Payal would have never imagined the fate ahead of her. From her position in front of Pratiksha, there was no way she could see Pratiksha's expression, plus, she was overly confident so...upon hearing the photographer and his staff clapping and cheering, she actually thought it was for her. After all, Pratiksha was behind her and she was blocking her...
"OK, let's shoot the next set!"
Because of their clothes, Pratiksha mostly ended up standing behind Payal. Even when they stood side by side, Payal always led.
This made Payal quite proud...
After the final set of photos were done, the photographers once again couldn't help but applaud Pratiksha's amazing performance. Payal acted like a supermodel as she stood in front of Pratiksha accepting all the cheers for herself. Eventually, Payal left the studio first, giving the photographer a chance to approach Pratiksha,
" That model is so annoying, however...I won't point it out. Once the magazine's front cover is released and everyone sees the comparison between you two, she will experience a big slap to her face. There will be plenty of people helping you to teach her a lesson."
The photographer was indeed a senior in the industry, stuff like this was not unusual to him.
"Thank you," Pratiksha smiled.
"No need. You were really the most skilled model I have ever worked with. I can't deny, you are on the same level as Western models." The photographer raised his thumb at her, "The weekly publication will be released next Wednesday. Look forward to it...you will definitely ignite the Oriental Trend."
"That's not something I can decide, all I did was give my best,"
Pratiksha felt that the industry was not short of hardworking people; there were so many artists with talent and skills, but many only got halfway to fame - apart from hard work, luck was an important factor.
When she returned to the waiting room, Payal jumped right into Vikrant's embrace as she recounted how she had received an applause. After listening to her, Vikrant wrapped his arm around her waist - he knew she would succeed. However, he had no idea, the applause had nothing to do with Payal.
At this time, Pratiksha also entered the room. Upon seeing her, the staff that was tidying the studio raised his thumb at her, "You are really the best model I've ever seen."
Payal didn't understand what he was saying - after all her English was limited - but...
Vikrant understood he was praising Pratiksha.
Most importantly, the staff knew Payal didn't understand English. So assuming Vikrant also did not understand, he looked at Payal in extreme disgust and said, "I really can't believe that woman is your colleague. She can't possibly be called a model, she has no professional skills at all and views herself too highly. It's bad enough that she doesn't understand English, she even thought we were all praising her. There's something wrong with her."
After speaking, the staff left. Pratiksha turned to look at Vikrant's expression as the corners of her lips slightly curved up.
"Payal, are you sure the photographer praised you?"
"Vikrant, don't you believe me?" Payal nodded her head in certainty, "What I said was all real. If you don't believe then go ask the photographer. Vikrant, have trust in me, this time, I am definitely going to revive Secret..."
Vikrant stared at Pratiksha's back; his mind couldn't stop thinking about what he just heard the staff say. His heart felt uneasy, but the front cover had already been shot. Even if Payal didn't stand out, at least she still appeared in an international magazine - this would still be beneficial towards the Top Ten Model Awards.
Originally, the discussion about the shoot had already ended, but Nancy entered the room ecstatically and said excitedly to Pratiksha, "Pratiksha, do you know what I just heard? The photographer said in the solo shoot, Payal looked like a...temptress."
Upon hearing her, Payal wiggled out of Vikrant's embrace and walked over to Nancy. She raised her hand with the intention to hit her, luckily, Pratiksha's reaction was quick as she pulled Nancy out of the way and grabbed onto Payal's wrist, "What do you think you're doing?"
"If you have the guts, tell her to repeat what she just said," Payal said threateningly as she shook her hand loose from Pratiksha's grip and pointed at Nancy with a sneer, "Pratiksha, don't be a sore loser. I know you aren't satisfied with having to stand in the background today, but you were wearing black, so there was no choice."
"Wasn't it because you snatched the clothes?" Nancy once again swapped positions with Pratiksha, stepping in front to protect her. "Payal, I'm not going to waste my time with you anymore. Whether the photography team was impressed or disappointed by you, you will find out next Wednesday."
"Fine, when that day comes, you will see whose side the public are on!" After speaking, Payal threw her hands across the makeup table and swiped everything onto the ground. Glass shattered across the floor. A few small pieces flew past Pratiksha and left small cuts on her legs.
Upon seeing this, Nancy erupted, "Payal, what are you doing? You've injured Pratiksha's legs, do you know how much they are worth? You better apologize!"
"Apologize?" Payal looked at Nancy like she had said something ridiculous, "You're dreaming."
"You..."
"Nancy..." Pratiksha held her back, "Give a phone call to my insurance company and ask them to come collect the evidence. There's no need to apologize, I am covered by insurance, however...the insurance company won't let this matter off so easily. I'm sure they will sue the person that injured me."
Upon hearing Pratiksha's words, Vikrant's face turned pale, "What do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is...my legs are covered by an extremely expensive insurance policy. If Payal does not apologize, then I'll just have to let the insurance company handle it..."
"Pratiksha, I never thought you could be this malicious," Vikrant said to Pratiksha, "It was only an accident..."
Hearing him call it an accident, Pratiksha turned around, grabbed the bottle of makeup remover on the table and smashed it in front of Payal. Similarly...Payal's legs now had small cuts on it, "This was also an accident, my hands were slippery..."
"You..."
Seeing Vikrant's enraged expression, Pratiksha remained calm as usual, "Are you going to be upset about my unintended mistake? If that's the case, aren't you more malicious than I am?"
"Pratiksha, let's make a bet. The magazine will be released next Wednesday. If my level of support is higher than yours, then you better retreat from the modeling industry and never take a step back in again."
Payal impulsively declared a war on Pratiksha as Pratiksha responded with a slight smile, "Who do you think you are? You want me to retreat from the modeling industry because of you? You really think highly of yourself..."
After speaking, Pratiksha left the room with Nancy. As they were leaving, they heard Payal give out a frustrated scream.
"Pratiksha, I'm so sorry, today I didn't know how to judge the situation," Nancy apologized to Pratiksha.
"It's ok, even if it wasn't because of you...Payal still would have found a way to cause trouble for me," Pratiksha responded in an indifferent manner, "Let's just leave everything for Wednesday..."
Let's wait and see how Payal will return in low spirits...