Chapter 1 The Return ‎

‎(Lena's POV)

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‎Three years.

‎That's how long it took to bury the name Lena Cruz and become someone new.

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‎The woman who stepped out of the car tonight wasn't the naïve intern who once believed in love, loyalty, or fairy tales. She was Elena Vale, fashion's newest obsession - mysterious, untouchable, and finally in control.

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‎And tonight, she was walking straight into the lion's den.

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‎The ballroom of the Empire Grand glittered with gold and ambition. Champagne towers sparkled under chandeliers, diamonds flashed against silk gowns, and New York's elite floated through the air like perfume. The annual Knight & Co. Winter Gala - a celebration of fashion, power, and hypocrisy.

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‎My heels clicked softly on the marble as I entered, chin high, my black gown sweeping the floor like liquid night. Every movement was calculated - confident, graceful, deliberate. A far cry from the trembling intern who once stood here, sketchbook clutched like a lifeline.

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‎A camera flashed. Then another.

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‎"Elena Vale! Over here!"

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‎"Elena, Vogue wants a statement!"

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‎"Elena, is it true you turned down Dior?"

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‎Their questions sliced through the air. I smiled - slow, composed, the kind of smile that said I owed the world nothing. "No comments tonight," I said lightly, brushing past them. "I'm just here to enjoy the show."

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‎The truth was, I hadn't come to enjoy anything.

‎I came to watch him fall.

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‎Then I saw him.

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‎Adrian Knight.

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‎The name still burned like acid under my tongue.

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‎He stood at the top of the grand staircase, tall and infuriatingly composed in a black tuxedo. His dark hair was swept back, his jaw dusted with stubble, and his grey eyes - those cold, calculating eyes - swept the room like a predator scanning its prey.

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‎Once upon a time, those eyes used to look at me like I was his muse.

‎Now, I was a stranger wearing another woman's face.

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‎My breath caught before I could stop it. I told myself it was hatred. Just hatred. But hatred shouldn't make your heart race.

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‎"Miss Vale," a smooth voice said beside me. A reporter, smiling nervously. "You've been called the future of couture. Rumor has it Knight & Co. wants to collaborate with you. Any truth to that?"

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‎I tilted my head toward the stage where Adrian was giving a speech, his baritone filling the hall. "Knight & Co.?" I echoed softly. "Let's just say... fate has a twisted sense of humor."

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‎The reporter blinked, confused, but I was already moving away.

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‎Onstage, Adrian's speech rolled on - polished, confident, rehearsed. He talked about legacy, innovation, and the future of fashion. I almost laughed. The man talking about originality was the same one who had stolen my designs and presented them as his own to save his dying company.

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‎The betrayal had destroyed me.

‎The industry turned its back.

‎I disappeared.

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‎But I hadn't stayed gone.

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‎For three years, I rebuilt myself in the shadows - designing under a pseudonym, studying markets, building connections. Now, the world worshipped Elena Vale, not knowing she was the ghost of the woman they had once mocked.

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‎And now, the empire that had buried me was crumbling. I could smell the desperation beneath the champagne. Knight & Co. was bleeding money; their last few collections were lifeless.

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‎That was why I was here.

‎To watch him squirm.

‎To take back the power he stole.

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‎As the applause faded, he stepped down from the stage, shaking hands, charming investors, pretending not to drown. And then - as if pulled by fate - his eyes found mine across the room.

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‎It was only for a second.

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‎But in that second, the world fell away.

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‎The clink of glasses faded, the chatter dimmed, the orchestra's notes blurred into silence. There was just him... and me.

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‎A flicker of confusion crossed his face. He looked again, harder this time, like a man staring into a mirror and seeing a ghost behind his reflection.

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‎My stomach tightened.

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‎No. He couldn't recognize me. The hair color was different - sleek black now instead of chestnut. My makeup sculpted sharper lines, my style worlds apart from the timid girl he knew.

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‎He couldn't know.

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‎But still, his gaze stayed locked on mine. Intense. Searching.

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‎I turned away before I could drown in it.

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‎"Miss Vale," a deep voice said behind me - unfamiliar, but the tone sent ice through my veins.

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‎I turned slowly.

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‎A man in a crisp navy suit stood there - Marcus Lin, billionaire investor and the silent backer who had helped fund my rise. "You're trembling," he murmured, his gaze flicking to Adrian across the room. "Do you want to leave?"

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‎I steadied my breath. "Not yet."

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‎Marcus followed my gaze, then smiled faintly. "You know him, don't you?"

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‎"I used to." My voice was low, measured. "Before he learned how to destroy people for profit."

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‎Marcus's expression softened. "Then tonight is poetic justice. You're the future, Elena. He's the past."

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‎I almost believed him. Almost.

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‎But the truth was, part of me wasn't here for justice.

‎I was here for closure.

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‎And closure, I knew, often looked a lot like revenge.

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‎The night blurred into soft jazz and hollow laughter. Adrian mingled through the crowd, but I could feel his gaze trailing me like a shadow. Every time I turned, I caught him watching. Studying. Trying to place me.

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‎Let him wonder. Let it drive him mad.

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‎As I sipped my champagne, Victoria Hale - Adrian's sleek, venomous PR director - approached with her trademark smirk. "Elena Vale," she purred. "The mysterious designer everyone's whispering about. You're even prettier in person."

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‎"Flattery?" I asked. "Or reconnaissance?"

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‎She laughed, the sound like broken glass. "Adrian has a good eye for talent. He'll want you on his team before the month is over."

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‎My stomach twisted. "I doubt that."

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‎"Oh, don't be so sure." She leaned closer, perfume choking the air. "Men like Adrian always circle back to beauty - even if it ruins them."

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‎I smiled. "Then I suppose I'll see him when he falls."

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‎Her smirk faltered just enough to make me satisfied. She walked away, heels sharp against marble.

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‎The night grew late. Cameras dimmed. Champagne fizzed low in the glasses. And still, I could feel him moving closer.

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‎I caught sight of him near the fountain display - tall, composed, unreadable. He spoke briefly to someone, then began to walk in my direction.

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‎Every step he took felt like a tremor in my bones.

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‎My pulse raced. I told myself it was adrenaline, not fear. Not longing.

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‎He stopped just a few feet away.

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‎"Elena Vale," he said. His voice was deeper than I remembered - roughened by years and mistakes. "I've been wanting to meet you."

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‎His smile was polite, but his eyes... his eyes were trying to solve a puzzle he couldn't name.

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‎I matched his stare. "I'm flattered, Mr. Knight. But I doubt you have room for newcomers in your empire."

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‎"On the contrary," he said softly. "My empire needs saving."

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‎A beat passed - heavy, charged.

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‎I tilted my head, letting my smile sharpen. "Then maybe it's time you let it fall."

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‎The air between us crackled - old history, buried pain, something neither of us could name. He looked like he wanted to say more, but a reporter called his name.

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‎He stepped back slightly, eyes never leaving mine. "We'll speak soon, Miss Vale."

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‎"I'm sure we will."

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‎He turned toward the crowd - but just before he disappeared into the throng, he glanced over his shoulder once more, as if his instincts whispered what his memory couldn't yet confirm.

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‎The orchestra swelled, the lights dimmed to golden twilight. Around us, the city pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat.

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‎For the first time in three years, I had him exactly where I wanted him - intrigued, uncertain, chasing the ghost of a woman he destroyed.

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‎I lifted my champagne, savoring the victory.

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‎Then, across the ballroom, Adrian stopped mid-conversation. His gaze fixed on me again. Something flickered in his eyes - recognition, faint but rising.

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‎No.

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‎Not yet.

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‎He began walking toward me - through the crowd, deliberate, unstoppable.

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‎And as he drew closer, every carefully built wall around my heart began to tremble.

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‎His voice cut through the noise, low and sure.

‎"Lena?" he said.

‎My glass slipped from my hand, shattering at my feet.

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