Temptation

Chapter 59

⚠️Trigger warning, this chapter contains racism that may trigger some people, so be aware.⚠️
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"Can you believe we are finally back here, babe?"

I grunted and sunk in my seat, holding Julian's arm firmly. Our excitement was evident, and Julian's sigh was the only sound that tore the annoying silence. He was tired, and I was unenthusiastic. I preferred staying in Texas, but I guess we needed that diploma.

"M'lady." He offered me his hand to get out of the car.

I stepped out, and here we were again at Trinity Fox Academy, the school of my nightmare, where the toxicity roamed the halls, and the drama remained undefeated. I struggled through the harsh years behind those halls; I grew up here. Despite how much I hated this place but it was my home. I had no other choice but to love home.

The shameful scents of Axe body spray and Chanel perfume stung my nostrils as your ordinary welcome to a place invaded with rich and famous people with no sense of what could be the definition of Fashion. So disappointing and miserable, I wanted to vomit. That disgraceful smell reminded me how much I didn't miss this school at all.

I dusted my dress while ignoring the stares at us. Students walking by stopped to look at us like we were aliens.

"They're back?" "They're together." I heard the whispers emerging.

A strong sense of deja vu grasped me. For a moment, I was lost in time. This moment was familiar. It mirrored my first day back this year. I stepped out of a similar official car with Thea. The identical curious gazes, the exact sun, yet a different climate. So different. In a span of a few months, so much had changed. This time I was stepping out with my boyfriend, Julian De Elvero. You had to be fucking kidding me. If you told my old self that she went on vacation to the Elvero's residence and Julian was her boyfriend, I guaranteed she would have laughed, slapped, and spit on you before calling you mental. That's how fucked up I was.

I changed. I came back to Trinity with a new life. I was fighting for my father's company against Mark. Two investigations opened and a court hearing in a few weeks. I couldn't tell if my life worsened or not. On the positive side, I had a relationship. I was siding with the Elveros. I was gaining control slowly. I decided to follow Maria's advice. If I didn't, I would've regretted it. I didn't have a maternal figure to look up to growing but, for some reason, I wanted to look up to Maria. She was all a girl could dream of. She had a home, a family, a successful marriage, power, fortune, and she came from the gutter. Just this simple week by her side, she showed me a path.

I was a new trainee for Sahiti. We had a conversation, and he liked me. I told him about Agea. Despite how divided we were in the past, it was over. She was my best friend and a great designer. I had to make her my "associate." We argued about that, and I decided I was the better one. She disagreed, but in her heart, she knew I was the best, of course. We didn't want to feel left out, so we made him our model. His body was perfect to work a design on and worked on high heels. He was slim, with ideal waist curvature with long legs. He was our mannequin from now on, and I never saw him so excited in my life.

Maddie quit her position at Royale Inc as a manager and joined the Elveros hierarchy. She agreed to be my assistant. Since I hadn't started making money yet, her check came from the Elveros pocket. In a week, I managed to become one of SavageXFenty's and Fashion Nova's ambassadors. Mama Elvero wasn't playing when she told me she wanted my name in the spotlight. It was relaxing to have someone to help me because it was an exhausting business.

"Hey!" Julian's arm circled my waist, pulling me out of my trans. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," I assured him. "Looks like we still got a couple of people to shock." I indicated to him the curious souls gathering around the parking lot.