Chapter 201: Chapter 201

Violet

At first I thought my ears were deceiving me, and that I had heard it wrong.

But the roaring applause that followed and the sharp rise in chatter told me my senses were working just fine.

Elijah was here.

Why the hell did he have to be the Chief Guest of the Lunar Gala?

My fingers curled into fists so tightly that my nails bit into my palms, grounding me in a way nothing else could. I struggled to keep my breathing even, to not let the tremor in my chest travel outward where anyone could see it.

Every single emotion I had buried for the past weeks, every moment where he had looked at me as if I mattered only to then realize I had been just a fucking bet for him clawed their way back to the surface. I had fought so hard to forget everything his mere presence had shattered it clean open.

A bitter laugh rose in my throat but I swallowed it before it could escape. I was vaguely aware of the representatives from other booths buzzing with excitement, fixing their hair, and openly gushing over him.

The energy had shifted from competitive to desperate in a matter of seconds.

Everyone wanted his attention, his approval but I wanted to simply disappear.

My grip tightened on the edge of the display table, the cool polished surface biting into my skin as I forced myself to stay rooted in place.

Mirella, who had been lounging near the side with an air of bored superiority just moments ago, suddenly sprang to life as if someone had wound her up.

“Stand straight, Violet,” she snapped under her breath, smoothing her hair and adjusting the fall of her blazer. “The chief guest is coming this way. We need to make sure he stops here. Can you go and quickly change into something…more exciting?”

She looked up and down at my simple dress and flat shoes.

“Dean asked us to dress minimum so that we draw attention to our pieces not ourselves” I reminded her but she shook her head.

“Dean, bless his heart, doesn’t understand how to draw a male gaze. Look around at the other booths.”

I did and noticed how the girl in the booth next to us had changed into a tight fitted, body hugging dress that had a very deep, very plunging neckline.

“I…dont want to.”

I argued but Mirella was already pushing me behind the booth, in the small space where we had tucked the extra chairs and random stuff to be discarded later.

“Look, I don’t know if you have any idea who that man is. He has the power to topple businesses and turn us from a struggling company to a big name in a matter of seconds. And we have to do everything to impress him.”

“Absolutely not” I bit out.

The mere thought of doing anything at all to impress him made rage boil inside me.

“Sorry” I added a second later, “I just don’t like the idea of parading myself as a display piece.”

I closed my eyes briefly, just for a second, just enough to steady the storm raging inside me.

“Are you even listening to me? This is the chance of a lifetime. If he buys even one piece from our collection, we will be the talk of the town.”

But Dane didn’t want that, did he? He wanted to overthrow him, not be bought by Elijah. I wasn’t entirely sure if he had told Mirella about his ambition and now wasn’t the time to discuss that either.

“Yes,” I said, “I am just… feeling a little nauseous.”

That wasn’t entirely a lie.

Her brows knit together in irritation. “This is not the time to fall sick. Dane specifically wanted you to handle this booth.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw the massive doors at the far end of the hall part wider, the crowd instinctively shifting, creating a pathway. I didn’t look directly. I couldn’t. Not yet.

“Please,” I said, forcing myself to focus on Mirella instead of the magnetic pull at the other end of the room, “you’re my senior. You know the collection inside out. You should be the one presenting it.”

She didn’t deny immediately so I pressed on.

“Keep the commission from the sale as well,” I added quickly, lowering my voice just enough to make it sound like a secret.

I didn’t think Elijah was a fan of jewellery and I doubted he would stop by at the booth of a company as small as ours. I would happily attend to other customers once he left.

Ambition flickered across her face, as I felt hyperaware of the subtle shift in the grand hall like everyone was suddenly conscious of themselves.

“Fine,” Mirella said after a beat, straightening further, her chin lifting. “But if you mess this up…”

“I won’t,” I cut in, though I had no idea what I was promising anymore.

“Then quickly,” she said, leaning closer, “run me through the specifications of the centerpiece. I will get changed.”

I blinked at her. For a moment, the absurdity of it cut through everything else.

The centerpiece was the design I had spent nights perfecting, the one she had rejected, revised, nitpicked, torn apart, and finally approved after endless back and forth.

And now she wanted me to explain it to her like she had never seen it before while she changed into something provocative?

I didn’t even bother wondering why she was carrying an extra dress around because more important questions were buzzing through my head.

938

Had she not read a single document I had sent? Had she not paid attention at all?

The realization hit me with a strange, hollow clarity.

I had been fighting so hard to prove myself to someone who hadn’t even been looking.

“I…” I began, momentarily thrown off, my mind scrambling to gather details that suddenly felt distant.

And that was when Rain spoke in my head, alarming me suddenly.

“He is headed here”

My breath caught.

Rain hadn’t spoken a word to me since I left Ironcrest manor, and I had almost forgotten I had a wolf.

Of the two of us, she had been the most excited about him from the get go. But now, her voice was guarded, not filled with hatred like mine, but had a certain edge to it.

Slowly, despite every instinct screaming at me not to, I lifted my gaze not at eye level but to the floor a little ahead of me.

And sure enough I saw shiny boots, followed by a few audible sighs from women around me.

‘Don’t look, don’t look’ I kept telling myself, forcing my gaze away as my heart slammed against my ribs.

I stood there, rooted, my fingers still curled against the table, my mind blanking out at the worst possible moment.

And then those feet turned to the left to swiftly walk away from me and the booth.