Holding On

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Biting her lips thoughtfully as she surveyed the design before her, Emma Taylor checked for all the nuances and intricacies. It was good, but a few alterations wouldn't hurt.

Smiling assuredly, Em met the gaze of the young woman who sat facing her from across the table. "Your progress since the last time amazes me, Sarah. This is so good."

"Really, Em?" Hope dancing in her sea blue irises, Sarah asked for more assurance.

"Of course," Emma replied, realizing how the other woman relished her approval and regretted having to drop the pin into the bubble. "But there's something about the colour that doesn't blend in with the nature of the design. I mean if you'd made it a shade lighter, it would be better. Also, the ruffles on the sleeves seemed too long and overused and they would've been better curled and much shorter, you know."

"Goodness, Emma." Standing right at the back of Sarah's chair, Eva Hoying, her best friend, sent her a disapproving glare. "Why are you always finding fault in every design?"

"I'm not always finding faults. I'm just pointing out the benevolent facts." Emma retorted, grimacing.

"Seriously, I find nothing wrong with the design. It's simply so beautiful. But of course, it has to be perfect.” Eva huffed, shaking her head with a small smile on her face.

It wasn't about being a perfectionist. It was rather about being a pundit in the world of fashion and knowing which arches and curves and colours and slides were likely to attract people and which ones were likely to turn them off.

Besides, she didn't win Designer Of The Year this year for nothing

And it was all thanks to her family, and a certain someone who'd kicked her out of his life five years ago.

Emma refocused on Sarah. "I want you to work on more designs, Sarah. You're good at this. We can think of alterations later."

"Thank you." Sarah stood to leave, and though she looked a bit crestfallen by Emma's buts, there was an aura of exciting determination that made Em smile.

Eva took the seat beside the one the young woman had taken. "No design will ever be perfect in your eyes, right? Not even your own."

Blond with hair as velvety as silk that sometimes made Emma jealous, Eva had stunning beauty. Her piercing grey eyes could see into your soul and make you question your life choices.

She'd known Eva since Eva had started working for her seven years ago, but it wasn't until five years ago that Emma had learned to appreciate the woman.

Eva was the only one who'd ever really been there for her back then when her fears about letting people in ruled her life. She hadn't given up on her until Emma had come around.

"Some things can never be perfect, okay?"

"Anyways, I'll just go prepare the rehearsal room and get the new models ready. I'll call you for the tutorials when I'm done." With that, Eva stood and left, still shaking her head.

Emma rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips. She was just about to log onto the internet to read any new reviews for her recently released makeup line when her office phone rang.

"Hey, Lu."

“There's someone here to see you.”

“Who is it? I don't have it in my schedule.”

“He won't say his name but I'm sure you'll see him. I think he's modelled for us before.”

The mention of a man who had modelled for her before, swept Emma's mind back to five years ago, but she quickly shoved the thought away. She'd released two more lines of men's clothing since then with more models.

It couldn't be him

"Okay, I'll see him." She placed the phone back, wondering why she was suddenly thinking of him when she hadn't done so in a long time.

She'd just managed to ignore her heartbeat when the opened door revealed a sight that sent her heart lurching.

She took a deep breath and blinked, willing herself to stop dreaming, and the fact that she was dreaming of him was quite unnerving. After all, it'd been more than four years since she stopped having those fantasies.

Fantasies in which he returned to her and asked for another chance, confessing his illness had all been a lie, or that he finally didn't care about the future anymore.

When she blinked a second time and still met the same sight, reality was like a vice that threatened to squeeze the air out of her lungs. She wasn't dreaming after all, it was really him.

Standing in front of the closed door was that certain someone she'd thought of just a while ago, a soft smile plastered on his face as he gazed at her with so much fondness

Zain Chadwick.