Semua Bab My Enemy Is My Lover : Bab 81 - Bab 90

Rosa’s povI had decided to ignore Victoria's text message and immerse myself in work at the boutique instead. The rumors and whispers were already so burdensome, and I could hardly handle going head-to-head with a rival designer who wanted nothing more than to take me down.James, on the other hand, had different plans.One evening, as we sat across from each other at the kitchen table with Victoria's note between us like some silent dare, he went on: "Face her, Rosa." His tone was business-like but not at all harsh. Don't let her silence you with bullying.I was well aware and hesitated with my hands clenching to my teacup. What if it is just baiting? What if she's playing with me? To make me lose my focus?”James leaned forward, his gray eyes unblinking with mine. “Then you stand your ground. You obviously do not have to play her game, but neither can you let her believe she can intimidate you. Rosa, you better than this."I stared back up at him, his belief in me both comforting a

Rosa’s povI had hit my breaking point. Victoria had played her games for too long, and I had finally tired of letting her puppeteer the situation. If she thought she could sweet-talk me into submission, she was in for a lesson.I texted her, “You know where to meet me a the boutique, my hands shaking slightly.James looked up from his laptop. “Are you sure about this?” he said, a note of concern edging his voiceI nodded firmly. James, I cannot keep running away from her. She is messing with my life, my career. It’s time to end this.”He looked at me for a second, like he was consider something then nodded. “I trust you. But Im keeping close in case merry go round avalanche.An hour later Victoria walked into the boutique with her head held high causing my stomach to twist. First, the inevitable entrance — she was always beautifully put together, her stilettos click, click about on the tile.“Rosa,” she said, smiling slightly. "You must have called me here to give up, am I right? It

Rosa’s povIt was my belief that time would sand down the rough patches. If I had a life with Emma, if her laughter echoed in our home along with growing dreams and maybe even love, I thought, perhaps then I could block the pain from my mind. Yet there are some wounds that you cannot hide away, so deep will they ensconced themselves in the well of your heart.But tonight, standing in the dim light of our living room while James flipped through the recent designs I’d left on our coffee table, those wounds seemed nonexistent. They were simply concealed, resting deep below the depths, awaiting for an instance such as this to surface.“Are you happy with these?” Excuse me James said, holding up one of the sketches His tone was neutral, as if he were just inquiring about the weather. Even so, there was an earnestness in that tone, a genuine desire to connect with something I placed value on.“I was, uh…” I said, cutting myself off. "They're fine." I looked aside, staring at a place on the

Rosa’s POVThey began looking for something banal. I wasn't intruding, not really. This was when I was sorting out James's office drawers, something I'd volunteered to do when I'd seen the mountain of files building and papers strewn around. That was so like him, careful and meticulous about business yet chaotic in his personal affairs.What I discovered, however, was anything but what I expected.The envelope, well aged but of fairly crisp paper, was in reverent service to the letter, with edges tattered from too many folds. I knew I was about to see something familiar once my hand shook as I drew it out, the faint scrawl in loops.Haylee.Just the name itself caused my chest to clench. I knew relatively little about her, just snippets he'd been unwilling to share. I knew all the details, she was his ex-girlfriend before me, a shining star in his life snuffed out before her time.I looked over my shoulder, anticipating James to walk in here and catch me with the letter. But he wasn’t

Rosa’s POVSecrets have a way of finding the spotlight, but they do tend to stay in the shadows until perhaps the best—or worst—time for them to shine. For all those years, I had been two people—the face of Rosa's Boutique and the invisible puppeteer of one of the planet's top fashion houses. I enjoyed the work and creative aspects, the power of manifesting my vision into reality.However, this power also came at a cost.James texted me one word, urgent — I knew something was up, this was during a design meeting we were having. I made an excuse and immediately called him.“James, what’s going on?”His voice was tense, his words carefully articulated. “Rosa, you need to come home. Now.”He was already pacing the living room when I got there, his laptop on the coffee table. He had his tie hanging loose, sleeves rolled up, and when he turned around to talk to me the furrow in his brow deepened.“What happened?” I asked, my heart pounding.He gestured to a screen where an email thread was