Mr Husband Work Hard

Oriental Beauty Pratiksha

"Hey guys, have you bought a copy of the latest issue of Secret?"

"Are you referring to the Oriental Trend issue? I've bought it already. Originally I was going to buy Royal Magazine, but I was attracted by the front cover of Secret."

"Are you guys crazy? Secret hasn't done anything good for years...they don't understand fashion at all..."

"Quick, quick! Go buy it...Secret really lives up to it's expectations this time. You will regret it if you don't buy it!"

That's right, after all their hard work, Secret finally released their newest issue, named Oriental Trend. Originally, Secret had already lost it's status amongst magazines and their sales weren't something to brag about. However, after the release of the Oriental Trend issue, the melancholy black and white cover actually stood out amongst the other colorful magazines; everyone passing by the newsstands couldn't help but stop for a moment to take a look...

In just three days, all the major news agencies contacted Secret, requesting for a reprint. They wanted to increase the circulation of the magazine because it deserved a spot on their stands. Many companies that didn't expect much from Secret were now regretting their decision to not work with them.

At the same time, the woman on the super popular front cover climbed up search rankings. On one of the biggest search engines in the US, her name was almost at the top. Meanwhile, some of the most searched phrases included, 'Secret Oriental Trend', 'Secret Oriental woman'...and 'Oriental beauty Pratiksha'.

The huge sales from the Oriental Trend issue, unexpectedly helped Secret make an impressive revival; people in the industry critiqued it and once again acknowledged it. In three days, the sales of the issue broke the records of many big publications. Like that, they became the new favorite amongst the fashion industry, as the fresh winds of the Oriental Trend swept across the casual and free Western countries...

Secret had finally succeeded and the model on the front cover definitely deserved praise. Payal couldn't wait to show her results to the judges of the Top Ten Model Awards. However...

...that night, Siya Rastogi stared at the search engines for a long time...

...but, no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find any mentions of Payal. No model had ever appeared on a front cover and received no mentions. What conniving scheme did Pratiksha pull off this time?

Siya Rastogi didn't mention this issue to Payal because, apart from Payal being busy planning her engagement party with Vikrant, Siya Rastogi also wanted to investigate it further...

Next to her hand lay the magazine featuring Pratiksha and Payal. She couldn't deny, Pratiksha's skills were way beyond her expectations; she had definitely underestimated her...

...

Two days later, Secret held a dinner to celebrate their revival. Payal and Pratiksha were both guests of honor. This would be the first time they faced the media together since the interview before the photo shoot.

That night, Payal wore a long black dress that dragged across the floor; her chest was dotted with sparkling diamonds. She attended the dinner accompanied by Vikrant and Siya Rastogi. Upon arriving at the entrance, they ran into Pratiksha. Compared to the magazine's front cover, Pratiksha seemed to have swapped outfits with Payal. Payal was wearing black and gave off a calm aura, whereas Pratiksha was wearing an off-shoulder white dress, looking heavenly.

"Pratiksha, I need to thank you for using all your strength to help my entry into the Top Ten Model Awards," Payal lead the conversation, "Did you know how many endorsements I've received in this short amount of time?"

"So you are still using Ruhanika Kapur to create news for yourself about becoming an international supermodel?" Pratiksha smiled slightly. This smile made Payal angry and made Siya Rastogi clench her fists; she wanted so badly to gouge her eyes out.

"Oh my god...is that the Asian model, Pratiksha?"

"Yes, it's Pratiksha, it's really her..."

"Hurry, let's interview her!"

After speaking, Pratiksha simply brushed past Payal; she had no time to deal with her questions. A bunch of foreign reporters rushed towards Pratiksha, and in order to avoid them, she had to leave Payal and the others behind; quickly exiting the hotel. Unfortunately for Payal, nobody paid any attention to her.

"We should head in as well..." Vikrant wrapped his arm around Payal. In this American fashion capital, because he was too busy planning his engagement party, Vikrant had no idea why Payal wasn't receiving any attention. However, Siya Rastogi knew everything clearly.

"My god, Pratiksha is here..."

"Pratiksha finally appeared!"

"Pratiksha! Pratiksha!"

The atmosphere in the celebration dinner had become full of excitement as soon as Pratiksha entered. Whereas, towards Payal, who was behind Pratiksha, no one even knew she existed. Seeing this, Payal sneered inside. They both appeared on the same magazine, how was it possible Pratiksha was so popular, yet no one even mentioned her name? Pratiksha is so despicable; she must have paid for these fans to boost herself.

Afterwards, Mina looked at Pratiksha from the stage. She also noticed Payal. Without being biased, she invited both of them onto the stage. But...

"Thank you, everyone, for coming. The heroes of this issue of Secret are currently in front of us. Let me introduce our front cover models: Pratiksha and Payal."

Hearing Pratiksha's name, everyone wasn't surprised. Although her name hadn't spread to the ends of the earth, her photos and news had impressed everyone...

On the other hand, Payal...

...who was she?

The reporters below the stage looked at each other confusedly. Although this issue of the magazine was a success and they had looked over it numerous times...they never noticed the front cover had anyone else apart from Pratiksha.

So, when Mina introduced Payal, everyone was puzzled.

"Who is that?"

"Oh! I remember now, she must be the one holding onto Pratiksha's hand as part of the set."

"I thought she was part of the backdrop. Look, doesn't she look like a typical American streetwalker?"

"My god, if I didn't look again I wouldn't have noticed. Now that I look at it carefully, how is she shameless enough to stand beside Pratiksha...they are worlds apart."

Hearing the discussions, Payal's expression changed. Never would she have thought, apart from buying fans, Pratiksha had instructed them to defame her and humiliate her. So, she turned sideways towards Pratiksha and complained, "Pratiksha, your heart is vicious. Do you think by defaming me, you can cover up how amazing I am? I also had a role in making Secret receive such huge sales, but I would have never thought, you would be so despicable as to defame me at this dinner..."

"You think too highly of yourself..." Pratiksha turned her head and smiled calmly.

Payal stood on the stage awkwardly. She believed everyone below the stage belonged to Pratiksha. She even pointed at them and asked straightforwardly, "How much did Pratiksha pay you to praise her and criticize me so much? Are you dogs?"

Mina looked at Payal as she listened to the translation from her assistant. Afterwards, she walked over to Payal angrily and said, "I invited you out of respect and courtesy. Miss Payal , is this your professional attitude? How dare you offend the reporters at such a public event?"