Noah Taylor stepped out of the dressing room.
"Emma, is there something you need?"
His presence made Emma Johnson's skin crawl, and her reply was ice-cold.
"No. Go back and keep Isabella company. Isn't that why you're here today?"
Emma looked at Noah with bitter irony. Who would have guessed that Noah would actually nod in agreement?
"Emma, you know exactly why I came today."
Noah almost blurted out that he was here for her. That he missed her every single day.
"Mr. Taylor, have some self-respect. How many times must I say this? You are Isabella's fiancé now. Whatever happened between us is ancient history. I feel nothing for you anymore."
Emma's response was harsh. The coldness in her eyes was like a frozen spring, a far cry from the gentle gaze she once had for him.
"Emma, is it because I'm not as good as your husband now? If one day I become a man of influence too, will you come back to me?"
Emma truly couldn't fathom what went on inside Noah's head. He was the one who had cheated on her with Isabella, the one who had dumped her after seven years of love. Now he was acting as if she was the one who had become too good for him.
What kind of twisted logic was that?
"That's just your wishful thinking. I won't repeat myself a second time."
Impatience flickered in Emma's eyes.
"Emma, give me some time. When I'm as powerful as Liam Williams, I'll make you come back to me."
Noah's eyes were serious, his tone a solemn promise. Two years ago, Emma might have been moved by such words.
But now, no matter how earnest or affectionate Noah appeared, Emma felt like she was watching a joke. She honestly couldn't understand what she had ever seen in him.
Ah, who hadn't known one or two worthless men when they were young?
Emma consoled herself with that thought. She should never have had to cross paths with this scumbag again, but now he was her cousin's fiancé. No matter how hard she tried to avoid him, their paths always seemed to cross.
It was infuriating.
Her eyes inadvertently caught sight of Isabella Miller emerging from behind Noah. She had finished her makeup and was heading to the dressing room to change.
Emma had no idea how long Isabella had been standing there. Though she sat upright, her heart was calm, she still worried that Isabella might misunderstand and cause another scene.
But seeing the smile on Isabella's face, Emma felt she probably hadn't heard anything.
"Noah, will you come with me to change? Help me see which one looks better."
Isabella said to Noah with a bright smile. Noah glanced at Emma, who had already turned away to study the exhibition layout. He wanted to follow her, but he was afraid of being too obvious and letting Isabella see. So he forced himself to play the part of the devoted boyfriend, accompanying Isabella to the dressing room under the envious gaze of everyone around.
Isabella changed her clothes and twirled in front of Noah.
"Noah, do I look beautiful?"
"Beautiful. You look good in anything."
Noah answered quickly, but Isabella could see that his eyes weren't on her at all. His reply was perfunctory. His gaze seemed to pierce through the dressing room walls, fixed on the hall outside.
The smile on Isabella's face froze completely. Her hands clenched the sides of her skirt, her long fingernails almost tearing through the fabric.
Noah Taylor, you bastard. How dare you be so blatant?
Isabella screamed in her heart. If Noah had looked at her at that moment, he would have seen the terrifying expression on her face. But his attention was elsewhere, so he missed the venom in her eyes.
Isabella was a famous model, so the show went smoothly. She walked the runway in one outfit after another, returning to the dressing room to change each time.
Within a minute, a scream came from the dressing room.
Emma rushed over, only to find Isabella still wearing her previous dress. Hanging on a mannequin was what should have been Isabella's new pine-green gown. It had been slashed to pieces. The skirt was completely ruined.
"What do we do? The dress I designed is destroyed. Who could be so hateful? All my hard work!"
The designer slumped to the floor, clutching the ruined dress, on the verge of tears. Emma's head began to ache. This dress was one of the main pieces for the show. The press conference was in a few days. She didn't know if they could make another one in time.
As the person in charge of this press conference, such a serious mistake meant Emma would have to bear a lot of the responsibility.
She was worried it would affect the entire process. For now, she could only try to calm the designer down. If the designer refused to make another one, there would be no chance at all.
For the rest of the afternoon, the destroyed dress threw all of Emma's plans into chaos. She asked Isabella to go home first. Isabella comforted Emma, then changed and left the Metropolitan Convention Center. Noah wanted to stay and comfort Emma. After all, this was a golden opportunity.
But it was clear that Emma didn't want his comfort at all. His presence only made her feel worse.
Noah looked at Emma's cold attitude towards him and had no choice but to accompany Isabella out.
Emma worked frantically, finally driving home with the designer. She comforted the designer at her place, and by the time it was dark, she dragged her exhausted body back to her apartment.
The apartment was still empty. Liam wasn't home. She seemed to be the first one back. Looking at her phone, which showed no missed calls, Emma laughed at herself. She didn't want to call Liam, but she needed to tell him about what had happened that afternoon.