Do you think you would even believe whatever he told you? Would you truly accept that you were like that. You made choices then that you would not make now. Would you believe any of it?" Elora asked.
Aine said nothing.
"Please do not pressure Ravi. He is already carrying so much for you. He is suppressing everything, his love, his affection, all of it. He may look tough but he is in pain. Do not let this happen again," Elora added.
"I h… ave heard you. It will not happen again," Aine said quietly.
Elora looked at her for a moment then softened. "Celine has invited us to a runway show. Would you like to go?"
At the Celine Showroom
"You are all doing very well," Papa Emilios said, moving down the line.
He stopped.
"Miss Tesni. It is your turn. Let us see what you have." He clasped his hands together. "Before anyone gets here it must be hard work and precision. And if you do not perform I am sad to inform you that your father's money will not save you here."
The room burst into laughter.
Tesni stood up slowly. She smoothed her outfit once. Then she looked at Papa Emilios with the kind of calm that silences a room before a single step is taken.
"Shall I begin?" she said.
Tesni stepped onto the runway and inhaled deeply.
The music filled the air.
She flipped her hair and moved.
Every step was precise and sharp and entirely her own. Her hands moved with accuracy, her body carrying itself with an elegance that silenced every whisper that had filled the room minutes before. She reached the end, held it, then turned and walked back with the same devastating certainty.
When she finished the room was completely still.
"Because of my father's money," she said, looking at no one in particular and everyone at once. "I was taught by the greatest model any of you have never seen in person."
She turned and walked to the dressing room without waiting for a response.
She settled into the chair in front of the mirror as the makeup artist approached.
"Hello Miss Tesni. I will be your makeup artist for today," she said.
"I am glad you are here," Tesni replied warmly.
"These are the products I will be working with today." She laid them out carefully. "Is there anything here you are not comfortable with?"
"I do not dislike them because they are bad," Tesni said. "I am allergic to certain compounds. I have a custom kit made to remove those." She reached down and placed her makeup kit on the table.
Every eye in the room shifted toward it.
She opened it.
The Last Beauty Brand. Every piece immaculate. Some limited edition items that had never touched a shelf. Others advertised but not yet released to the public. The kind of collection that existed in rumours and magazine spreads.
The room had no words.
"I will take it from here," the makeup artist said, stepping forward with quiet reverence.
Papa Emilios clapped his hands. "Everyone gather around. It is time to draw your lots."
One by one they reached into the bowl.
"I got number eighty," Tesni said, looking at her slip.
"Number eighty means you are last," Papa Emilios said. "Follow through to the costume room."
Tesni rose from her chair, kit in hand, and walked toward the costume room without a word.
Last on the list.
First in the room.
She had been both before.
Minutes later the costume room filled with every model taking their place.
Each costume was assigned according to the theme.
Water.
Models were dressed as wind, tsunami, fog, each look more striking than the last. Then Tesni's costume was brought forward and the room shifted.
The Bubbles.
A dress cut just at the knee, every fiber of it shaped into perfect bubble like forms, layered and catching the light like something alive. She stood and looked at it without a word.
"Your hair will be temporarily dyed white," the designer explained. "Your makeup will be a wet look. Water will be pumped into the dress as you move and bubbles will release from it continuously. And these," he held up the sandals, "are designed to wrap your leg like the stem of a flower."
Tesni looked at all of it carefully.
"I am very impressed," she said.
Across the city Aine and Elora arrived at the venue, handed over their seat numbers and made their way through the crowd to their places.
Aine looked around slowly, taking it all in, the lights, the people, the scale of everything.
"Th… is place is h… uge," she said.
Every model was dressed and ready. Tesni stood among them glowing, her white dyed hair catching the light, the bubble dress alive around her. The stares from the other contestants could have cut glass.
"How dare she take our spot. We trained for this position and she walks in here because of her father," one said.
"She should just go back to social media where she belongs," another added.
"I heard she took time off because she got pregnant. She had been sleeping around," another said.
"So she has been sleeping her way to fame," another joined in.
"So dirty ," they laughed together.
Tesni rose from her chair.
She walked directly in front of them and slapped one clean across the face.
The room froze.
"Say whatever you want about me," she said, her voice low and entirely controlled. "But I will not stand here and allow you to drag my name through the mud." She looked at each of them slowly. "And every time I achieve something you find a way to bring my father into it."
"Even if that were true," she continued, her eyes settling on the one who had spoken last, "I did not tell your parents to be poor."
The room had nothing left to say.
"And you." Tesni turned and pointed directly at the girl who had spread the pregnancy rumour. "You will be hearing from my lawyer. Prepare to present your evidence in court."
"Tesni," the girl said, reaching for her arm.
"Do not touch me with those hands," Tesni said, stepping back cleanly.
"It was just something I heard. I did not mean anything by it," the girl pleaded.
"It is defamation. Those words getting out could have ended everything I have built." Tesni held her gaze without blinking. "Think about that."
The door opened. A technical crew member stepped in and scanned the room.
"Is everything alright in here?"
"Everything is perfectly fine," Tesni said without turning.
"Good. First contestant, we are ready for the walk. Follow me."
The models poured out one after another, each look more striking than the last, moving under the lights with the particular energy of people who have been waiting all day for this moment.
In the audience Aine leaned forward in her seat, eyes wide.
"Th… ey are all so… cool," she said.