Chapter 133
If You’re Willing
Mrs. Laurent watched her carefully. “I know it’s unexpected, especially because of the event at hand. You see, Damian has been planning to open his own fashion house for a while now and he just decided it’s now. I tried to stop him, and asked that he could leave after the event but he insisted he had to leave now. He spoke with Mr. Stone personally and once everything was finalized, he turned in his resignation. There was nothing I could do after that.”
Was this why he’d been avoiding her? Because he already knew he was leaving? Because the rumors had made him step away, not just from her, but from the entire company?
Chloe shook her head slowly, disbelief clouding her expression. “But… the event is only a week away. How am I supposed to run it alone? This is my first time having to collaborate with him on it. Everyone knows Damian has always been in charge of these events. This feels… impossible.”
Mrs. Laurent leaned forward, her voice warm and steady. “I also thought so but after seeing your designs and how they strongly rival Damian’s, I know you can do it. Even Damian said he believes in you so why don’t you give it a trial with this? Besides, didn’t you say the pieces are ready?”
Chloe blinked, stunned that both Mrs Laurent and Damian thought she could handle this.
He had said all that? He believed in her that much? Then why did he push her away? Why didn’t he tell her he was leaving? Why disappear instead of saying goodbye?
“He said that?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.
“Yes. He said he knows you’re ready to take on the challenge,” Laurent continued. “He told Mr. Stone that you have the talent, the drive, and the emotional depth needed to carry this project on your own. He said you’re passionate, and passion is what makes designs unforgettable. That this is your moment. That it’s now or never. I guess that’s why Mr Stones let him leave. You’ve been with this fashion house ever since the days of the Camden’s Atelier; surely, you can handle this.”
Silence hung heavy between them and after a moment, Chloe whispered, “So… he’s really gone? And everything is all done to me now?”
Mrs. Laurent nodded. Chloe couldn’t help the quiet, devastating crack somewhere deep inside her chest.
The hurt. The confusion. The disappointment. The relief that he was safe after days of worrying about him. The heartbreak that he had left just like that, the anger that he decided everything alone and the ache of knowing she still cared too much.
It all mixed together in a swirl of emotions she didn’t have the strength to untangle.
Mrs. Laurent reached out, placing a hand gently over Chloe’s.
“You’re not alone in this, dear. The team is still here to support you. And… Damian didn’t leave because you weren’t good enough. He left because he believed you were. You deserve this chance. Don’t let fear steal it from you.”
Chloe nodded slowly, though her throat felt painfully tight. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Now go,” Laurent said softly. “Take the day if you need it. Or stay and work if that helps you breathe. Just do whatever you need to do to steady yourself.”
Chloe stood on shaky legs and bowed her head politely. “Thank you, ma’am.”
She left the office with her heart in pieces. Damian was gone. She reached the hallway and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes as her breath trembled out of her.
He left… because he believed in her. But it didn’t stop it from hurting. She inhaled shakily, wiped her eyes, and whispered to herself.
“Okay… it’s now or never.”
And then, slowly, she walked back toward the design department to face the work… and the week ahead… alone. But stronger than she knew.
She stepped into her office and she exhaled. Her desk was exactly how she had left it, scattered. While his side was… painfully untouched. His chair pushed in neatly, as if waiting for him. His sketchbook lying exactly where he’d left it on their last productive morning before he left to go get that coffee and had not returned.
Chloe sank slowly into her chair, her breath shaky as she stared at his empty seat.
Was all of that his attempt to protect her? To save her career? To avoid dragging her into problems with the company policy and to stop the rumors from hurting her future?
If he cared about her… if he truly cared… leaving StoneTech would make sense. It would be a way to be free of the policy. A way to make what they felt possible and a way to remove the rules standing between them.
Her heart jumped painfully.
But if he cared that much… why didn’t he tell her? Why didn’t he trust her enough to share his plans? Why did she have to hear it from someone else?
She swallowed hard, her eyes burning, but she blinked the sting away. She wouldn’t cry, not at work, not when there were a thousand things left to do for the event. She had responsibilities. She had sketches to finalize. She had fittings to schedule. She had models waiting for her approval.
She had an entire show to help execute… without him.
Her gaze drifted across the table again, landing on Damian’s untouched workspace and Mrs Laurent’s words echoed in her head.
“He believed in you.”
“He said you said designs needed emotions.”
“It’s now or never.”
She let out a shaky exhale. Slowly, she reached for her phone, intending to put it away so she could force herself to work instead of spiraling into thoughts of him again.
But the moment she picked it up… her breath caught.
There, sitting at the top of her notification bar, was a new message. From Damian.
Her heart jumped so violently she almost dropped the phone.
Her fingers trembled as she tapped the screen.
The message opened. It was sent just twenty minutes ago.
[Chloe, if you’re willing, can we meet for dinner tonight? I know I’m the last person who should be asking after what happened the last time. But if you come, you’ll understand everything. Everything I couldn’t say. Everything I couldn’t tell you then. And why I had to do everything I did.]