Nick looked into that room with wild eyes and held his hands to his head. Scraps of fabric were everywhere, and not a single design remained intact. He picked up a piece from the floor, and Valeria saw his fists clench angrily over each end of the fabric. “They were cut cleanly. Every one of them,” he muttered. “This is—” He had no words to describe it. He had spent weeks working on that presentation. It was the effort of an entire team who had gone out of their way to make everything perfect, and now— “God, this is a disaster!” Valeria felt she could touch the sadness in him. However, she only felt anger. She gathered her strength and turned to Oli. “Send the models to room three, please. I'll be with them in a few minutes,” she asked. “Valeria... I'm sorry,” Nick didn't know what else to say. “I'm so sorry. I'll go apologize to the guests, and maybe we can talk later... I'm sorry!” Valeria saw him heading towards the catwalk, but stopped him before he could get out and take r

Never in his life had Nicholas Bennet run faster or avoiding more obstacles, but it took him only a second to get through the corridor, through the living room, and to the door. His mother looked at him reprovingly and pushed the morning paper against his chest. “You weren't planning to invite me? Or were you already sure I wasn't going to come?” asked Leyla, walking past him and into his apartment. “Because let me tell you something, I'm not going to that circus!” Nick opened the newspaper and read the note that accompanied the picture of him and Miranda. “What the hell is this?!” he shouted, shaking the paper as he read the announcement of their wedding for that very afternoon. “Aren't you going to marry her?” Layla questioned him. “No, no, no, of course not!” “Well, that says yes, yes, yes, of course you are,” Layla mimicked. “You really didn't know?” Nick shook his head, dumbfounded, and tossed the paper aside. “Do you think if I'd known I'd be sleeping through my wedding d

  Layla caught her son's hands before he knotted his bow tie. “Of course you're not going to do it!” she exclaimed. “I'm not letting you!” “Mom, it's already decided,” Nick replied, slowly pulling her away to look at himself in the mirror. He felt like an idiot, but there was nothing to be done. “What the heck is wrong with Valeria? Did she go crazy or what? If you don't want to get married, she can't force you!” “That's enough Layla! You talk more than Miranda. Stop it,” Nick replied. “She asked me to get married, and I... I think I owe her.” “What? To be unhappy with that stupid Miranda?” “No,” Nick answered, looking down. “To trust her. I owe it to Valeria to trust her, so for better or worse, I'm going to do what she asked me to do.” Layla protested, crossed her arms, and peeked out of the small room. “I swear I'm going to kick her ass when I see her,” she said. The event hall was already full. Unfortunately, booking an overnight church was pretty easy in Los Angeles, so

The following week was a whirlwind of news. Davies Inc.'s lawsuit toward Steven Harris's design studio resounded to such an extent that Harris bankrupted his company and fled to Europe to avoid the embarrassment in the circles where he was known. Although it wouldn't be long before he was forced to flee from there as well. As Nick had promised, first thing Monday morning, one of the company's lawyers filed a vandalism charge with the police, against Miranda and Anna. But Anna had disappeared, and the Joneses had told the press that their daughter was in retreat from the stress of being stood up at her own wedding by CEO Nicholas Bennet. However, try as they might to spin the story, some altar boy in need of a quick buck sold the video that had been left on the projector to the press, so within twenty-four hours the Joneses had to face a terrible public backlash. “They're not going to stay quiet,” Elliot assured them that morning. “Despite the scandal, they're loaded, they're well-co

It had been so long since Layla Bennet had heard those words that her eyes watered. Nick had always been an independent child. So much so that it seemed he'd stopped needing her at age seven. But not knowing how it had happened, she suddenly found herself in her son’s arms, and he was squeezing her harder than she expected in a tight embrace. “Please help me, Mom.” “Stupid brat.” Layla half-laughed and half-sobbed, hugging him back. “What do you say?” “I'm sorry, Mom,” Nick murmured. “I'm sorry for everything. I had no idea. Forgive me.” Layla sighed, closing the door. “Well...that's a good start,” she said, catching her son's face and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Go take a bath. You stink like an alcoholic skunk, and let me make you breakfast.” Nick couldn't smile. It was all too much for him what he was going through. Fifteen minutes later he was eating at his mother's breakfast bar like he hadn't done in over twenty years. “What are you going to do now, Nick?” “I have n

Valeria read that letter from top to bottom. “Are you serious?” she asked, dumbfounded. “Are you going to resign from Bennet Designs?” “I'm resigning my position as CEO of the studio. I'll just stay on as one of the shareholders,” he explained. “But... why?” She didn’t understand what was happening. This studio was his whole life. “I'm tired, Val. I've been running that studio since I came of age. My whole life has revolved around it and... the last few years have not been good. I need to get away from it all,” Nick replied, clasping his hands together and crossing his fingers. Valeria shook her head, a little shocked by the news. “So what, are you're going to let me do whatever I want with your studio?” she queried, raising her eyebrows. “It's our studio now, troublemaker. Don't forget you're the majority shareholder,” Nick smiled at her. “Besides, we both know you'll do whatever you want with it, no matter if I'm there or not. Are you going to accept my resignation?” Valeria

Valeria was thinking about the buying options she had in front of her on the desk. She was sitting in the same chair that had been Nick's for many years, and was now occupied by her. She couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel concerning the Joneses' offer. All her instincts warned her that they were in for a terrible deal. But unfortunately, although she was the largest shareholder, she only owned forty-one percent of the company. If the rest of the board of directors were united in accepting that proposal, she would have no choice but to give in to the majority. She had spent the whole night thinking about how to win that fight, but she could only do so if she could get one or two of the shareholders on her side. The assistant called her to let her know that the board was ready to begin, and when Valeria walked in, she noticed that no one was missing. Even Nick was there, wearing an impeccable navy blue suit and a perfect antagonistic countenance. Valeria greeted everyone

Valeria felt the brush of his lips on her cheek, and he broke away a second later. “You'd better put it on my tab, troublemaker, because I'm likely to end up doing worse things to you than just kissing you.” “Stop it!” Valeria got annoyed, pulling away from him, and Nick smiled as he shook his head. Yes, that would be a war of attrition alright, but he would not be the one to give up. He reached the door and waved goodbye with a half-smile, and Valeria went back to all her papers. That night she had to stay late, and the two nights following that one were exactly the same. The workload of two studios—one of them with no CEO and no chief designer—was enormous. Valeria raised her head again only when she smelled food. “Richard?” She was a little surprised to see him enter accompanied by Layla. “Doll, do you know what time it is?” her brother reprimanded he, as he put two bags in front of her. Valeria looked at her watch. It was already past eight o'clock at night and she hadn't ev

Nick drove as if he could see the devil in the rearview mirror of his car. Twenty minutes hadn’t passed since Layla had told him that Valeria was at the police station. When he arrived and walked through the door, desperation was showing all over his face. “What happened?” he asked, approaching his mother and the twins, not caring that they didn't exactly hold him in high esteem. “And what the hell are you doing here?” Elliot was annoyed, but a hard look from Layla made him grumble more quietly. “Apparently Val's car was sabotaged,” Richard replied, showing him the photos, and Nick growled angrily. “Miranda,” he stated without hesitation. “That's what it looks like. That's why Val came to file the report. Dad's in there with her,” Richard explained. Nick sighed wearily. Since he had filed the vandalism charge and the twins for fraud, both Miranda and Anna had been missing. “This is all your fault!” Elliot hissed as his twin tried to calm him down. “That's why I'm here,” Nick re

Perhaps in another time, in another life, Valeria could have been able to say the words she wanted to say, but for now, only the truth came out. “Go, Alan. It's better if you go.” The doctor lowered his head, clearly understanding what those words meant. He had believed he could win Valeria’s heart after his return, but no matter how much she denied it, there was no way to make room in a heart that was already occupied. “I'm going to refer you to a colleague to keep an eye on you, okay?” Valeria nodded, and they said goodbye with a hug. She was going to feel his absence, but she preferred that to resenting his presence. She wasn't in love with Alan, and she couldn't deny it.” That day both Yuri and Jack escorted her to work, and when she arrived, Bruno, Oli, Layla, and Emma were already waiting for her in the boardroom. “What happened?” she asked, seeing the smiles on everyone's faces. “This has just arrived!” Bruno ventured, showing her a formal letter of proposal. Valeria put