Chapter 42
ELIZABETH
The show was still going on. I wanted to run but apparently it wasn’t quite as easy as I had hoped. I couldn’t just hail a cab. I was stuck waiting for Adrian to take us back to the villa.
Dash’s final pieces were on the models making their way down the runway. They were stunning, but I couldn’t focus on any of it. I stood in the wings and tried to hide. But that was impossible.
I pulled out my phone, thinking maybe I could distract myself with something—anything—else. That was my first mistake.
My social media was exploding. Notifications piling up faster than I could process them. I opened social media and immediately wished I hadn’t.
Gold digger spotted
Knew the engagement was fake
Poor Adrian getting scammed
She’s not even that pretty
Around me, I could feel the shift. People glancing my way, then quickly looking away.
Whispers that stopped when I got too close.
The kind of social isolation that happens when you become a scandal instead of a person.
People who had smiled at me just hours ago were now doing everything they could not to make eye contact with me.
They looked at me like I was contagious.
I wanted to disappear. To sink into the floor and never resurface.
“Elizabeth.”
I looked up to find Mimi approaching. The look of concern on her face told me she knew. Whatever was happening, she had somehow been made aware. I never would have thought she was the type to be on social media, but apparently, I was wrong.
She took my elbow and for a moment I thought she was going to escort me out. I expected her to tell me to leave and never come back. I had humiliated the family.
I wanted to tell her I had nothing to do with whatever was currently unfolding on the internet.
“Mrs. Blackwell—”
“Mimi,” she reminded me.
“Mimi, I don’t know what happened,” I said.
“Come with me, dear. Let’s get you somewhere quiet.”
She guided me through corridors, away from the backstage chaos, into a small private dressing room that looked like it hadn’t been used in years.
She closed the door behind us, muffling the sounds of the show.
The sudden silence was almost worse than the noise. It left too much room for my thoughts.
“What’s going on?” I asked, even though I suspected. Some part of me hoped she’d tell me it was fine and everything would blow over. It couldn’t be as bad as it seemed.
Mimi pulled out her phone. “The engagement. Clara’s claiming it’s a publicity stunt.”
“It is a publicity stunt.” My voice sounded hollow even to my own ears. “But how did she find out? Did Adrian—”
My heart shattered for the second time that night. Did he tell her? Did he tell her in order to keep her on the backburner? Promise he would go to her as soon as he was done with me?
“No, Adrian didn’t tell her,” she said. “The vile woman is making it sound like it was your idea. Like you’re using my son to advance your career.
” Mimi scrolled through the trending topics, her jaw tight with barely contained anger.
“‘Designer uses fake engagement to land Blackwell job.’ ‘Gold-digger exposed.’ ‘Fashion fraud revealed.’”
Each headline was a knife to the gut. I felt physically sick, like I might throw up right there on the pristine floor.
“That’s not what happened! Mimi, I would never do that.”
“I know that. Adrian told me the truth from the beginning.” Mimi sighed and shook her head.
“But that’s not the narrative Clara’s selling.
She’s painting you as a calculating social climber who seduced her way into my family for professional gain.
I will admit I wasn’t on board with this whole scheme from the beginning.
I was afraid something like this might happen. ”
“But it’s not true!” The protest came out weak. Because what did truth matter when thousands of people had already decided who I was?
“I know it’s not true. But the internet doesn’t care about truth anymore. They care about drama.” She moved toward the door. “Stay here. Out of sight. I’m going to find my sons and figure out how to handle this.”
She left me alone with my phone and the endless scroll of people who’d never met me deciding who I was.
My hands shook as I read comment after comment, each one more vicious than the last. People analyzing my clothes, my appearance, my credentials. Finding me lacking in every possible way.
She’s not even a real designer
Probably can’t even sew
Just another wannabe using sex to get ahead
Bet she targeted him from the start. Girls like this always have a plan.
I should have stopped reading. But I couldn’t. I was torturing myself with every slide of my thumb across the screen.
The door opened and Adrian walked in. “Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. I’m trying to figure out who—”
“Who leaked it?” I stood up, anger finally breaking through the numbness. It felt good to be angry. It was safer than feeling hurt. “Who even knows about you promising me a job, Adrian? That wasn’t in the paperwork. That wasn’t in the NDA. That was just an understanding between us.”
“I know—”
“So who did you tell? Who did you trust with that information?” I was pacing now, unable to stand still, energy crackling through me like electricity. “You told me our little arrangement wouldn’t be made public. I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone, but apparently you could?”
“I haven’t told anyone. Well, my brothers. Annika. My mother.” He ran a hand through his hair. “People I’ve told bigger secrets to. More damaging secrets. None of them would ever betray me. It’s not just me they would be betraying. It would be the company, too. None of them would do that.”
“Then how did Clara know?” I pulled up the video, the part where Clara specifically mentions the job arrangement. “Listen. She knows details that only someone in your inner circle would know.”
We watched together as Clara spoke directly to the camera, her voice dripping with false concern.
“He promised her a job at Blackwell Couture in exchange for playing his fiancée. It’s all transactional.
Business, not love. I just think the public deserves to know the truth about what kind of woman is trying to insert herself into one of fashion’s most respected families. ”
“Someone from Blackwell leaked this,” I said flatly. “Someone you trust told Clara everything.”
“That’s not possible!”
“Then explain it!” My voice was rising now. “Explain how she knows about private conversations between us. Explain how the entire world suddenly knows the exact terms of our arrangement. Explain how she has details that weren’t even in our contract!”
“I don’t know!” He looked as lost as I felt. Part of me wanted to comfort him and tell him it would be okay. But I couldn’t. Not when I was drowning. “But I’ll find out. I’ll figure out who did this.”
“It doesn’t matter who.” I sank back onto the couch, the fight draining out of me as quickly as it had come. “The damage is done. I can never show my face in this industry again. My career is over before it even began.”
“That’s not true. We’ll fix this.”
“How?” I looked up at him. I hated how broken I sounded.
“You’re Adrian Blackwell. You have lawyers, PR firms, and a team of damage-control specialists.
You have a family name that’s survived scandals before.
You have endless opportunities to redeem yourself.
You’ll be given a chance to tell your story.
But me? I’m nobody. This was my one shot, Adrian.
My one chance to prove I belonged in this world.
And now everyone thinks I’m a fraud who slept her way to a job offer. ”
“You didn’t.”
“But that’s what they think!” I was crying now, angry tears that I couldn’t stop. “I’m the one whose reputation is destroyed. You’ll all be fine. The Blackwell name will survive this. But me? I’m done.”
“Elizabeth, please just stop. Give me a minute to figure this out.”
“I need to leave.” I grabbed my bag and pushed past him toward the door. “I need to get out of here.”
“Where are you going?”
“Back to the villa. Back to New York. I don’t know.” I couldn’t look at him. If I looked at him, I’d fall apart completely. “I just need to not be here while the whole wide world is trashing me.”
“Let me come with you.”
“No.” The word came out way harsher than I intended. “You need to stay. Do damage control. Protect your family’s company. That’s what matters, right? That’s what’s always mattered.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Nothing about this is fair!” I finally looked at him, and the pain in his eyes almost broke my resolve. Almost.
I walked out before he could respond, before I could see whatever expression was on his face, before I could let him talk me into staying.
Mimi was in the hallway, along with the other three brothers. They all turned when I appeared, concern and sympathy on their faces. Great. An audience for my humiliation.
“Elizabeth,” Sebastian started.
“I need to go.” I kept walking, and thankfully none of them tried to stop me. “I’m sorry. For all of this. For the disruption. I hope Fashion of Love Week ends well. It’s been amazing.”
Adrian caught up to me at the stage door exit. “At least let me get you back safely. My car is out front.”
“I can get a taxi.”
“Elizabeth, please. Let me do this one thing.”
I was too tired to argue. Too emotionally drained to fight anymore. Plus, my Italian was terrible. I didn’t know if I could even talk to a cab driver. So, I nodded and allowed him to guide me through the backstage area to a private exit where his car was waiting.
The driver opened the door, and I slid inside. Adrian leaned in, his hand on the door frame.
“I’m going to fix this,” he said quietly. “I don’t know how yet, but I will.”
“You need to stay,” I said, not meeting his eyes. “Your brothers need you. The show needs you. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll catch a ride with one of them.” He looked like he wanted to say more, like there were a thousand words fighting to get out. “Just… please don’t make any decisions tonight. Give me time to figure this out.”
I didn’t promise him anything. I just nodded. He closed the door.
As the car pulled away, I looked back through the rear window. Adrian stood there watching, looking more lost than I’d ever seen him. His brothers emerged from the building, Sebastian’s hand on his shoulder, saying something I couldn’t hear.
And then we turned a corner, and they were gone.
The drive back to the villa felt endless. Milan’s beautiful streets blurred past the window, all that history and art and culture that I’d been so excited to experience just days ago. Now it all felt meaningless. I’d come here with such hope and dreams. And I was leaving destroyed.
My phone buzzed in my bag. Then again. And again.
I knew it was Adrian. Probably Annika too. Maybe even Mimi. I couldn’t face them. Couldn’t face any of it. Maybe I would ask Adrian to use his little plane to fly me to a deserted island and then leave.
I turned my phone off and closed my eyes. Obviously, New York was off the table. There was no way I was standing on that stage and smiling while everyone whispered about the woman who tried to scheme her way into the Blackwell family.
But I had signed a contract. I’d made a commitment. So I’d go back to New York. I’d play my part one last time if they asked me to.
And then I’d walk away from Adrian Blackwell and this whole impossible dream forever.
Even if it killed me.