Chapter 13%
I never thought I’d hear the words: “You’re leading the next project.”}]
I blinked at Parker, one of the heads, unsure if I heard him correctly.
“Wait–me?” I asked.”
He smiled, nodding. “Yes, you. Riley wants you to take the lead. Full creative direction.“}
I stared at the design board behind him. My sketches. My ideas. My drafts scattered across the wall like pieces of my soul.
“I don’t know…” I said softly. “Maybe someone else—“>
“No,” Parker cut in gently. “Don’t do that. You’re the best person for this. You’ve always been the best at what you do. This is your time, Ms. Erika.“>
I took a breath and slowly nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.“}
The team was assembled within the hour. Young, driven creatives, sharp minds from different corners of the industry. And me–finally, me -in the position I had dreamed about since college.}
It felt real. All of it.”
In the days that followed, I lived in motion. My mornings started with fabric swatches and espresso. Afternoons blurred into team meetings, fittings, layout revisions, and endless color comparisons. I barely noticed the time anymore.
And then, of course, there was Riley.”
He always checked in on me–subtly, gently, without pushing. A coffee on my desk. A blanket when I stayed late. Little things that didn’t scream anything, but whispered everything.}]
“Don’t forget to eat,” he’d say, placing a warm croissant near my tablet.
“I will,” I’d reply, even if I didn’t mean it.”
“You’re doing amazing,” he told me once, after a long day of revisions. “They’re lucky to have you.“>
forced a smile. “I’m just doing my job.”}
Still, I did my best to keep things professional. To stay focused. I wasn’t here for flattery or soft looks that lingered too long. I was here to work. To rebuild.}
I didn’t want to fall again. Falling meant getting hurt. And I was too old, too tired, too bruised to stumble into someone’s arms only to be dropped again.”
So I smiled. I nodded. And I worked.
Until the day I broke.
It happened on a Tuesday. I was in the bathroom cubicle, finishing up and adjusting my skirt, when the door opened and two women entered. I froze as their voices filled room, light and gossipy.”
“…I mean, come on. Her? Leading the project?”
“She didn’t even work in fashion for over a decade.“>
“Exactly. And now she gets the biggest campaign just like that?“}}
My heart pounded. I wanted to flush the toilet, to make “She’s obviously sleeping with Riley.”
noise, to do something–but I stood frozen.
yesterday’s meeting.”)
“Oh, 100%. You should’ve seen how he looked at her during hig
“She probably seduced him. Wore that tight little black
Laughter.”
1
“And honestly, she kind of looks like Riley’s dead wife. Same soft face. Maybe she’s just a rebound. Or a bed warmer.” 1 pressed my hand over my mouth, the air sucked o
of my
“She won’t last long,” one of them said before the door clicked shut behind them.”
I sat down again, holding my breath, tears building behind my eyes. I didn’t even realize I was crying until one slid down my cheek and fell onto my blouse.>
I waited until I was sure the room was empty before stepping out. I looked at myself in the mirror–red eyes, pale skin, lips pressed into a thin line.”
They didn’t know me. They didn’t know what I had lost to get here. What I had sacrificed. How hard I had fought to feel human again.! And yet… it still hurt.”
Z
Not because it was true–but because a part of me feared it could be. That Riley’s kindness wasn’t about me, but a ghost. That my success was still attached to a man’s gaze, not my own work.
I left the office early that day.”
Called in sick. No one questioned it.”
Back at the apartment, I curled beneath the covers and let it out–every tear, every ache. I cried like the woman I used to be, the one who had hidden every breakdown behind a closed bathroom door so no one would see. I cried until my body couldn’t anymore.
And when I finally opened my eyes, night had fallen.
