Ms Wilson's Replacement

8: To Be The Perfect Ms Wilson

"When I turn the lights out, when I close my eyes, reality overcomes me, I'm living a lie."
~Avril Lavigne

Four days later

"By now I hope you've known the faces of all those in the file I brought because you will be associated with them these three weeks you will be replacing me. Since there are the weeks before my wedding, there are a few people you need to know because they are important, others you can just excuse yourself by blaming it on the stress of running around and making preparation for the wedding." when she finishes, she's already down the stairs and walking towards me.

Anna hasn't always been present during my training in the last few days, some days I had to follow videos tapes which she made talking about fashion, work and her life and also handwritten instructions, but I persisted in learning, not for her, but myself because that's all I've got at the end of the day.

I notice a bag in her hand and she immediately stretches it out to me and I wordlessly collect it and I peep inside to see a pair of four-inch stilettos and I scowl before looking at her. "You're telling me that you never wear flip-flop or sneakers, sandals, jelly, or even ballerina?" In other words, my legs have been through hell these past days and at this point, I won't be surprised if they decide to give up on me.

She frowns at me like I just told her to kiss my ass, "I own a fashion line, Quynn you can't expect me to show up in sandals and ballerina, I am a brand and you have to do what I do get it?"

Oh, wow Ms Nasty.

I bring out the stilettos from the bag and set them down on the floor and slip my legs into them before standing up straight with my back pushed forward just like Anna's. My legs which seemed weak before immediately regain strength. Anna and I are the same height.

"The pictures are upstairs, follow me," she instructs and turns her heels around before walking upstairs.

I gingerly make my way up the stair after her, careful so I don't trip and fall and after what felt like a thousand years, I finally reached the top and I enter into the training room where Anna is, in front of her desk with her palms resting on it.

"To be the perfect Ms Wilson, these are some of the people you need to know about and I believe you've been acquainting yourself with their faces and who they are."

She picks up a picture and gives it to me, I remain spent as I stare at Eli Wilson in my hand. The man whose image has hunted me for a while now and not in a good way and after a moment of being silent, she raises a brow, informing me that she's waiting for my reply.

"That is Eli Wilson, your fiancé," I answer and I shift my eyes from the man wearing dark glasses in the picture with weird, grey eyes and curly hair, to Anna.

She begins to speaks, "This picture was taken over a year ago a few weeks after we met and he's a bit different from this now. Since his accident, he withdrew from the spotlight and avoided cameras as much as possible. This was the only picture he permitted me to take of him." She says, a little emotion crossing her face.

"Then why did he let you take the picture?" I ask, handing it back to her but she shakes her head and pushes my hand back to me.

"It was the day we began dating almost a year ago and that was what I wanted."

Their relationship sounded perfect at first but in the last four days, I've learnt that it isn't- not completely.

Eli and Anna met over a year ago, they only started dating about a year ago and two months after that, Eli underwent eye surgery. Since the success of the eye surgery, he completely devoted himself to his work and research because he wanted to help others like him. Anna's A&W clothing line was also lunching so they decided to devote to their work. Eli asked Anna to marry him two months ago, after spending three weeks away on a business trip and that according to Anna was her happiest day. After the engagement, he made time out last month and took her to meet his family over dinner where she Jumai, Eli's mother and Elizabeth, Eli's grandmother for the first time. Anna realized that they didn't like her over much at the family dinner at Jumai mansion. Eli's mom's disapproval was the most obvious one, which is the reason why some of the rules in her #31 rules book were made.