"Welcome to the Paris fashion show of the year!" The host announced and cheers erupted through the hall as the audience clapped with enthusiasm. "As you all know, this event is held once every year ranging from three days to one month and this year we have something more exciting to add!" he added and the audience cheered even more. "Alright! This year we've seen a lot of business growth fashionistas. We are proud to announce to you that seven companies are participating in this event this year. Each company has a representative for both senior and junior segments!""These are the list of the companies participating in this year's fashion show! First, we have our three big sponsors, Gefine, Lam and Brianz. And then there is Apil, Maxi, Gaven's and PeenPii...""Huh! I always hate the introduction part of these events. It's always so boring and too long. I would not have attended this part if it weren't for Mrs Williams insisting," Avon complained while making a disgruntled face. "Sh
"You still have not gotten in contact with the expert who developed the Waves software?" Chairman Watson, Mark's grandfather asked with a dissatisfied tone as he poured himself a cup of freshly brewed tea."They told me they had some other commitments and it takes them a while to settle it," Mark replied calmly, unbothered by the old man's temper."And you let them off just like that? What if they are going to work for another company? What should we do by then? For those genius experts, their newest works are always better than the last one and you know what that means when our rivals get them to work for them?" The old man argued, his face contoured in annoyance as he glared at his grandson.Despite Mark being his favourite amongst his children and grandchildren, Chairman Watson forgets the favouritism when the group business is involved. Mark smiled and picked up a cup of tea. "You have nothing to worry about, I already have a project planned with them and it is scheduled to begin
"Pardon?" Light asked in surprise as he looked Lily over, wanting to see if they'd ever met."You don't know me?" Lily asked with a creased brow and Light frowned in dissatisfaction, thinking she was a fan who was trying to get close to him by acting familiar.Despite his dissatisfaction, he smiled politely towards her. "I don't think I have ever met you ma'am," he replied and Lily scoffed before bringing her phone out to show him a picture she had snapped with Alana and Gary at the studio."Are you trying to hide your identity from me or something? You said you don't know anything about modelling while you are an artist!" She voiced, feeling somewhat annoyed.Light pursed his lips as he looked over the picture, his heart racing while looking at the other him in the picture."I think there is a misunderstanding here," Celina cut in. "And why don't we talk about this when the introduction is over?" She suggested and Lily turned to leave.Celina looked at Light and noticed the unreadab
The line went silent after she narrated her experience to Gary. She heard a shuffling on the other side, followed by the sobbing voice of a young child. She could hear Gary walk away from the phone to calm the sobbing child before coming back to the call."I'm sorry for the distraction, I had to attend to something," he apologised calmly."It's fine, are you babysitting? Do you need me to call back later?" Lily asked curiously."There won't be a need for that. They are my younger siblings and I'm in charge of them," he replied."Oh. So what do you say, would you like to meet him?" She asked, going back to the main topic."I don't want to have anything to do with him or his family," he replied. "You can tell him that there is no need to look for me, I know him and I don't want to have anything to do with him, he doesn't have to look for me or anything like that," he explained."Okay. I will let him know!" Lily replied casually, despite her nagging curiosity, she knew it wasn't in her p
As Lily entered the studio, her eyes were immediately drawn to the rows of cameras lining the room, trained on every corner and angle to capture the entire process of the segment.Sitting at the high table of the inner room were four well-known, world-class, designers who would be serving as judges for the segment.She, like the rest of the representative designers, was led to the corner of the room, where they would wait until it was their turn to present their designs.Lily sat quietly, silently gauging her opponent by listening to the judge's comments. The representatives were called up one after the other, and they were all asked the same set of questions before being sent back to their seats to await their results.Soon it was Lily's turn to step up. As she stood in front of the judges, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and smiled politely. "Good morning," she greeted."Oh, hello, what is your name, and what group are you representing?" Beatrice, a female judge, asked."
"Hi, I am Bethel," the designer from Team Six introduced as he walked up to Lily. "Hello, I'm Lily. It's nice to meet you Bethel," she greeted politely."Nice to meet you too! I couldn't help coming to say hi. You look familiar and then, you are a good designer who has gotten a judge's recognition on the first day," he voiced with a subtle accusation behind his tone.Lily frowned as she noticed the hostility and ridicule in his voice and decided to play along, her smile got brighter. "You are probably referring to the online scandal a few days back? Yeah, that scandal shot my population out of the roof, I mean with that I don't need much publicity for the next few months," she replied with a chuckle, making Bethel who had come to make her feel self-conscious, awkward. "I'm surprised Lam allowed you to represent them with that scandal record. People who associated with Lam have always been with a clean record, that's why it has been able to maintain its fame and reputation for so ma
As Lily and her team walked away, Merissa's shoulders sagged, finally recognising Celina as their senior and the person who stood up for Lily at the restaurant the other day. She clenched her fist and glared at their retreating figures with a deep-seated hatred.Mrs. Smith, who had also taken time to digest the scene and the information she had just seen and heard, turned to her daughter with a confused expression."Since when has Lily been moving with those kinds of people? Why did you break off the friendship, knowing she had such a connection? Or is that not the young Miss of William's family?" She asked while silently accusing her daughter of being slow.'Why would you break off such a friendship that could connect the family to higher status,' was her initial question, but seeing how people were paying attention to them, she changed it.Merissa pursed her lips and folded her arms. "Who knows? I bet she slept her way in there; after all, what else could she have offered? She is no
"You can pick any fabric and items of your choice. However, your usage will be among the things judged during the sewing stage, so it is advised you pick the things you actually need and nothing else," the guide explained, leaving them surprised."Are we having a sewing competition too?" Avon asked curiously, and the guide chuckled."The process will be recorded, and the outcome will be judged before it goes onto the runway," the guide replied."Every team member will be judged by the expert in their field: the designer, the tailor, and the model. Any cloth that doesn't pass the sewing stage will not be allowed on the runway, it's to protect the reputation of the company you all are representing," the guide explained further, and Avon nodded in understanding."I better put on my best game; I wouldn't want to lose to our team's designer," he voiced with a chuckle, and he walked into the store to pick the fabrics."Why is this so intense, though? I thought it was just a fashion show for
"Is that Mark's private car?" Lily asked with a frown as she watched the video gotten from the camera close to the factory address sent to her.{The plate number index matches that of Mark's private car. However, this video was made about three weeks ago.}Frowning, Lily replayed the video again. It was a car driving on a highway in the middle of the night. Seeing the date, she recalled she had a date with Mark that night and after he had hurried off. All through their time together, it was even more restless than usual. "Is this all you found?" {There is a similar video of him returning back to the city. But he hasn't gone back to the factory after that.}She jumped off her chair, got changed into a comfortable sweatshirt and pants, and a black sneaker. She picked a small hiking backpack from the closet and her wallet as she exited her apartment.{You are going to the factory?}"Yes," Lily replied calmly. "I at least need to figure out why they sent the note even if I don't know w
"Can you arrange a meeting with Annabelle Wilson?" As she sent the message, Bryan replied almost immediately. Lily glanced at Bryan's text and smirked. "De Ox tonight, between 8 PM and 9 PM. Perfect."She quickly tapped out a reply: Thanks. It's such perfect timing.Bryan: Need help?Lily: I'll be fine on my own. With her plan in motion, Lily pulled up the files containing Henry's promiscuity, one she had meticulously prepared for Henry’s misdeeds. Photos, text messages, and financial transactions—everything she needed to plant the seed of doubt in Annabelle’s mind was compiled neatly in a folder.At exactly 8:15, Lily walked into the dimly lit lounge, her heels clicking softly against the marble floor. She gave off an air of confidence, dressed in a sleek black dress that hinted at authority and poise. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on Annabelle Wilson—a striking woman in her early forties, elegantly dressed in a champagne-coloured gown.Annabelle looked up as Lily a
"I think now is the perfect time to get the computer," Lily announced over the phone. "Given the news about his wife's scandal, Henry and William will be too busy to guard the company like a guard dog." "You want me to send people in there pretending to be electricians to retrieve the computer?" Bryan asked, and Lily hummed. "It will be a bit difficult for me to retrieve it at the moment." Lily replied. "Heard you've not been out of your apartment since the announcement. That's a week ago; that's unhealthy." Bryan sighed. "I'll come pick you up later today, and then we can discuss whatever your plans are." "There won't be a need for that," Lily gritted out as she worked away on her laptop. "I can't afford to be distracted right now.""Is this about Mark's engagement to Roseline?" Bryan asked, making Lily pause as her eyes narrowed at the screen of her laptop. "This has nothing to do with Mark or his engagement." She breathed out, massaging her forehead as she felt her eyes stingi
Lily walked into the living room with an extra sway in her hips as she remembered the event from the previous night. A small smile played on her lips, feeling giddy and excited about the news from the previous night's banquet. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV while waiting for the news with a warm cup of tea in hand. However, instead of the scandal she was expecting, she was met with Mark and Roseline's red carpet photos. Frowning, she turned up the volume just in time for the reporter to announce:"Next on the line of news is Mark Watson, the newly appointed CEO of the Watson Group. The genius businessman has finally announced his engagement with Roseline Anderson, the popular A-list actress."Lily’s smile froze, the warmth from her tea doing little to quell the chill that spread through her chest. Her hand tightened around the cup as she stared at the screen, unable to believe what she was hearing.“Engaged?” She whispered, her voice shaky. “That’s not possible.”The
{Now we wait.} "Can you hack into the security cameras around here?" Lily asked as she returned to the main banquet, still holding the glass of wine in hand. As she walked in, she noticed Henry looking around the hall with a furrowed brow. His shoulders tense and his fingers tightly wrapped around the wine glass. She scowled, her eyes narrowing as she lifted the new wine glass to her lips just in time for Henry to look her way. He visibly breathed out a sigh of relief while his eyes held expectations at seeing her take the drink. {You should know that's a piece of cake. You want me to monitor Kate's movement?} "Yes, get the recordings and send them to the media. I want it to be the first news tomorrow morning."{Consider it done, my lady.}"How long will it take you to hack it?" Lily asked as she began walking towards the toilet area, where she could easily escape the crowd and get out of the banquet.{By the time you make it out, I'll be done.}"I need to pretend I'm affected by
"We got an invite from Hamilton to attend their end of the year banquet," Mr. Wallace reported as he gave the invite to Lily. Lily accepted the invitation, her eyes scanning the elegant gold-embossed card. The Hamilton End-of-Year Banquet—a perfect stage for her next move. She set the card down on her desk and looked up at Mr. Wallace, her expression neutral but calculating."Who else from the company received an invitation?" she asked."Just you, Miss Turner. It’s marked as a ‘personal guest’ invite," Wallace replied. "Of course it is. Henry wouldn’t miss the chance to match me with his son." Lily snickered as she read the details of the invite. Wallace hesitated, his expression full of worry. "Do you plan on attending? It’s bound to be a huge event, and given the recent public opinion about them, it may affect the image of our company if you are seen mingling with them." Lily chuckled softly at Wallace's concern, leaning back in her chair. "The Hamiltons love theatrics. If Henry
"Can you arrange a meeting with Annabelle Wilson?" As she sent the message, Bryan replied almost immediately. Lily glanced at Bryan's text and smirked. "De Ox tonight, between 8 PM and 9 PM. Perfect."She quickly tapped out a reply: Thanks. It's such perfect timing.Bryan: Need help?Lily: I'll be fine on my own. With her plan in motion, Lily pulled up the files containing Henry's promiscuity, one she had meticulously prepared for Henry’s misdeeds. Photos, text messages, and financial transactions—everything she needed to plant the seed of doubt in Annabelle’s mind was compiled neatly in a folder.At exactly 8:15, Lily walked into the dimly lit lounge, her heels clicking softly against the marble floor. She gave off an air of confidence, dressed in a sleek black dress that hinted at authority and poise. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on Annabelle Wilson—a striking woman in her early forties, elegantly dressed in a champagne-coloured gown.Annabelle looked up as Lily a
"All the traces of the investigation and the clue we've gotten so far lead towards the Andersons," Dexter announced, his voice muffled over the shuffling of documents on the phone. "But we haven't gotten any conclusive evidence that will have them legally checked yet which is why I am saying we are in a dead end." "There should be something you are missing," Mark replied as he shrugged off his jacket, his eyes narrowing on the opened file on his laptop. Despite staring at it, none of the words registered in his mind. After his altercation with his mother, the one that landed her in the hospital, he had been focusing his attention on the investigation. And as if a higher power was involved and supporting them, they were able to have several breakthroughs. However, despite the evidence they've gathered, none of it was solid enough for them to point fingers. Dexter let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, Mark, I’ve tried hacking into their financials, their private communications, even th
"I'll advise you to let go of your stubbornness and pay the money for the costume," David breathed out, his voice strained as he messaged his temple, trying to ease out the build up tension from the past few days. It's been three days of constant back and forth with Lily's Fashion team and his PR team about the issue of the costume, and despite knowing Roseline had been the one at fault, he had tried to play the game in the way that would benefit them. Who would have known that the person behind Lily was someone strong enough to throw his crap back in his face. His eye twitched in annoyance as he noticed there is another topic about the issue trending on almost all special media. To make matters worse, the other side didn't even hire internet trolls to boost the popularity of the whole fiasco. Instead, the situation had attracted enough audience purely based on Roseline's and Lily's reputation. One is the award winning actress from a wealthy family and the other is the winner of