AIDEN I saw Lisa’s face—or maybe it was Annalise—freeze the moment I announced that she would be competing against Tala, our own Head of Design. The shock was subtle, fleeting, but it was there. I didn’t expect it either, honestly, but that didn’t matter. I thought, how better to put her in her place than this? By the time Tala beat her, she would slink home quietly, never make another request, never push back again. And even if I had to marry her, it would be a quiet wedding, a mere formality, and in thirty days, everything would be over. I had the perfect plan. Tala hadn’t expected the competition either, I could tell from the tiny lift of her eyebrow, but she smiled regardless. There was a fire in her expression, that hunger to prove herself, and I admired it—not that I would ever tell her that. She was precise, calculating, and confident. All the qualities Lisa lacked, at least right now. The crowd in the atelier erupted as Tala stepped out, and they were all cheering he
Last Updated : 2026-01-14 Read more