Chapter 41: Fill
"I don’t think so. You knew our theme was Oriental Trend, so you dressed accordingly and showed up here on purpose." She looked me over. "Unfortunately, once I have made a decision, I do not reverse it." She added, almost as an afterthought, "Xova’s President Liam also mentioned you have a difficult personality. Based on what I see right now, he was not wrong."
"I have already said, my being here has nothing to do with Secret," I repeated, letting my voice carry just enough so that it reached the woman standing a few steps behind Mina.
"You have really put in a great deal of effort. No wonder Iris warned me to be careful of you."
"Miss Mina, you must think very highly of yourself." I let the words land, then shifted my gaze past her entirely. Standing just behind her was Bertha, pausing mid-conversation with a group of guests, looking at me with wide and suddenly emotional eyes.
I smiled. "Mentor."
Bertha stepped forward and pulled me into a warm embrace without hesitation. "Oh, my precious dear. It has been far too long. How have you been?"
"I have been good. But mentor, I have a problem," I said, keeping my voice calm.
Bertha pulled back and looked between me and Mina. She had walked over because she had heard two people arguing, and now the picture was becoming clear. She turned to Mina directly. "What is all this?"
Mina stood frozen. Her mind was clearly racing. I had not come here chasing after the magazine cover at all. I actually knew the editor of Royal Magazine, and not just knew her. They were close. The kind of close that could not be faked.
I did not hold back. I explained the entire situation to Bertha plainly and honestly, from the wrong meeting time to the dismissal that morning. By the time I finished, Bertha’s expression had gone from confusion to something much sharper. She turned to Mina and let her have it without softening a single word.
"This is why your magazine has been struggling. How dare you reject my precious and choose a B-grade model in her place, and then be proud of yourself? Did you even know how many awards Kira received walking the runways in France?"
"She... is she not a newcomer?" Mina could barely get the words out.
"She appeared in Master Bonne’s show. She walked the finale. She was seventeen years old, and at that time, you were still a nobody!" Bertha pulled me close again, her arm around my shoulders. "My precious, don’t be upset. Whatever front cover you want, you tell me and it is yours."
Mina watched us walk away and said nothing. But I could feel her eyes on my back, and I already knew what was happening inside her head. The realization was sinking in that she had let herself be manipulated into giving up something rare. She had thrown away the pearl and kept the box, and she knew it.
I turned down Bertha’s offer gently. As we walked further into the exhibition, I told her everything that had happened over the past few years, piece by piece. Bertha listened without interrupting. "Mentor, I am clear on where I stand right now. I want to take it back one step at a time, the way it should be done. Thank you for the offer, truly."
"My precious, the most important thing in life is knowing what you want," she said with a slow nod. "It is never too late to start again."
"Thank you, mentor."
She looked me over with warm eyes. "Look at you. You completely stand out in this crowd. You have not changed at all."
I smiled, but I felt genuinely humble hearing it. I had always believed there were people in the world with far greater ability than mine, and that kept me grounded. Praise never sat easily on me.
When the exhibition ended, Bertha arranged for someone to escort me back. I had barely reached the car when I heard quick footsteps behind me. Mina came rushing out and stepped in front of the vehicle to stop it.
"Can you give me five minutes?"
"What else do we have to talk about?" I asked evenly.
"As long as you agree to shoot our front cover, you can make whatever request you want. I will make sure it is fulfilled."
I looked at her through the car window, my voice casual but carrying an edge underneath it. "Even at the expense of going against Iris? I am a vengeful person, Miss Mina."
"I have said it already. Whatever you ask, regardless of the cost, I will fulfill it."
"Then I will wait for you to show me your sincerity," I said, and wound the window up. I asked the driver to go.
Iris, I thought quietly as the car pulled away. Tomorrow, you are going to realize that everything has changed.
When I got back to the manor, Quinn and Nicole came rushing out to meet me, grabbing my arms with barely contained excitement. I just laughed. I was not going to disappoint them, and I especially was not going to disappoint the man who had quietly made all of it possible.
Nicole caught the direction of my gaze, which had drifted to Caspian sitting on the sofa with a stack of documents in his lap. She grinned and gave me a little push toward him. "We are not going to be the third wheel anymore. Go keep him company!" With that, she and Quinn disappeared into their respective rooms.
It lasted about thirty seconds before Nicole came back out, holding her phone toward me with a helpless expression. "Liam is calling. Do you want to take it?"
I glanced at Caspian, then nodded and took the phone.
"Valerie, since the magazine has decided not to use you, you should return home. There is no point in staying in the US. Don’t blame my sister for being ruthless, she did it for Xova. The magazine wasn’t satisfied with you, so you have no right to blame anyone." He said it all so easily, like everything he and his sister had done was perfectly reasonable.
"After using me, you kicked me aside, and now you expect me to accept that without a word?" My tone was calm, but I did not disguise the edge beneath it.
"Why won’t you give up? Why do you keep going against Amara? Why can’t you just let us go?" His impatience was obvious. I could hear it clearly. To him, I was a burden he could not shake, something heavy and inconvenient that kept showing up.
