Chapter 48: Everywhere
The campaign was released on a Monday morning. And by lunchtime, the entire city was talking about it.
Liliana had absolutely no idea. She was inside a training room practicing poses when her phone suddenly exploded with notifications from messages, calls and group chats.
Even Grandma Lucia somehow sent three voice messages in a row.
Confused, she opened her phone.
The first thing she saw was a message from Emily.
LOOK OUTSIDE!!!
Liliana frowned. Then walked toward the window. She was stunned to see a massive LED advertising screen across the street. One of the largest in the city.
The Gucci campaign was playing. And her face filled the screen.
Not just a photograph but a giant moving advertisement.
The scene from the beach appeared first. She was laughing while running through the sand. Chris followed behind her, smiling and looking completely in love.
Then the screen changed. From the coffee shop, the bookstore, the rooftop to the flower market.
Everywhere she looked, there she was.
"Oh." Liliana exclaimed.
A model trainee standing nearby laughed. "That’s your reaction?"
Liliana honestly didn’t know how to react. She had never imagined seeing herself on a giant screen. She never thought of seeing her face displayed above crowded streets. And definitely she never imagined thousands of people looking at her every day.
Then she saw Chris appear beside her on the screen and then smiled. That part made her really happy.
Because somehow, despite everything, they were together, even if nobody knew the truth.
The campaign wasn’t just hers. It was theirs.
Meanwhile, inside St. Claire Entertainment.
Chaos had returned.
Matthew St. Claire’s secretary looked exhausted including the receptionist, the talent managers and even Robin, which wasn’t unusual. Because the phones never stopped ringing.
They were receiving phone calls from luxury brands, fashion houses, magazine companies, jewelry brands, cosmetic brands and television producers.
Everyone wanted the same thing. And only one.
Liliana Walker.
They started receiving meeting requests. Some luxury brands sent campaign proposals. A lot of media companies wanted interviews. There were photoshoot offers and brand partnerships.
The demand was unbelievable.
Matthew sat inside his office reviewing reports. Then smiled.
Amanda had been right again. Their daughter in law was really meant for the entertainment industry.
Liliana wasn’t simply attracting attention. She was becoming a phenomenon.
Unfortunately, success always comes with consequences.
Inside the modeling division, the atmosphere changed again.
The jealous trainees had become louder. They started becoming meaner and more obvious.
One trainee folded her arms while staring at the magazine cover. "Must be nice."
Another nodded. "Some people get everything handed to them."
A third trainee laughed. "Three weeks in the company and she’s already Gucci’s new favorite."
Liliana heard them. Of course she did. The comments weren’t subtle anymore.
"She’s only popular because of Chris."
"She’s lucky."
"Anybody can be pretty."
"Let’s see how long it lasts."
Liliana quietly continued reviewing her schedule. Ignoring everything.
She didn’t have time to fight. She would never argue with them because she didn’t have time to prove herself.
Her schedule was packed with training, meetings, photoshoots and campaign preparations.
Success kept her busy.
Meanwhile, Nicolo wasn’t nearly as patient.
One particularly brave trainee made a comment loud enough for him to hear.
Nicolo immediately stood up. The trainee regretted her decision immediately.
Fortunately, Liliana stopped him.
"You can’t threaten everyone."
"I can try."
"You can’t."
Nicolo sighed dramatically.
"Fine."
That evening, the cousins gathered inside the penthouse living room. The topic immediately became the jealous trainees.
"They hid my water bottle." Nicole complained.
Rose nodded. "They unplugged my speaker."
Nathan looked offended. "Someone hid my dance notes."
Emily gasped. "Monsters."
Mary rolled her eyes. "They’re jealous, envious. And envy changes people."
The Sterling cousins nodded and agreed.
Then Liliana spoke. "They’ll stop eventually."
Emily immediately pointed. "That’s why you’re everyone’s favorite cousin."
"Why?" Liliana frowned.
"Because you’re mature."
Nathan nodded. "Too mature. And so kind."
Nicole agreed. "If that happened to me, I would’ve started a war."
The room burst into laughter. Liliana smiled while shaking her head.
Across from them, Leo listened quietly. Then also shook his head. "I’m impressed."
Everyone looked toward him.
"You’ve all handled this better than most trainees."
Aaron nodded. "Most people would’ve fought back."
River smiled.
"Or cried. A lot of them already quit and gave up."
The cousins exchanged glances. Then Mary answered. "We’ve already survived worse. A few comments won’t stop us."
The room became quiet because everyone knew she was right. Compared to losing everything. Compared to watching their family struggle? Compared to rebuilding their lives? Jealous trainees felt insignificant and a waste of time.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the city, someone silently sat alone in a dark luxury apartment.
The only source of light came from a magazine resting on a table.
He was staring at the Gucci campaign edition. More like glaring.
It was opened to a full-page photograph of Liliana. She was laughing.
She had a beautiful smile on her face while Chris was behind her, chasing her across the beach.
The photograph had become one of the campaign’s most popular images.
While millions of people loved it, one person hated it.
The man stared at the page, his expression darkened. The more he looked at Chris, the angrier he became.
His hand tightened, crumpling the magazine. The photograph tore slowly, deliberately ripped. The page split into pieces.
His eyes never left Liliana’s image. His obsession had grown stronger. More dangerous, unhealthy.
The attention of the campaign and the photographs made him furious. Because every new article showed the same thing.
Chris beside Liliana. He was looking at her, smiling and protecting her.
He grabbed a pen. Then wrote across the torn photograph, hard enough to nearly tear through the paper.
YOU’RE MINE.
The words looked ugly, possessive, unstable and dangerous.
He stared at them, then smiled. A cold one that sent warnings and promised trouble.
Outside, the city celebrated Gucci’s newest campaign.
Inside St. Claire Entertainment, everyone celebrated Liliana’s success.
Everyone was completely unaware that somewhere in the shadows, someone was watching. Someone was obsessed and had already decided that he wasn’t willing to let her go.
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