chapter 137
chapter 137
Isabella's POV.
The bright lights almost blinded me but I didn't flinch. I heard the low murmur of stylists, the smell of hairspray. It all faded when I stepped onto the runway.
My heels hit the stage like they belonged there and my hips swayed with every step I took as I let my gown trail behind me just to make me feel like the star of the season and I felt exactly that way.
“That is perfect, Isabella! Hold that pose.” the photographer shouted and I tilted my chin.
I let my lips just part open slightly and I exhaled slowly. For those few moments, I wasn't the girl who had cried herself to sleep four years ago. I wasn't the woman who had whispered to two unborn babies in the dark. But instead, I was a star. I was a muse.
When the shoot ended. I could hear people clapping for me as my director also clapped his hands.
“Bravo Isabella. You outdid yourself again and that is why you are our diamond.” he said.
“Thank you so much for your words of compliments.” I said as I bowed my head with the grace I had taught myself to wear as an armour.
“Mommy!”
I heard a familiar voice and I turned my head around just to see two small figures run past my team and my heart raced with happiness.
“Adrian and Aria.”
I dropped to my knees in the middle of the studio. At that moment I didn't care about my gown or the photographers telling me that their set was being invaded.
My son crashed into my body first. His curly hair was damp from playing and he wrapped his tiny hands around my neck.
His twin sister followed as she pressed her cheek against mine and her giggles melted every ounce of exhaustion I carried inside of me.
I saw their nanny Maribel standing behind them and she spoke up before I could even ask her why she brought the kids to me.
“They begged me, Isa. They said they wanted to surprise you.” she said and tears burned at the corner of my eyes.
“Thank you for accepting their request Maribel. This is the best surprise anyone could ever give to me.”
My entire team that watched the whole family moments got their emotions softened as they pulled out their phones and began to capture and video the scenario in front of them.
I kissed Adrian's forehead, then I brushed Aria's hair from her eyes.
“Didn't I tell you to let mommy finish up with her work first?” I asked and Aria pouted her lips at me.
“But we missed you mommy. That is why we came here.” Aria said.
“And we also wanted to see you shine.” Adrian added and I laughed at their words because this was truly who I was.
I was not a goddess on the runway but just a mother who was trying to desperately give her children a life free of the pain that nearly broke her.
“Isabella. I'm sorry to interrupt the family moment but I think the kids have to go with Maribel so I can discuss something very important with you” my director, Mr Valentini informed as I nodded my head at him.
“Okay mommy. We are going to leave you for now. We will go with nanny Maribel. See you soon mommy, we love you” Aria said and I was left amused because I was just looking for a way to convince them that mommy had to be alone for some work but they quickly understood without me having to say anything to them.
I could always see that my kids were so mature for their age and sometimes it left me thinking that am I letting them grow faster than their age?
My director had already moved and I followed behind after placing kisses on my children's cheeks. For a moment I feel like he summoned me because he was trying to tell me to try and differentiate between my personal life and professional life but then I was thinking aback when I saw a bright smile on his face it seemed as though it was excitement but I wouldn't know yet not when I hadn't listened to him.
“Isabella, there is so much good news. This is the biggest news we have gotten this year because we have secured something historic for you. It is an expensive campaign in Florence and the company is paying us millions. You are going to be the face of their brand across Europe.” he said, sliding a folder across the desk.
The word Florence hit me like a slap and my stomach twisted inside of my body. He was talking about Italy, the country where I was born.
The country where everything started and ended for me and it was the same place I left behind when my life crumbled. It was the same country where I had lost Declan. When I built walls that were so high, that I feared anyone looking too closely might see my cracks.
My fingers trembled as I opened the folder. The numbers were staggering and they were enough to secure my twin's future ten times over. And it was enough to silence any doubts about whether I was truly independent.
“I….I don't know if I will be able to do this job.” I whispered with fear inside of me. The fear that I hadn't thought in so long and I knew that this was wrong of me to feel this way. I had come so far for anything to lower my esteem or not to make me feel good about myself anymore.
Valenti frowned at me and as usual that was the expression I expected from him. He wasn't meant to smile with me after me not knowing where I stand.
“What is there to doubt Isabella? This is the kind of opportunity every model dreams to have. With this opportunity you have been given, you're going to fulfill every dream of yours, so why are you hesitant on accepting it. And here you are telling me you don't know?” he said and I looked away from him, as the ghosts of my past clawed at me.
To me Florence wasn't just a city anymore. It was a memory of laughter that turned into silence. It was Declan's low and steady voice that promised me forever but yet he still couldn't stick to his words. It was also the weight of the choices I had made that separated us.
“Isabella?” Valenti called out my name. And I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to tell me that he's giving me one more chance to make a good choice that will favor everyone, including myself.
Otherwise it won't take him anything to write back to the company and convince them to pick up another model. He was capable of it and if I had gone far with my modeling it was all because of him.
I also realized that Declan wasn't a part of my life anymore and if he were to be put in this situation he would choose himself over me. And what was the reassurance that he thought about me all these years?
“When would I have to leave? I want to start preparing” I asked with a steadier voice.
“You are going to leave tomorrow and you'll be staying in Florence for one month. Everything about your travel and your accommodations, including your fee has been handled and it has been deposited upfrontly. All you need is just to say yes and we'll go ahead with the plans.”
My chest tightened and I thought about it. I just had one day that was already over to prepare myself to step back into a world I swore I would never see again.
“I am ready to do it.” I said, closing the folder as Valenti smiled at me.
“I knew you would. This is destiny for you, your destiny is for you to go far in life.”
When he mentioned the word destiny. It made me shiver.
\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I reached home later that night. It was already late and I knew that everyone was asleep, except for me.
I had already freshened up and I was in bed already with Adrian and Aria beside me. For some reason they hated sleeping alone and even when I forced them to sleep alone. They would sneak into my room when they saw that I was asleep and they would lay beside me till the next morning.
I loved every bit of it as my fingers brushed through the curls of Adrian's hair. Then Aria's hands were wrapped around mine.
I still thought about the whole discussion I had with my director but then it was better for me to think about it and to just take it as what life was throwing at me.
“I promise that we are going there for work. And once we are done, we are going to come back home because Atlanta is our home.” I whispered to my kids even if I knew they were sleeping and they wouldn't hear me. And even if they were awake they wouldn't understand that I had a past there. They will just feel we are going for work and nothing else.
At least with this one month break. Maribel will be able to return to her family and spend time with them. And I was also lucky that my work collided with the school break that the kids had. They were going on a break for two months so they could resume in September.
But even as I said those words. I still had doubts in my mind, was I really ready to face the city I once ran from? Was I ready to risk the chance of seeing him again after so long?.