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    ALINA’S POV.

    “No!” Seraphina snapped, cutting her off and making every head turn in her direction.

    What the hell was she doing?

    Her heels cked aggressively as she stormed forward, her voice shing through the rising whispers like a de. “You expect me to showcase my collection after this?” She pointed at the stage. “After this… this tant theft?”

    Mia blinked, slightly startled. “Excuse me?”

    Seraphina’s voice rose, thick with fury. “That final design is mine. Or it should’ve been. Only one other person besides me knew about it, and she doesn’t have the guts to double-cross me. And now it’s here, on this stage, being paraded as if it belongs to Alinova? This is giarism!”

    A ripple of murmurs swept across the room.

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    Seraphina turned sharply, her eyes inspecting the crowd, briefingnding on me. Her stare was filled with usation.

    She probably thinks I sold the designs to someone else.

    “Who’s behind this brand? Where is the designer? Are they even here? Do they even exist?”

    I rose from my seat.

    Calmly.

    Purposefully.

    Loud gasps echoed around me as I strode forward, heels silent against the floor until I reached the foot of the runway.

    “I am.”I told her calmly, holding her gaze.

    My initial n when I made Seraphina’s best design simr to my final one wasn’t to announce myself. I had only wanted to embarrass her, to make her look foolish in front of everyone. I didn’t think she’d have the balls to cause a scene.

    But now that things had taken this turn… I guess this had to be done.

    Seraphina’s eyes widened with a mix of confusion and disbelief.

    “You….? No way.” She chuckled bitterly. “You’re just Mr. ckwood’s date.” She spat.

    I squared my shoulders, my bodynguageposed and unshaken.

    “I’m also the creator and sole designer of Alinova.”

    The hush that fell upon the room was so sharp it felt like ss crashing on the floor.

    I sauntered onto the runway. I was no model, but the grace in each of my steps was simr to those of my models who had walked before me minutes ago. My heart was thumping so hard I could feel it in my throat, but I used the nerves to push me forward instead of letting them get in the way.

    I’d waited a long time for this moment, to put Seraphina in her ce.

    Seraphina blinked at me in shock, as though she’d just been pped.

    I really don’t know why she’s so surprised. She’s been parading my designs as hers for years. Or maybe it was because I’d been holding back on the designs I give her, or because she didn’t think I could defy her, didn’t believe I had it in me to create an entire line on my own.

    “You’re ly… lying.” Her voice cracked under the weight of hysteria. “You… You’re not even in fashion. At least, you weren’t. You think just because you assisted me once or twice with my designs you can im-?”

    Is she kidding me? Assisted? 1 literally designed everything she owns.

    “I didn’t help you.” My voice was loud enough for the entire crowd to hear. “I handed you my designs and let you take credit for them. And, as usual, when you heard about the fashion show, you came to me. But this time, I gave you one of my discarded drafts. One I designed, documented, and registered. Weeks before you everid eyes on it.”

    I turned, stretching a hand toward the shadows. “Mia?”

    Mia was already moving toward me, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. She sped a sleek folder in one hand and a tablet in the other,posed as ever.

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    “Design patent registration filed under Alinova, time-stamped and notarized four weeks prior to this show,” she announced crisply. “And a copy of the original sketch, signed and dated by Miss Alina herself.”

    She handed the folder, along with the soft copy on her iPad, over to the event’s head coordinator, who had stepped forward amidst themotion, making an effort to contain the growing murmur from the audience.

    The coordinator quickly passed the iPad to someone on the technical team, who wasted no time disying the evidence on therge screen behind us for all to see.

    “I…” Seraphina stuttered. “Yo… you… you gave that to me. You were helping me!” She screamed.

    “No,” I said coldly. “I gave it to you because I knew exactly what you’d do with it. What I didn’t expect was for you to make a fool out of yourself.”

    Her lips parted in horror, trembling.

    “I’ve seen you do it time and again. You built your entire career on theft, Seraphina, on other people’s ide…My ideas. My effort. Always hiding behind your fake charm and well-curated drama. I watched you take what wasn’t yours for years and pretend it was your brilliance. This time?” I tilted my head slightly. “I just made sure the trap was dressed in silk.”

    Soft gasps and whispers rippled through the room like waves. Eyes flickered between me, Seraphina, and the models behind us, like a reality show they couldn’t believe they were lucky enough to witness.

    I wished Talia were here to see this. But unfortunately,she was out of the country at the moment. I was sure she’d see the news soon enough, so I wasn’t too bummed about her absence.

    Seraphina turned, wide-eyed, flicking her gaze from the coordinator to the crowd. “She’s lying… This is a setup!”

    But the coordinator was already skimming through the folder in her hand, brow furrowed in silent recognition.

    There were no more words left to say. I’d done enough.

    And then, I felt a familiar gaze on me.

    There he was, standing at the edge of the crowd now, Lucian. Not stepping in, just silently observing. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in the way his mouth lifted at the corner. It was subtle, like satisfaction just barely contained beneath the surface,

    He was proud.

    Mia stepped beside me and leaned in, her voice low and even. “Security’s watching Seraphina to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid. The press is circling. You want to leave now or stay a while longer and soak it in?”

    I nced around. True to her words, camera shes had begun again. Phones were raised. Videos were being recorded. People were whispering, some in shock, others in astonishment.

    Let them talk.

    Let them wonder how long I’d been putting all this together.

    I gave Mia a small nod. “Fifteen minutes to socialize. Then we disappear.”

    She smiled. “As nned.”

    Seraphina stood frozen by the runway, too shocked to respond, too rattled to fight back. The perfect image she’d worked so hard to create had just shattered in front of the very people she once tried to impress, using my designs.

    I turned back to address the crowd and took one long, deep breath.

    “Thank you,” I said, my voice steady and clear. “For weing Alinova. For embracing not just the fashion, but the story behind it. Because every piece in this collection… was forged from fire.”

    There was a brief pause.

    Then the crowd broke out in apuse, it was loud and increasing, mixed with surprised chuckles and a few enthusiastic cheers. Someone even let out a whistle from somewhere in the back.

    Lucian was still there, at the edge, eyestched onto mine.

    And in the disarray of it all,in the brilliant wreckage of what had just happened-

    I smiled.

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