The New Star

Evelina sighed and strolled to her window. She wanted to try out her luck this time. She had made it a routine to come to the window and gaze at the mansion, hoping the mansion owner would come out with his bare face someday.

She peeked through the window and scanned the mansion's driveway, hoping to catch a glimpse of the billionaire's car or him. But it was empty. Disappointment chewed at her but what she soon found instead sent her jaw slacking.

Just as she turned away, she saw movement at the end of the driveway. Two figures; her parents, were walking towards the mansion.

Evelina's heart teetered. What were they doing? Why were they going over there?

Before she could ponder any further, a sleek black car materialized from behind the mansion and stopped and sped onto the road, totally ignoring her parents.

She almost laughed her lungs out at them for getting ignored. What were they thinking? That the billionaire would give them an audience? Why should he?

But then, if he wanted her, he needed to get in her parent's good book. Why was he confusing her? She thought. His motive remained unknown.

After the car sped off, her parents retreated and returned home. Evelina rushed out to confront them.

“He must be busy.” She heard Susan murmuring as she came down.

“Mum, Dad — what were you doing in front of the mansion?!” She almost hollered.

Susan squinted her eyes at her. “What's your business about that, Evelina? We went to try our luck at apologizing on Madeline’s behalf.”

“We can't afford to lose our last hope. Those gifts should keep on coming!” James shrugged and Susan kissed his cheek.

“You couldn't be more right, honey.”

Evelina clenched her fists, fighting back the outburst threatening to emanate from her. “How can you even do that? Do you have no , Mum, and Dad?!”

“Why, you…!” James was about to scold her when she walked out on them.

Fuming, “Now, he’s going to think everyone in the family is as as the lots of you!” She hollered and slammed her door shut.

“EVELINA, HOW DARE YOU?!” Susan bellowed but Evelina flung herself onto her bed, buried her face in the pillow, and muffled the angry sobs that escaped her lips.

“Why do I have to have such parents?” She clutched at her chest. They were just too greedy and they weren't shy about it. It was insane. Driving her insane.

She wouldn't let this suffocate her, wouldn't let her spirit be stifled. She had work to do.

She slipped into a simple floral dress and wiped away the traces of frustration from her face. She grabbed her bag and headed out, grateful that her parents were not in the sitting room.

“I better hurry to catch the bus.” She mused to herself as she trekked to the bus stop.

Boarding the bus, she found a seat by the window. There, she couldn't stop thinking about her family. How they treated her differently from Madeline hurts her. What was more bothersome was how they shamelessly went to the mansion.

She finally arrived at the A&A fashion house. After inspection at the entrance, she made her way to the receptionist who was dressed in black.

“Oh, Ms. Avalon?” The receptionist beamed. “I’m Chloe. The one who called earlier.”

Evelina tried to return her smile. “Oh, hello.”

She directed Evelina to a private fitting room which had a rack with all of the clothes she was to try on. There was also a designer who introduced herself as Ms. Dubious.

“Welcome, Ms. Avalon," she said, her voice laced with a hint of excitement. "We've prepared a selection of pieces for you to try on. I believe you'll find them quite — transformative."

Evelina felt a thrill course through her as she surveyed the clothes. They were unlike anything she'd ever seen before. She couldn't believe she’d be putting on such luxury dresses.

When Evelina went into the fitting room to change, “I’ll be back in a jiffy!” Ms. Dubious informed her.

The first dress she tried on transformed her. Her hourglass figure molded finely against it. It showcases her slender waist and highlighted the slope of her shoulders. For the first time in a long while, she felt truly beautiful.

Just as Evelina’s eyes glinted with amusement, a knock at the door broke the spell. A beautiful woman with a warm smile walked in with Ms. Dubois who was carrying a tray of jewelry.

“My, my," Ms. Dubious exclaimed, her eyes widening. "This dress was made for you, Miss..."

“Evelina," Evelina supplied.

Ms. Dubious clapped. “Right. Ms. Evelina, meet Ms. Juliana Starkwood. This fashion brand is one of her family’s many properties.” She introduced.

But before she could speak, Ms. Starkwood extended a hand, her smile widening.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Avalon," she beamed. “Welcome to the A&A family."

On a second glance, Evelina recalled who was in front of her. That was Juliana Starkwood of the Starkwood family. For anyone who had seen the business news before, they’d know who she was.

Evelina's hand felt like lead as it hovered towards Ms. Starkwood's. “You're even more beautiful in person." She breathed.

“Thank you.” The Lady blinked. “I heard the art gala last night was all about you. We just couldn't resist the chance to employ Mr. Monthomery’s treasure.”

Mr. Montgomery? The name rang a bell in Evelina’s ears.

“M—Mr. Montgomery?” She stammered.

Juliana nodded indifferently. “Yes. Davis Montgomery. The one who organized the exhibition for you.”

Evelina’s legs wobbled. “Davis… Davis Montgomery?” Her eyes widened with disbelief.

She knew that name. That was Davis’s name. That was Madeline’s ex-husband’s name.

Juliana, unaware of her inner turmoil continued. “Yes. You must be very special to him. He's a very powerful figure who barely pays attention to women or throws his weight around.”

Evelina saw admiration flickered in Juliana’s eyes. It was as though she was questioning Evelina to get more information on the so-called Davis Montgomery.

But then again, Madeline’s ex-husband wasn't the only person going by the name Davis Montgomery. It was insane to try to attribute such a personality to Davis.

Davis just only left the house a few months ago – there was no way he’d have become a multi-billionaire.

“He’s just a neighbor. Although, he's a very nice one.” Evelina was unsure of what to say but she settled for that.

Juliana seemed to process her words. “I guess he just did that as a favor to push your talents out for exposure.”

Talent? She had no talent.

“We could say that.” She scratched her nape.

Juliana clapped her hands. “Well, I'm glad he did that. It made us discover you. We hope you can work for us from now on. I would not be too present as I have a ton of other work to do but whenever I'm here, we can always grab a drink.”

Whoever this Davis Montgomery was, he was one with power. For the popular Juliana Starwood who was known as a force to be reckoned with to be this interested in her all because of him, Evelina knew whoever the man was, he was a big shot.

It was amusing that he shared the same name with Madeline’s ex and had a crush on her sister.

Suddenly, a knock interrupted the tension. It was then that Evelina noticed that Ms. Dubious had left them.

Ms. Dubious hurried in, her face flushed with excitement. "Ms. Starkwood, the press are demanding a statement about Ms. Avalon. Should we release the official announcement now?"

Ms. Starkwood's smile returned. "Of course, Dubious. Tell them we have a new star rising at A&A, a star named Evelina Avalon."

Evelina swallowed and heat crept up her neck. In the blink of an eye, she was becoming a modeling star. Did she save the earth in her previous life or what was this good fortune?

.

For the rest of the day, she was taught everything basic there was to know about modeling. She was to come for training three times in a week and she would be paid wages too.

Juliana stuck around until the day was over. “We’ll have that drink whenever I come around here next.” She winked at Evelina before she left.

As exciting as it was for Evelina for someone like Juliana Starkwood to pay attention to her, it was suspicious too. The overly friendly act was questionable.

During the walk back to the bus stop, her mind was filled with thoughts and questions. “Where do I even want to begin investigating? Is it with my parents? What the billionaire who now has a name ‘Davis Montgomery’ wants from me or what this woman – Juliana Starkwood want from me?” She mumbled to herself and kicked a bottle off the road.

She sighed. “Time will tell, Evelina. Just play along.”