The wooden chair cracked under the impact, and the man grunted in surprise, clutching at his chest where the blow had landed. She didn’t stop. Using her momentum when she felt a presence draw close, she used her entire body weight to jam the chair right into the man rushing towards her.. By heaven’s luck, it was enough to send him crashing to the ground. CLUNK! The chair was close to breaking when she hit the other man. For a brief, exhilarating moment, hope surged through her veins. Her eyes saw momentary hope that she was close to winning when suddenly, a bloodcurdling laughter rang throughout the air. What followed after the laughter was loud clapping sounds from the men surrounding them, but she didn’t waste any time. She knew it was to momentarily distract her so that the men could all pounce at her. She didn’t care about the noise as she swung her body again. This time, the chair connected with something else. Instead of another body, a hand had grabbed the leg of the chair
In her mind, the best case scenario she came up with at the moment was that he would get angry enough and that would lead him to tossing her onto the ground and the impact would be able to break the chair. The worst case is that she would be pummeled into submission. Right now she should prefer the latter lot because getting pummeled is not a very good scenario she'd want to imagine. Just as Eva was busy weighing her situation, she felt a hand grab her head and the next thing she knew her face roughly shoved into the floor, her forehead crashing against the hard surface. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she tried to straighten herself. She was surprised she was still conscious after having been hit in the head so hard just now. For a moment, she feared that the blow would knock her out completely, leaving her defenseless against whatever torment they had in store. At the same moment a plan instantly came to her mind. ‘Fake it till you make it, even when you wanna die.’ She dec
………….. An hour ago. Damien was busy working in his office as usual, however, he has been spacing out a little bit as he kept glancing at his phone like he was expecting a call from someone. Eva had sent him a message in the morning when she was going for her shoot and she said she was going to give him a call after she was done. Because he didn't see her call, he tried calling her himself but it was unreachable. Ever since then he has been spacing out on his. Just as Damien was checking his phone, his office door suddenly opened and both Shane burst into the office like he was being chased. His facial expression doesn't look good which made Damien crease his brow. “What is it?" He questioned and focused back on the file with him. He knew Shane might look like that because of the meeting he asked Eric to cancel for him without letting Shane aware of it. “B-boss, we have a problem. It's Miss Eva.” Shane said, making Damien pause and look up at him. “Eva? What about her?" He aske
“She left here a few hours ago and I haven't been able to reach her ever since then. Did she perhaps call you or something? I am worried that something bad has happened to my Eva….” Gwen explained. Though she didn't know the situation, she was having a bad feeling since Eva was not reachable. “I know. I will be there." Damien curtly replied with a deep scowl on his face. “O-okay." She said, still not understanding the situation “Boss, isn't Miss Eva the granddaughter of the Black family? Perhaps the patriarch is the one who took her." Shane suddenly said as they were on their way to the airport. Ever since they left the company in haste the temperature in the car has been so cold and unbearable that even Shane had to hold his breath. “Old Black is not sly enough to kidnap his own granddaughter.” Damien replied. George Black might be a sly and cunning old man but he knew George would not kidnap his own granddaughter and even if he wants to drag Eva to come and see him, he wouldn'
This time Kai frown deepened when he heard Gwen. She didn't take the company car he had prepared for her? “Gwen, what of the security team I asked to protect you guys?" Kai questioned as his voice turned serious. He knew the situation was now a different case. “What security team? The last time I saw any security team was when we were at the airport a few days ago. Did you send any bodyguards, big boss?” Gwen replied, surprised to hear that Kai prepared bodyguards for them. “By the way, I've already called and informed Mr. Cross about it. I don't know what else to do at this point. Do you think my Eva is okay?" She added worriedly. “Eva would be okay. You calm down. I will see what I can do." Kai reassured and hung up the call before calling the security leader and asked him about the men he told the security leader to protect Eva. However, it turns out that the security leader only gave his men orders to follow and protect Eva until she boarded the plane to California. Of cour
Though Kai told her to be calm, there is no way Gwen would be calm after knowing that something bad has happened to Eva on her watch. She couldn't help but blame herself for what happened, maybe if she had strictly asked Eva to take the company car it would have been easier to find her. Just as Gwen was busy pacing back and forth, her phone went off. She wanted to ignore the call when she glanced at her phone and saw it was an unknown caller but something told her to pick it, thinking it might be Eva. “Hello, Gwen Miller, speaking.” Gwen said after answering the call. She was expecting to hear Eva's voice but unfortunately it was a different partner called. " Good evening, Miss Miller. I believe you are the manager of Miss Evangeline Carter, right?” A male voice asked. To Gwen the voice was not familiar but if Eva was there she would have instantly known that the man speaking is Julian, her grandfather's assistant. ‘Oh, please don't tell this is a representative of a company that
Gwen took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She can't possibly lie to them so she would tell them the truth. " Honestly speaking, Mr. Reeves. I'm surprised to receive a call from you but currently, Eva isn't with me.” She said, after calming down a bit. " I don't understand? What do you mean Miss Eva isn't with you? Then you can at least let her know that her grandfather called once she-” " Mr. Reeves, Eva went missing from my sight five hours ago. I don't know where she is and she is not returning my calls just as you have been calling her too. I have a feeling that she is probably kidnapped.” Gwen quickly interrupted Julian and told him. "Kidnapped?! The young miss is kidnapped?” Julian yelled in shock, however before he had the time to ask more questions the phone got snatched from his hand. "What do you mean my granddaughter was kidnapped?” George asked, his voice cold enough to freeze the entire study room. Julian froze when he heard his boss' voice and even the way the
“You should have been able to protect her before she got kidnapped then." Without waiting for a response, Damien hung up the call and boarded the plane.“That damned brat!" George furiously slammed his hand on the desk. It was true what Damien said even though he hated to admit it. How can his own granddaughter get kidnapped in his own territory and he wasn't aware of it?“Call Raphael and ask if there is any progress." George turned to look at Julian who immediately carried out his boss's order. ……..Back at the warehouse.The silence stretched in the entire warehouse, a palpable tension in the air as the man watched her. Eva kept her breathing shallow, she forced herself to not react or even flinch. She had to sell the act, convince them that she was knocked out.“See?” The man’s voice was smug now, as though her feigned surrender was all the confirmation he needed of his dominance. “They all fall in the end.”“Great, you overdid it again. Now we have to deal with this." The leader
For the past few days, Christine had kept a low profile, following Tanya’s advice to wait for the right opportunity. Her previous schemes had failed miserably—each attempt to sabotage Eva had only backfired, making Eva look even more poised and untouchable. But Christine wasn’t the type to accept defeat.If she couldn’t surpass Eva professionally, then she would tear her down personally.Her mother, Laura, had been the one to plant the idea in her mind. "If you can’t win on the battlefield they’ve chosen," Laura had told her, "then change the game. Make them play on your terms."And that was exactly what Christine intended to do. This time, she wouldn’t just aim for petty sabotage—she was going to destroy Eva’s reputation completely.…………Early in the morning, Eva’s phone buzzed non-stop.Gossip sites, entertainment blogs, and even major media outlets were exploding with headlines:"Supermodel Eva Caught in Scandalous Affair with HB Industry CEO!""Is Eva Using Her Influence to Secure
Meanwhile, Eric, who had been silently watching the interaction, let out a small scoff. “So this is what I wasted my time for?” he muttered under his breath.Gwen immediately shot him a glare. “Excuse me?”Eric smirked slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets. “You barged in here like it was urgent, but all you’re doing is dragging her out for a photoshoot?”“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Gwen said mockingly. “I forgot you were Mr.Cross's bodyguard and not his secretary. If it bothers you so much, maybe you should have stayed outside instead of following me in.” she said, though she knew that he was Damien's secretary but still said that to irk him.Eric chuckled darkly.’This crazy human being.’ “Believe me, I wouldn’t be here if someone didn’t insist I help her get past the receptionist.”“I did not beg—” Gwen started before cutting herself off, clenching her fists. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t have time to argue with an overgrown ice cube.”Eva, who had been watching the entire exch
Eva leaned back against the couch, patting her stomach in satisfaction. "I have to say, I really outdid myself picking that restaurant," she mused.Damien, who was already sitting behind his desk, raised a brow. “You outdid yourself? All you did was order the food. I don’t remember you being the one who actually cooked it.”Eva scoffed, sitting up straighter. “Excuse you, do you know how much effort it took to pick the best dishes from that menu?”Damien smirked. “Oh, I’m sure scrolling through a menu and pointing at things was exhausting.”Eva gasped, placing a hand over her chest dramatically. “Wow, Damien. I put all this effort into making sure my husband doesn’t starve, and this is the appreciation I get?”Damien let out a chuckle, the warmth in his gaze betraying his otherwise teasing expression. “Your husband could have easily ordered lunch himself, you know.”Eva narrowed her eyes. “Really? Because from the looks of it, you were buried under so many files that you probably woul
Gwen strode into Cross Enterprise’s grand lobby, her heels clicking sharply against the polished marble floor. She just got back from where she had told Eva she was going and had tried calling Eva multiple times, but as expected, Eva was too busy flirting or whatever she was doing with Damien to answer her phone.Glancing at the time, Gwen muttered under her breath. “If she doesn’t come out now, Victoria’s going to have my head.”With no other choice, she let out an exasperated sigh, and approached the receptionist’s desk.“I’m here to see Mr. Cross,” she said, adjusting the strap of her handbag. “Let me through to the top floor.”The receptionist, a young woman with perfectly styled hair and an unbothered expression, simply smiled. “I’m sorry, miss, but you don’t have an appointment. I can’t let you in.”Gwen blinked, momentarily taken aback. “What?”The receptionist gave her a polite but firm look. “Without an appointment, I can’t let you through. Company policy.”Gwen narrowed her
As Damien led her to the couch, Eva suddenly halted, making him turn with a questioning brow.“You know,” she mused, tilting her head with mock seriousness, “before you interrupted me, I was actually offering a very expensive consultation service.”Damien crossed his arms, amusement twinkling in his dark eyes. “Oh?”Eva nodded, tapping her chin as if in deep thought. “Yes, I used to charge companies millions for my insights. So technically… you owe me.”Damien let out a low chuckle, stepping closer. “Let me get this straight,” he said, his voice rich with teasing authority. “You walked into my office, sat in my chair, went through my documents without permission—and now you’re asking me to pay you?”Eva grinned. “That’s business, Mr. Cross. Nothing is free.”Damien smirked. “And what if I refuse to pay?”Eva pretended to think, then shrugged. “Then I guess I’ll take my brilliant mind elsewhere.”Damien’s eyes darkened slightly, but he played along. “That would be a shame. Tell me, Mrs
Minutes passed, and Eva quickly grew bored.She had been in Damien’s office many times, but she still found herself looking around. It was immaculate and organized, but it lacked anything personal. Nothing in this room screamed Damien—except for the towering stacks of documents and reports on his desk.Her eyes narrowed as she walked over, running her fingers lightly over the ridiculous amount of paperwork.“No wonder he barely has time to eat.” She muttered, shaking her head.The sight of his overwhelming workload triggered a familiar ache in her chest. She remembered her past—being buried in work, managing her father’s company alongside Mark. She had spent countless nights drowning in documents, starving herself to meet deadlines, and yet… no one had cared. Neither her father nor Mark had ever asked if she had eaten.Her fingers clenched slightly against the papers.She had left that life behind, yet here Damien was, doing the same thing to himself.Determined to help him, Eva sat i
The sleek black car pulled up in front of Cross Enterprise, and Eva didn’t waste a second stepping out. Instead of the casual home-cooked meal she initially planned, she had opted for something more refined—a gourmet lunch from one of the most renowned restaurants in the city.“Wait here,” Eva told Gwen as she adjusted her coat.Gwen smirked knowingly. “Of course, take your time, lover girl.”Eva rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. She knew exactly what she was doing. There was no need to hide anymore—not after the scandal had already made headlines, exposing her connection to Damien. So, she walked into the building with confidence, her heels clicking against the polished marble floor of the grand lobby.The moment she stepped inside, all eyes were on her.Employees, visitors, and executives alike paused in their conversations, their gazes snapping toward the stunning supermodel who had just entered the headquarters of one of the most powerful companies in the world.It wasn’t just her
--- After the Fitting As Eva stepped off the platform, Gwen handed her a bottle of water. “You handled that beautifully.” Eva took a sip and smirked. “Christine’s getting predictable.” Trix rolled her eyes. “What’s next? Tripping you on the runway?” Eva chuckled. “If she does, I’ll be ready for that too.” Christine might have thought she could sabotage Eva with clumsy tricks, but Eva wasn’t easily shaken. When they got to her room, Eva sighed in relief as she kicked off her heels, rolling her ankles to ease the tension. “What’s my schedule looking like today, Trix?” she asked, rubbing her temples. Trix scrolled through her tablet, barely glancing up. “You have a photoshoot with Victoria this afternoon after you wrap up here.” Eva groaned, sinking into the plush chair. “Can’t we reschedule? At this point, I can’t tell if she’s just dedicated to her work or if she’s obsessed with overworking me to death.” Gwen chuckled, settling onto the couch beside her. “She’s taken a real l
The fashion house hosting the campaign had scheduled a fitting session for all the models. The room buzzed with activity as assistants, designers, and stylists adjusted gowns and accessories. Eva arrived, poised and confident, dressed in a sleek black dress. Gwen and Trix trailed behind her, chatting about the campaign’s recent success. Christine was already there, surrounded by a few stylists, her laughter deliberately exaggerated as she chatted with a designer. Eva ignored her and focused on her fitting. A stylist handed her an elegant white gown, its fabric shimmering under the lights. It was one of the most anticipated pieces of the campaign, and Eva knew this photoshoot would be critical. As she stepped onto the fitting platform, Christine made her move. A designer approached Eva with a clipboard, giving her details about the shoot. Christine, pretending to walk past, "accidentally" tilted a cup of coffee in Eva’s direction. Time seemed to slow. The dark liquid splashed on