Chapter 55: new
The color drained from Liam’s face. "What exactly are you implying?"
"I’m saying my legs are insured under an extremely expensive policy," I told him evenly. "If Amara has no intention of apologizing, then I’ll leave it entirely in the insurance company’s hands."
"Valerie, I never thought you could be this calculating," he said, his voice tight. "It was an accident."
I looked at him for a moment, then reached over, picked up a bottle of makeup remover from the table, and dropped it deliberately in front of Amara. The glass cracked on impact and a few shards caught her legs the same way mine had been caught. "My hands slipped," I said simply. "Also an accident."
Liam’s expression twisted with rage. I met his eyes without flinching. "Are you angry about my unintentional mistake? Because if you are, doesn’t that make you more unreasonable than me?"
Amara’s composure had fully cracked by then. "Valerie, let’s make this a proper bet. The magazine drops next Wednesday. If my public support is higher than yours, you leave the modeling industry for good and never come back."
I looked at her and smiled, quiet and unbothered. "Who exactly do you think you are? You want me to walk away from my career because of you? You really do think very highly of yourself."
I turned, and Nicole followed me out. As the door swung shut behind us, we heard Amara let out a sharp, frustrated scream.
Once we were in the corridor, Nicole turned to me with a guilty expression. "Valerie, I’m so sorry. I really misjudged the situation in there."
"It’s fine," I told her. "Even if you hadn’t said anything, Amara would have found another reason to start trouble. That’s just who she is." I kept walking, my voice calm and settled. "Let’s leave everything for Wednesday."
Wednesday would tell the whole story. And Amara would come back from it very differently than she left.
As Nicole and I stepped out of Secret, I noticed Iris’s car parked just outside. Our eyes met briefly as we passed each other, and neither of us said anything at first. Then, just as I moved past her, she spoke. "The day Secret magazine is released is the day you leave the modeling industry."
"Looks like you have a lot of faith in Amara," I replied.
"She may not have had as much exposure as you, but she already has international experience and has earned extra points with the judges of the Top Ten Model Awards. You, on the other hand, have lost all your value." Her words were sharp and deliberate, the kind meant to cut deep.
"Really? Then let’s wait and see," I said, keeping my voice even. Nothing about the dark side of this industry was going to break me, and I meant that.
Iris’s gaze followed me, filled with something cold and hungry. I could feel it even as I walked away. Nicole glanced back at her and frowned, telling me quietly that there was something unsettling about Iris’s expression. I told her the truth: right now, Iris wanted nothing more than to completely destroy me. I understood the Han siblings well enough to know that. If the magazine turned out to be a failure for me, I could already picture how bleak things would get.
Nicole shook her head firmly. She said both she and Quinn believed in me, and that even if things went badly, I still had Big Boss on my side.
The mention of Caspian reminded me that he had said he would come pick me up. I pulled out my phone and called him as we walked, and he laughed softly on the other end of the line and told me to turn around. I did, and just around the corner, a Lincoln Limousine sat parked beneath a tree.
He was leaning against it, tall and unhurried, dressed in a black and white striped retro suit that made him look like he belonged somewhere far more grand than a quiet street corner. His face was still, not quite smiling, but the lines of it were soft. The small mole near his right ear caught the light. I stood there for a moment and just looked at him, something tightening in my chest. A man like him should have been surrounded by people, attended to and admired. Instead, he was standing alone in this quiet corner, waiting for me.
My eyes started to sting. Everything that had happened inside suddenly felt very far away. I was a model, yes, but I was also this man’s wife. From the very beginning of our marriage, he had accepted every flaw I carried and done everything he could to give me what I needed. Was I really going to keep letting a fallen star take up space in my mind when the sun was standing right in front of me?
It wasn’t worth it.
Caspian’s expression shifted as I approached, his voice gentle when he asked what was wrong. He could tell something was off. I shook my head and said nothing, though the words "I like you" sat right at the back of my throat, too full to push out.
He looked me over carefully, the way he always did, and then his eyes dropped to my legs. The small cuts. His pupils darkened. "What happened?" he asked, his voice quieter now but carrying weight.
Nicole started to explain, but I stepped in before she could. "Caspian, let’s go home. I’ll tell you everything there."
He glanced at Nicole, and I could tell from his expression that he had already pieced it together. He didn’t press further, but I knew him well enough to know he had filed it away. That debt would be settled, just not tonight.
We all got into the limousine, and the drive back was quiet. I sat with my thoughts, nerves wound a little tighter than I wanted to admit. Caspian didn’t ask me anything, just let the silence sit between us without making it uncomfortable. When we arrived at the manor, he lifted me into his arms and carried me straight to the bedroom.
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