LOGIN51| What is Lisa doing?LISA15 minutes.That was all we had till we were called. Other models were dressed and still no sign of our head model. “Where is she? Where is Aurora!!?” I asked for the third time, my voice shaking despite my effort to stay calm.No one answered me immediately. That silence was certainly what I didn’t need at the moment. Raya stood in front of me, phone pressed to her ear with her brows drawn tight. She ended the call slowly and looked at me with eyes that said everything before her mouth did.“Lisa…” she started.My heart dropped. “Don’t say it.”“She’s not picking up,” Raya said carefully. “Her agency says she’s unreachable. And…. she swallowed, “…they don’t have any free model available right now.”The world blurred. But the look on Raya’s face told me there was more to it. “ Spill it out Raya.” I said knowing fully well she had something else to say. She hesitated but spoke anyway. “Her agency actually said… she… was in an accident this morning.” Sh
LISA“Jezz it’s 23rd already.” I said as my eyes widened. Today was the day. But then something else hit me… today was meant to be the day I and Adrian would’ve celebrated our 1 year anniversary. But the sad feeling didn’t last long. Nothing about Adrian lasted long anymore. I sat up slowly, my heart already racing, and swung my legs over the side of the bed, coming down and putting on my fluffy slippers. I stood by the window for a moment. Seems the sun was taking over today as well. Then I clasped my hands together and closed my eyes.“God,” I whispered, my voice trembling despite my effort to stay calm. “I’ve worked so hard for this. Please… let my brand win today. Let everything I’ve poured into it matter. Give me strength. And protect me.”I inhaled deeply.“And please,” I added softly, “bring Brian back safely tonight.” I woke up to notice he wasn’t in bed.. it only means he had an emergency.***************By the time I arrived at my fashion world, the place was buzzing wi
BRIAN After I left the coffee shop, I drove straight to Lisa’s fashion home. I wanted to actually give her a surprise visit but I stoped at the door way when I heard her laugh, but her laugh came along with a deep voice from a man…This wasn’t her casual kind of laugh… this was the type she only used when around either me or Raya at least. She was leaning against one of the worktables, her arms folded loosely, and her head tilted slightly as she listened to one of her workers, some guy I didn’t recognize talk animatedly with his hands. He was too close to her and I didn’t find it proper. My jaw tightened.I told myself to breathe and to be rational, but still my chest burned.I watched as she laughed again, brushing her fingers over her neck absentmindedly. Something twisted hard inside me at the sight of it. I forced a smile onto my face and walked further in.“Hey,” I said.Lisa turned instantly. Her whole face lit up, like someone had flipped a switch in her. “Brian!” she said
BRIAN The bell above the coffee shop door jingled as I stepped in. I’ve had my eyes on Monica for the past few hours and I knew where exactly she’d gone, right after the gym. I spotted her immediately, sitting at a corner table, scrolling through her phone in a relaxed manner. I approached her gently, every instinct warning me that this conversation could go sideways fast. But I had no choice. Lisa was… the competition was coming up, and I couldn’t let Monica pull any stunts that would complicate things. That’s not happening on my watch. “Monica,” I said, sliding into the seat across from her without waiting for an invitation. My voice was calm but cold. She looked up, her eyes narrowing slightly, and a smile slowly showing at the corners of her lips. “Brian,” she greeted calmly. “Didn’t expect to see you here.” I leaned forward slightly, lowering my voice. “I know you know about Lisa’s competition. I’m here to warn you. Don’t do anything… Else you won’t like how I’ll follow
ADRIAN It’s actually quite bad that I haven’t been consistent in my office for weeks. I stepped into the office, my coat still dusted with frost from the snow, trying to push the image of Lisa out of my mind. But just like her, the thoughts of her was to stubborn to get off my mind. My manager, Ms. Hamilton, caught sight of me almost immediately. Her brow raised as she approached with a clipboard in hand. “Adrian,” she began. “We really need to talk. Your team… they’re facing a lot of challenges because you haven’t been consistent lately. There’s confusion, missed deadlines, and frankly…” She hesitated, glancing at the documents in her hand. “…it’s affecting the company.” I nodded mechanically, offering a smile that didn’t actually reach my eyes. “I understand. I’ll address it.” But even as I spoke, my mind was elsewhere. Every word Ms. Hamilton said felt different, It all sounded muffled like I was underwater. Lisa… what would she think if she saw me now, she’ll probably… no
ADRIAN It’s actually quite bad that I haven’t been consistent in my office for weeks. I stepped into the office, my coat still dusted with frost from the snow, trying to push the image of Lisa out of my mind. But just like her, the thoughts of her was to stubborn to get off my mind. My manager, Ms. Hamilton, caught sight of me almost immediately. Her brow raised as she approached with a clipboard in hand. “Adrian,” she began. “We really need to talk. Your team… they’re facing a lot of challenges because you haven’t been consistent lately. There’s confusion, missed deadlines, and frankly…” She hesitated, glancing at the documents in her hand. “…it’s affecting the company.” I nodded mechanically, offering a smile that didn’t actually reach my eyes. “I understand. I’ll address it.” But even as I spoke, my mind was elsewhere. Every word Ms. Hamilton said felt different, It all sounded muffled like I was underwater. Lisa… what would she think if she saw me now, she’ll probably… no







