, shaking her head. "Mrs. Hastings will be so angry."

Tinkerbell was the closest thing I had to a mother, she had been there with me through thick and thin. She filled up the gaps that the absence of my mom had left behind.

She watched me grow up from the girl who thought monsters slept beside her to the spoilt brat I am today. Despite all my flaws, she loved me. And it showed.

"Come on, Tink," I grinned picking up Judith's camera. "Its not like she uses it anyway. Besides, what are cell phone cameras for?"

She sighed. "If Mrs. Hastings finds out, she will not take this lightly"

Judith took nothing lightly. From trampling on her tulips, to paintball fights in the garage. She took nothing lightly. Dad had married her a couple of years ago, and more than him- I thought it was a mistake.

"Just relax, Tinker. She won't find out. She doesn't follow me on Instagram." I stretched out my hand, giving her my phone.

She went to the window and eyed the gate. Upon realizing that Judith's car was no where in sight, she sighed out of relief and took my phone.

"Fine, Miss Riley," she grimaced. "Just this one time."

The thing about her was that Tinkerbell wasn't her real name. Martha was. But when she first arrived, I had just read Peter Pan and her features- petite face, green eyes, blonde hair and tiny frame- reminded me instantly of Tinkerbell and the name stuck.

Now she looked like how Tinkerbell the fairy would have looked, had she aged. A lot can happen over seventeen years.

Putting the camera strap around my neck, I faced the window. Holding the camera in my hands, I posed as if I was taking a shot of the world outside.

After a couple of snaps, I saw Judith's car coming through the gates.

Quickly I took the phone from Tinker, and glanced through the pictures. Some were horrible. Some needed a little bit of tweaking- filter, vignette, slight editing and it would be instaready.

Satisfied with the results, I grinned.

"Oh, Tinker," I added without looking up from the screen. "The monster's here."

She gasped. "Why didn't you tell me that before?" All tensed up, she walked swiftly out of the room.

"And, Miss Riley, don't forget to clean up before you leave," she shouted from the hallway. "You wouldn't want another tantrum."

Yeah, I wouldn't want that.

Over the years, I had grown tired and frustrated with Judith's incessant need to shout and scream at every little thing. And dad's absence didn't really help.

The thing was, he was never really around to witness them. He was always busy with his business trips which took him across the globe. I missed him, terribly. And him not being there, added to my list of frustrations.

He would send the occasional emails- he still hadn't learned how to use Facebook or Twitter.

But his absence mattered. I could never bring myself to tell dad that the woman he married was, in fact, a nightmare come to life.

Her petty complaints and easily annoyed antics was wearing me down.

I thought I would get accustomed to it.