Now that mama had met André, I couldn't keep my engagement a secret from her. When I visited her again, she had asked a million questions, and avoiding them would only make everything look more suspicious.

I was already feeling guilty for lying to her about this whole thing. From what I'd told her, she would think I'd met André in Chantilly and had been dating him since the last six months. There wasn't a grain of truth in my words, but they made mama feel on top of the world.

She was relieved that I'd found someone to share my life with. She was naive enough to not realize that there was no concept of a soulmate for a broken soul like me. She didn't realize how scarred I was because of these damned human relationships, and that I would never allow myself to be vulnerable with anyone. Not again.

She thought I'd changed. And I didn't correct her for her own sake. Maybe if everything went well, this happiness could help her in her recovery. The fact that she was ecstatic for me was enough.

With the end of August approaching, my nerves were increasing as well. The official engagement invitations had been sent out to everyone, and someone from a high end jewelery brand had taken my finger measurements for the ring. The buzz of the wedding had still not died down, and everyone was regarding it as some Royal wedding. Everything was happening so fast, or maybe that was all in my head.

From my side, I'd invited my fashion design team to the engagement. Apart from Lily, they were the ones who truly supported me, and we were all friends now. I wouldn't want to have such a huge event without them. When I'd given them the formal invitations, the look of absolute shock and disbelief on their faces were a sight to see, too.

Smiling inwardly, I stepped out of the elevator as it stopped on the familiar sixth floor. Today was an important day as well – the models we required for the collection were supposed to have meeting with the designers, and go over the smaller details.

Just the thought of it wiped the smile off my face. The thought of the last minute changes that happened last night made my stomach churn with nervousness. This day was going to be full of drama.

I turned around the hallway, and passed my regular desk. Walking straight to the end of the floor, I opened the door of the conference room and walked inside. It was a large, rectangular area made for meetings with a large number of people. A rectangular glass table took up most of the room, and leather chairs were placed on all sides. A huge screen was hung on an adjacent wall, which would be used to discuss positions of the models on the ramp and other practicalities.

Sophie, Maria, Martin and the twins were already present in the room, already radiating anxiety through their behaviors. The twins were connecting the projector to the laptop, while the other three were deep in a last minute discussion. The scene might have looked very common to any other eye, but I knew their subtle signs.

Mia and Amelia – who were supposed to be tech geniuses – hadn't been able to connect the laptop in the past five tries. Sophie kept playing with the end of her pen, constantly biting it. Maria hadn't stopped twirling that ring on her finger, and Martin, although calm and collected, adjusted the glasses on his nose quite often. 

An unbearable silence followed my entry, and I tried to reassure them. "Its fine, everyone. Let's just do our job."

They all nodded pensively, but I realized I needed that reassurance more than them. All of the drama would only happen because of me, and not because of them.

A moment later, the models started to enter. Although they were all new to me, the others had worked with them once in a while. Low chatter ensued and the silence was driven away, but somehow, the models' eyes remained on me. All ten of them seemed to be more interested in me, though I didn't know if it was because I was a new designer or André's fiancée. They all congratulated me on my engagement, but I didn't know if they were genuine or not.

The meeting had been started sooner, if only the two main models had arrived on time. After about ten minutes, I saw Lily and Madison entering the room. Lily locked eyes with me and winked, making me smile at her silliness. On the other hand, Madison entered with a pleasant expression on her face, which soon turned into a frown as soon as she saw me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked me with so much disdain in her voice.

Maria, who was sitting beside me, took in a deep breath. She was feeling the most fidgety out of us all, and Madison's over the top reaction only worsened her worries. Lily glanced at Madison once, and rolled her eyes. I figured she must have to endure such tantrums one too many times.

Not wanting to ruin the day, I kept my cool. "There has been a change of plans. I believe your manager had been notified about the same, but seeing how you didn't know, she mustn't have informed you."

Blood drained from her face, and she acted as if I'd said something heinous. She turned to face Clarissa, her manager. "Is... is this true? It's not, right? Up until yesterday, I was in Sasha's team, what the fuck is this now?"

There was anger and desperation in equal parts in her voice, as if it were a concoction of an unsuspecting fish caught in a net. Madison was thrashing like a fish who was freshly caught, and no matter how annoying her voice sounded, the scene was still enjoyable.

Before Clarissa could muster the courage to answer, Lily spoke up, "Suck it up, Maddy. What's the big deal? We just have to do our job, the team doesn't really matter."

She took her seat on my opposite end of the table, smiling at me. "Liz and her team are amazing designers. I'm sure they have fantastic things planned for us."

Lily's statements made Madison go wild. I could see it in her eyes, and in how she all but growled. "You shut up! Clarissa, tell me the truth!"

"Miss, it's true. Miss Collins has refused to work with you, and in a rush, I had to make arrangements with Miss Fontaine. I'm... I'm sorry."

The poor manager spoke softly, her form shaking with fear. I clenched my jaw as I looked at her pitiable self, nobody should be subjected to such treatment, but this was Madison Thomas we were talking about. With every time I meet her or listen to her stories, she keeps on getting worse and worse.

Blood dripped from Madison's eyes, and the stark silence of the room didn't really help lessen the tension.  Before things got worse, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

"Miss Thomas, I believe there has been a misunderstanding and the confusion on your end is valid. Still, there's no need for you to act this shocked about it. Things like these happen all the time, and I would like it if you would act a little more professional. Actually, we all would."

This time, I was the sole receiver of her hateful glares, and they somehow reminded me of André's mother. Whenever these two women glared at me, they clearly let me know how upset they were that I was taking away one of their possessions. As if a human could become one.

"Unprofessional? How dare you say that to my face? You're a nobody in this field, but I'm a fucking supermodel! I'm worshipped by everyone, and do you even know who my dad is? How dare you tell me what to do, when I could get you fired with just a flick of my finger?"

Her dainty fist landed on the glass table, her bracelets making a tinkling noise. She was trying to assert her dominance over me by using her father's name. Lewis Thomas, the President of Panache, was Madison's father and Florian's long time friend. She really thought she could use that card on me, someone who would soon marry André Beaumont. Madison was really a foolish and egoistic girl.

Barely able to suppress the spark of ire she lit inside me, I finally stood up from my position. If I had to show her, and everyone present here, why I should be feared, I had to do this right now. Power must be asserted through the right words, at the right time. And this was the best time to do that.

With coolness of a glacier in my voice, I said, "You don't seem to understand the situation. Let me rephrase what Clarissa meant to say. At present, there is absolutely no one who wants to work with you. Sasha Collins has refused as well. Last night, she had personally sent me an email to include you and Lily Jones for my show. After informing my team, I decided to take you in."

Her expressions showed how betrayed she felt, and she wanted to speak up, but I held a finger up.

"And while you think everyone out there is tripping over themselves trying to keep you for themselves, you're just acting foolishly and unprofessionally. The reason why nobody wants you right now, I think it's pretty much evident. I don't need to answer that. It would be amazing if you could make peace with it already, before I have to turn you down as well."

She gasped at my words, not able to bear the spice that came with my words. Everyone else had their eyes wide open as well, as they all stared silently. Lily gave me another wink and a secret thumbs up from across the room, while Madison was rendered absolutely speechless.

Finally grasping the gravity of the situation, she begrudgingly sat down in her seat. That didn't really stop her from glaring at me, but little did I care. All I wanted was her to obey me, and to get this meeting started. Still, it was a lot of fun to rile her up, so I decided to be a little polite, just to see that hateful fire light up in her eyes once again.

"Thank you for cooperating, Miss Thomas. Sophie, let's get started."

The power was in my hands now, and there was nothing she could do.

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