Bella:
The moment my eyes drifted away from the audience, I forced myself to breathe.
No.
It can't be him. And even if it was, his presence had no right to ruin the happiest day of my life.
Not today. Not after everything I'd fought through to stand on this stage.
I tightened my grip around the microphone, my fingers trembling despite every effort to steady them.
My heartbeat echoed loudly in my ears, drowning out everything else for a second.
Looking across the magnificent hall filled with the biggest names in fashion, I suddenly realised this wasn't just another awards ceremony.
This was the moment I'd spent five years bleeding for.
Five years of rejection.
Five years of loneliness.
Five years of rebuilding a life that had once been completely destroyed.
I swallowed the lum
