Chapter 44: filler
I could see how desperately she wanted me gone, and honestly, I felt the same way about her. But standing there looking at Amara’s defiant, unapologetic expression, something settled in me. If reasoning with these people was never going to work, then the least I could do was make a choice that actually benefited me. I raised my eyebrows and let the pause stretch just long enough before I spoke.
"I will give Amara a chance. But there is one condition."
"Speak," Iris said through gritted teeth.
"I want Xova to promise that from this point forward, every decision about who I work with will be made by me personally. Whatever job I choose to take, I take. Whatever job I do not agree to, Xova has no right to push on me, and no right to arrange assignments behind my back."
Iris shook her head immediately. "That is impossible. What would be the difference between that and canceling your contract or starting your own studio?"
"You are welcome to turn it down," I replied calmly. "In the end, I will still find a way to make things work for myself. But are you certain that Amara can afford to keep waiting?"
Iris looked over at Liam. They both fell quiet for a moment, exchanging a look before she turned back to me. "The most I can offer is that we will not arrange jobs without informing you first. But the company still needs to have final say over your client choices. If you go off working with cheap, unknown brands, it reflects badly on the entire company."
She straightened slightly. "No artist gets to climb over the company that represents them, Valerie."
"The company can maintain its oversight," I said, "but I want all the senior management present whenever a decision about me is being made. I no longer have any trust in Liam alone." I let that land before continuing. "I also do not expect Xova to hand me the best resources. I am not asking for that. I just want you all to stop interfering. And one last thing. Stop dragging Amara into everything that involves me."
Iris let out a short, cold laugh. She did not believe I was truly capable of holding my ground. As far as she was concerned, this was all just a rash, emotional decision on my part. Once Amara’s profile was high enough, Xova could find a way to bury me again, and next time, she would make sure it was something I could not climb out of. So agreeing right now made perfect sense to her.
Since she could not crush me directly, she would do the next best thing. She would let me share a stage with Amara and watch what happened when her carefully managed star went up against someone without a top manager in her corner. She was already looking forward to it.
"I agree," Iris said, and gave a single nod.
Quinn was standing just behind me, and I could feel her stunned silence even without looking at her. Iris had agreed, and in doing so, the entire situation had flipped. I had not thrown a tantrum or broken down. I had walked straight up to them and demanded what was rightfully mine, and they had no choice but to give it to me.
From this point on, Xova no longer had the right to interfere with my work without my knowledge. I was, in part, free from the tightest grip of my contract. I understood people like Iris and Liam too well to leave any room for them to pull the same trick twice. What happened with Secret could never be allowed to happen again, which was exactly why securing the right to make my own decisions mattered more than any short-term victory. Humiliating them would have felt good for a moment. This was better.
Quinn stood there quietly absorbing everything, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she was coming to a conclusion. Even without a manager, even without an assistant, I could still carve out a path entirely on my own. She had never encountered an artist who led her manager rather than the other way around. And yet, even knowing all of that, she had no desire to leave my side. There was too much to learn just from watching me.
The moment I had said I was only recovering the fairness I deserved, something had resonated deeply with her. She had spent years in this industry believing fairness was a fantasy, something that existed in speeches but not in practice. But I was different. I had no fear about sharing the stage with Amara, and Quinn understood why. Dealing with Amara, given my abilities, was not a battle. It was barely even a challenge.
In my heart, I had been waiting for exactly this kind of opportunity. I had once been Amara’s substitute, and that label had followed me like a shadow. This was my chance to stand beside her on equal footing and let the world see clearly that being her substitute had never meant I was lesser. Competing against her was not something I dreaded. It was something I had quietly been looking forward to.
With the agreement now settled, Xova could no longer casually assign me jobs without going through proper channels. Every future decision would require a vote from the company’s senior management. With that level of oversight in place, Liam could no longer quietly manipulate things behind closed doors. And realistically, the jobs I would bring forward had real earning potential, so there was no logical reason for the higher-ups to refuse them. In exchange, I had agreed to allow Amara to join me in the Secret photo shoot. Together, we would represent the Oriental Trend campaign.
When Mina heard my decision, she looked genuinely surprised that I had accepted Amara’s involvement. She looked at me with something close to admiration, and I understood why. She was thinking about what I had endured and wondering how anyone could be strong enough to extend grace to the very people who had tried to destroy her.
