The Rebirth of a Scorned Heiress

“Oh! You are here!” Celina exclaimed as she pulled open the door to see Lily standing by the door awkwardly.

“Hello!” Lily greeted with an awkward smile, feeling the eyes of those walking by. Celina chuckled as she noticed how uncomfortable Lily was, she pulled her into the executive dorm and closed the door behind her.

“I’m sorry for bringing you here this late,” Celina breathed out. “There was no one else I could call,” she added.

“It’s fine, I had nothing to do tonight anyway. Is there a reason you have called me here though? And did those securities know I was coming beforehand?” Lily asked curiously.

“Yes, I told them you would stop by,” Celina explained.

“Oh, that explains it, I was wondering why they casually allowed me into the executive building without question” Lily chuckled as she sat on the couch. She looked around the room, feeling impressed by the extravagant yet simple decorations used.

“So, the Paris event has been brought forward and it will be taking place next week” Celina voiced with a long sigh as she folded her hands over her chest. “And the event planning has changed somewhat, the model is to bring their own team, which consists of a designer and a seamstress,” Celina explained.

“Is it a competition?” Lily asked with a frown.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Yes, it is, but not on the surface. It was meant to help fashion brands mingle and whatnot but some people wanted to add more ‘fun’ and they suggested this” Celina explained.

“I don’t see a problem in that. The William family is one of the best fashion companies in the company and its influence in the international space is also not small, I don’t see a reason why you should be stressed out by this” Lily replied and Celina groaned and then plopped on the bed.

“If we can use the influence of the family, there isn’t a problem. The thing is categorised into two sessions. The juniors and the seniors. The juniors are people like me who are still in training while the seniors are those already in business. For all juniors, every member of our team must still be training and everyone working in my family’s company is an expert” she breathed out a frustrated sigh.

“You called me here because you need my help right?” Lily asked with a knowing smile.

“Yes, I need your help. I need you to be my designer!” She declared.

“But I’m just a year two…I don’t have enough strength to go against international designers” Lily replied awkwardly, suddenly feeling pressured by Celina’s hopeful eyes.

{What are you scared of? With me here, no one would scoff at your designs} the system announced smugly but was ignored by Lily who wasn’t ready to make a public appearance.

“My company is still so small, if I go against big ones from the start, how will I survive?”

“I have gone through all your designs and showed them to some people in our company and they all approve of them. If you agree to work with me, you will receive guidance from them all through the event and we will pay you! You can’t reject the offer! I’m really desperate!” Celina wailed and Lily sighed.

“Fine, I will help you. I can make connections with others that way and then get guidance from the experts in the William fashion. I already agreed to go with you anyways” she explained and Celina brought her into a bone-crushing hug.

“You are a lifesaver. As expected of the one approved by my big cousin!” Celina laughed cheerily.

“Miss Celina, you are crushing my bones!” Lily groaned out.

“Oops…sorry, I got too excited hahaha!”

“Since it’s starting next week, we don’t have enough time to get ready, are there designs that you wish to use for modelling?” Lily asked after flexing her crushed shoulders.

“Oh, the host will be the one to give us the theme we will be working with. Let me explain it to you, it’s just like the nationals” Celina began.

“The host will pick a theme and the designers will work on the theme, the designers are given two days to come up with a design from the theme given and after that, the designs will be submitted to the host for approval, once it is approved, the sewing team will work on them and then the modelling. That’s how it works, but it’s different because, for the nationals, the judges will have to judge the overall winner while for this, the amount made on each product determines the winner” she explained and Lily gave a nod in understanding.

“That’s quite simple”

“But it’s not that simple, anything involving competitions and competitors isn’t simple. You will have to guard against your opponents and even the host as they might have been bribed!” Celina argued.

“Alright, I understand, it sounds interesting enough. I am looking forward to it” ‘I can also use this opportunity to finish the system quest to design and sell’ she thought to herself.

“Thank you! You don’t know how much this means to me! Don’t worry, my family will sponsor the travel and all the expenses during the trip,” Celina announced as Lily got up to leave.

“Well! I should go back to start packing”

“I will come pick you up tomorrow morning. I already applied for a learning leave for you and me and it should be approved tomorrow. You should pack for a month although you can get all the things you need there” Celina explained.

“Alright, till tomorrow”

As Lily left, Celina flopped on the bed, feeling exhausted and flustered, her phone went off and she groaned when she noticed the caller was her mother.

“How did it go?” Mrs William asked before Celina could say hello.

“Well, hello there mother. I’m doing great and you?” Celina greeted her with a bright smile, making her mother roll her eyes.

“We spoke this morning”

“That was in the morning, this is night Mother!”

“Stop beating around the bush and go straight to the point, young lady!”

“Tch…you are no fun. She agreed to be my designer”

“That is good, I don’t know why you are so hellbent on having someone as inexperienced as her be your designer, but if that is what will make you agree to go to Paris, I have no choice”

“Don’t worry Mother, you can trust my decision on this” Celina winked and Mrs William sighed.

“Just so you know, that young lady from the Thompson family has agreed to be Maxi’s seamstress”

“Tch! What an eyesore. It doesn’t matter. I’m sure we won’t lose to their team”

“With the standard of your team?” Mrs William asked sceptically. “I will be surprised if you make it past the first week!”

“Mother!” Celina exclaimed grumpily.

“Anyways, Avon already agreed to be on your team and now you are only left with a male model”

“I have someone in mind for that, I’m just going to have to do a few more talking, huh?”

“You mean him?”

“Yes, him. That devil with the rotten mouth!”

*****

“Say hello to Chairman Stark and Young Master Zayn!” Mrs Smith urged as they walked into the private booth of the ‘Lux’ restaurant, a five-star restaurant, situated at the centre of the city.

“Hello Chairman Stark, Young Master Zayn, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Merrisa Smith!” Merissa greeted me with a natural and practised polite smile.

Young Master Zayn’s eyes raked over her body and his eyes darkened with lust, making Merissa’s impression of him worse. “You’ve grown into a beautiful lady since I last saw you, no wonder that uncultured brat made a pass at you” Young Master Zayn mocked with a smirk, while his eyes continued to ravage her body.

Merissa felt repulsed by his stare while her father felt angered by the obvious insult, however, they could not say a thing and swallowed their complaints. “Hahaha…Young Master Zayn is a little funny…my daughter is here to apologise for the trouble she caused” Mr Smith explained with an awkward laugh while being scrutinised by Chairman Stark.

The old man’s eyes followed every one of his movements and reactions, making it difficult for him to drop his fake, awkward and painful smile. “It’s okay for youths to be frivolous once in a while and all the things said were just in a heated moment of anger” Chairman Stark voiced.

“Why don’t you pour me a glass of wine, Merissa,” he smiled. Merissa froze in her seat, unable to move at his request. ‘He wants me to be a hostess?’ she thought while glaring at her hands as if it had offended her previously.

“I…I…”

“Of course, she will. Come on, what are you waiting for? You don’t have to be awkward, after all, you and Young Master Zayn will be couples soon enough!” Mr Smith encouraged his daughter.

Hearing his words, both Chairman Stark and Zayn’s faces darkened in disgust. “About that” Chairman Stark coughed awkwardly. “We would like to call off the marriage arrangements between Merissa and Zayn” he announced.

“What?” Mr Smith asked.

“The marriage arrangement between both families will still stand, however, the first son of the Stark family will not be marrying your daughter, instead, he will be replaced by his cousin, Jake” he explained.

“You mean the illegitimate child?” Mr Smith asked in bewilderment and Zayn scoffed.

“What? Is he not good enough? I think they are a perfect match, after all, your daughter is into those kinds!” He mocked.

Merissa clenched her fist under the table, her blood boiling with anger and her face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “Young Master Zayn! Please watch the way you talk to my daughter!” Mr Smith gritted out.

Although it looks like they were insulting Merissa, the jab and the insult were mainly directed at the whole Smith family. “He was merely speaking the truth, Mr Smith,” Chairman Stark chuckled.

“She had someone as good as the young master of the Stark family but she decided to go after an abandoned child, isn’t that her taste? Or would she rather be Iayn’s mistress?” He asked condescendingly.

“Oh! She’s not even worthy of being my mistress. A used doll isn’t worth my attention”

Merrisa bit her lips to swallow her words and anger while silently cursing Lily in her head. ‘It’s all your fault! I will make you pay!’ she repeated.

Crossed between keeping his daughter’s dignity and the gains of the business, Mr Smith bit his tongue and chose the gain. “Of course, we have no complaints. We will go according to your arrangement”