Lisa's POV
Turning off the faucet, I looked at myself one last time at the small mirror bounded by a metallic silver casing. I wiped my damp face with the clean towel and began to do my makeup with the products Tony got me when he went to buy the 'disguise' accessories. My excitement for this most awaiting day had to be outshone by the feeling of nervousness and perhaps dread. But I knew I would do good as I always have.
My classmates and friends used to praise me all the time for my outstanding performance in acting in all the dramas and plays I participated in back in High School and College. I would have definitely been in Hollywood had I not been a supermodel already.
I can still join.
I, nonetheless, never thought I would have needed to incorporate my precious acting skills into real life. But I did and I was really hoping there weren't any more secrets hidden as skeletons in the closet. The plan for today revolved all around the information Aiden had disclosed to me at our meeting, basically on the fifth day after our first meeting in the cave. It was all in vain to search in the house or by using any other way to communicate directly with either Dia or Tony. I had to wait for an opportunity which never came since Dia would strictly not allow one to form. She certainly did not suspect I knew everything because I never gave her a chance to think so. But I knew I had to abide by my ultimate mantra to never underestimate your enemies.
I had to play safe but wise to always remain above and I knew not to indulge in anything to not raise any suspicion. That was why I let Aiden do the work of research while I tried to let my opponent think she held the upper hand. With all the things Aiden told me yesterday night in the cave, I had to admit it was the last thing I thought would be the source of all this charade. There had to be something wrong somewhere and that was one of my ultimate goals today, to obtain all the answers to my questions.
As I finished my look, I smiled looking at myself. I could finally be the real me and end all this farce drama. I wore a black leather slim pants and a super cute lacy black lingerie top as I put on the black leather jacket above and zipped it all up. I tied the laces of my high heeled black velvet boots adorned with some shiny metallic silver rings to permeate the black laces. I knew I looked all but a badass in this outfit. I needed this look and confidence. To top it all, I had my natural long brown hair with the stranded blonde highlights in a high ponytail, purposely leaving out some strands on the sides of my face. The strict sharp eyeliner along with the bright red lipstick and the highlight on my cheekbones contributed to putting my look on fleek.
Taking the woolen scarf on the tiny couch, I placed it on my head and covered my face. Rushing towards my way out, after cautiously checking there was no one watching outside, I left the deserted house purposely unlocked and ran to the cave where I saw Aiden already waiting for me.
"What the hell? Dammit. Lisa, It's already six." He checked his watch.
"Watch your words mister. And chill." I rolled my eyes.
"Seriously, the event starts at eight. You-" He had a deep worried look on his face and I knew what was troubling him.
"You are now wasting time by talking. We should get going and I have things prepared already. Relax baby." I softened at the last part and instantly he took me in his arms as he croaked out some words I couldn't understand.
We hastened to his place where Mr Black was waiting patiently but nervously on the loveseat.
"Lisa, oh my Darling. It's so good to see you again. You have no idea how happy I am to see you safe. I was not able to hear about your death." Tears shone in his eyes as he looked at me with pure emotions on his face.
"It feels good to see you too Mr Black. I missed you." I said as he gave me a fatherly hug.
"You did not tell anyone, did you?" I questioned.
"No darl. Aiden revealed everything to me. Don't worry we're all safe here. It's good he didn't get you to the studio at Lady Chic. There's such a crowd there right now. Nothing could have prevented this from remaining uncovered."
"Right." I nodded and asked him, "Who was about to be the showstopper?"
"I planned to have Nicole walk for us this year. I was also considering Serena when you disappeared but she's still a novice. When I learnt the news of your 'death' I was shattered to be honest. I decided to ask Nicole to come back to the industry and have a walk of remembrance for you."
"Aww that's so sweet, Mr Black. Nicole is at the studio?"
"Yes, she is. She has to be there so as not to create any doubt. Every model walking today has no idea you're gonna be there too, except for Nicole of course. She's supposed to close the show but we have arranged for you to do that." He explained to me the concept of the show for today which would be the launch of new glamorous gowns.
"I have personally kept all the things for your dress up here. I know you will rock it. Good luck Darling. See you at the show."
"Thank you for everything, Mr Black." Not much details was necessary as explanations since I already knew everything that needed to be known to be the show stopper, which meant to be the last one to walk on the runway, to close the show. That was because I had been the show stopper of many well renowned brands previously.
I quickly changed into the dress and I mentally sent a prayer to the Lord to thank him for my luck. I knew I would not have much work to do for my makeup and to style my hair. The dress consisted of small heavy glass tiles all over it and had a high slit on the side. I only added a touch of silvery glitter on the inner corner of my eyelids and intensified the highlight on my cheekbones. I wiped off the red lipstick only to apply a shade of light pink. I let my long hair flow down to my waist and styled it a bit with the curling iron leaving some free flowing waves only to depict that natural touch.
Walking towards the full length mirror, I exhaled as I took in my appearance.
I did it.
I have been able to dress myself up for this mega important event without any stylist or makeup artist. I knew I needed to pull out a bomb look today. It was part of the plan before I released my trump card.
Alas, I grabbed the pair of black high heels and sat on the bed to secure the straps.
"Think well Miss Hanston. Things are bound to get really nasty." Aiden smirked as he leaned against the door frame.
Darn. He'll never stop with this.
"Then I suggest you keep your eyes open Mr Corristor." I sent a wink on his way and secured the second strap.
"May I know for what?" He came closer and held out his hand for me to take.
"To catch me when I fall." I took his hand and got up. He took no time to nuzzle in my hair but I instantly pushed him lightly.
"Not now. We need to leave. I can't afford to have my hair disheveled." He pulled back a bit and gave me a cocky smile as I wobbled very slightly to get my own balance.
"So you agree on your inability with this thing." His index finger pointed down to my feet and I knew he was referring to my heels. I pursed my lips and snapped,
"Too bad you failed to recognize your girlfriend's special abilities Mr Corristor."
"Uhuh. Is that so? As far as I remember.." He was trying so hard to control his smile but I cut him off.
"Watch me on the ramp bayby." I winked and sent him a flirtatious flying kiss before going out of the room.
Tony's POV
I stretched my back for the ninth time since the past hour. I could feel my muscles becoming all stiff and I was entirely sure I would need a good relaxing massage soon. Sitting in the bright room filled with hundreds of important people from the high class community, I felt the remorse building up in my stomach. It was cruel enough to what Dia has done to Lisa but now trying to build her way to her place in the modeling industry had to be some sort of a joke. I nearly spat out my coffee when Dia showed me the tickets to this mega bombastic fashion show and revealed we needed to be there to make connections as she wanted to join the industry. And now here we were sitting across the empty runway waiting for the show to start. Dia was never the one to join beauty contests. In fact, she hated these things and never even kept up with any of these. I knew it had to do something with Lisa when I connected the dots. I so badly wanted to get out of here and go home to be with Lisa but I was compelled. My hands are already dirtied and it would take really long to get it cleaned. Or perhaps I should say my hands are really under the rocks here. I could not really do anything. If I ever tried to relate everything to Lisa, she might not even believe me, regarding the fact that she did not remember anything. On the other hand, I'll be doomed too. I was not sure she would be able to ever forgive me if she found out about the truth.
Suddenly the lights turned off signaling the start of the show. The huge hall then turned so bright I had to close my eyes. After a few moments, a female voice melodiously spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for our glitz chicas from Lady Chic tonight and please welcome The weekend."
Now we're talking.
I excitedly turned my head to the right to see The weekend entering the runway with a mic in his hand and the famous music of Starboy playing in the background. Soon after, the first model began to walk followed by the others. I gulped when I saw Lisa's sister entering the runway. She looked gorgeous with a beige sequined long dress that hugged her body from top to bottom. There was not really that much resemblance between the twins but they were definitely stunners in terms of looks. I could say that about the personality too, for Lisa of course since I had never spoken to her sister before. I turned my head to take a look at Dia's face. She kept a neutral expression, but being with her all this time, I knew she was loathing on the inside.
I turned my head back on the ramp when I saw another model at the far end, making her entrance. I squinted my eyes to see whether I was seeing properly or perhaps I was beginning to hallucinate after thinking so much about this shit going on. However, I saw her coming even closer and she refused to get vanished like I thought she would.
This's got to be a dream.
I blinked again and turned to look at Dia. This time, she did not even manage to cover her expression. Her eyes were popping out of their sockets and just when I thought her jaw would fall down to the floor, she closed her mouth but the shock remained evident on her face.
Lisa made her walk perfectly looking straight ahead keeping a mildly flirtatious look on her face and as she approached the front of the stage, the audience went into a full frenzy mode. The media snapped pictures upon pictures, the incessantly increasing flashes being the evidence. Some people in the crowd looked shocked while others looked amazed. Looking completely unaffected by the swarm of photographers, Lisa made an astonishingly fabulous pose and gave a perfect smile to the cameras. She then struck a less robust pose and sent a flying kiss full of emotions to the camera.
Turning around, she began walking back when she met my gaze. She smiled at Dia and sent a wink my way. A few moments after, Mr Black made his appearance alongside Lisa and they walked to the front this time together with each other's arms around each other's waist.
"We should leave." I whispered to Dia scratching my nose in the process to cover my mouth.
"We can't." She whispered back motioning to the security with her eyes. There were a swarm of reporters gathered not only at the main entrance but also from backstage. We could see huge bouncers all dressed in black with an earpiece placed on their ear securing the place. It began to make sense that the Lady Chic company knew Lisa was going to come today and they did not let that news leak out as we got the news from the new contacts we established that Nicole would be the show stopper this year.
"Do you think she remembers something?" I whispered again to Dia who remained silent and shook her head in confusion. She also could not understand what was going on. If Lisa remembered everything, she would have either escaped or confronted us. Instead, she was here, taking up her job again. Her words rushed to my mind about how she felt lost and without any purpose. She was recently blaming herself for being jinxed to herself and to other people. She already knew she was a supermodel as we were the one who gave her this piece of information from the very beginning. But how did she manage to come back here without our knowledge? She has already set a foot in her old world. How much did she know more? We stood up with the rest of the people to clap for the end of the show. Lisa and Mr Black were both waving to people and hugging some.
Are we exposed?
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One more chapter coming tomorrow and then we'll have the epilogue! I wanna cry. If it was only for me, I wouldn't have ended it here with this twisted mind of mine.
I always like to take time to update so I can give it my best, but I had to rush to finish everything and keep some spare time to try to edit everything. I may include some more details and feels later, but for now this would be it.
Any guesses what will happen next?
End of chapter question: Nude or red lips? (Since this chapter is all about fashion lol)
A question for my male readers: suit with or without a tie?