Chapter 1
"Ellie Harper, the launch is over."
Damien closed the backstage door behind him. The applause outside had not yet faded.
He stood in front of me, cufflinks neat, tone equally composed. "Don't make a scene right now. The press is still here."
He held out the press release.
It stated that Jade was the principal designer for this season, and that I had contributed as project consultant in a supporting capacity.
Supporting capacity. The words sat on the page, light as ash.
I didn't take it. I only asked, "Where is my name?"
A faint tension moved through Damien's brow. He said my name the way he always did when he was impatient but still wanted to appear gracious — warm and measured, like a blade wrapped in velvet.
"Jade just came back. She doesn't have much to show for herself yet. This opportunity matters to her."
"And it doesn't matter to me?"
He paused for two seconds, as though I had finally said something foolish. "You already have plenty of credits to your name."
I gave a short laugh. "So what's mine is just hers for the taking?"
He reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, the gesture as easy and intimate as if we were still in love. But his words were cold. "Not taking. Borrowing. Once she's found her footing, I'll find the right moment to restore your credit."
I stared at his hand. Five years ago, in that same rain, it had been this hand holding the battered umbrella, pulling me up from the side of the road. He had told me then that he would protect my name.
I had taken that promise out and turned it over in my mind so many times since, the way a poor person counts the same worn coin again and again — until, after a while, they almost believe it's worth something.
Jade's voice drifted in from outside. "Damien, the reporters want a group photo." She leaned her head around the door, the corners of her eyes still red, as if she had just suffered some great wrong. "Is she still upset? Maybe I should go explain things to everyone."
"No need," Damien said, turning back.
Jade bit her lip. "But she worked so hard for so long. I feel terrible."
His voice softened. "She's more sensible than you think."
I almost laughed at that. Sensible. What a convenient label. Put it on someone and suddenly they're supposed to swallow the pain, arrange their grievances into something presentable, hand over what's theirs with both hands, and smile while they do it.
I reached out and took the press release.
Damien relaxed slightly, reading it as surrender. "I'll take you to dinner tonight. Consider it an apology."
"That's not necessary." I folded the press release once and placed it back in his palm. "Save the apology for Jade. She needs it more."
His expression darkened. "Don't say things you don't mean."
"I mean every word."
I stepped around him and picked up the battered umbrella from against the wall. The fabric was still wet, one of the ribs bent out of shape. It had been raining before the launch, and I had brought it along without thinking.
Damien glanced at it, his gaze pausing for just a moment. "It's this far gone. Why are you still holding onto it?"
I wrapped my hand around the umbrella handle. The wood was smooth and faintly glossy from years of handling.
"Old things," I said. "Someone should remember them."
He either didn't understand or didn't want to.
Jade slipped inside and tugged gently at his sleeve. "Everyone's waiting."
Damien looked at me. "Come for the photo. Don't give outsiders anything to talk about."
I didn't move.
His tone dropped. "Ellie."
I looked up. "Damien, the workday is over. Am I free to go?"
Something in his composure cracked, just slightly. He looked at me the way you look at an object that has suddenly stopped working.
A staff member knocked urgently from outside. Damien finally looked away.
"Do as you like."
I opened the battered umbrella and walked out into the rain. Water leaked through a tear in the canopy and landed on my shoulder, cold against my skin.
My phone buzzed. It was a photo from Jade: her standing beside Damien, holding the award trophy that should have been mine. The caption read:
Jade: [Ellie, the umbrella's falling apart. Stop taking up Damien's hands.]
I looked at it for a long time. Then I saved the photo to a new folder.
I named it: Evidence.
