"Then, will you let me be selfish? Will you be mine?"
★ ★ ★
Even as children, everyone around them knew they would end up together. But of course, life doesn't always go as planned.
Alana never thoug...
They say that the way a woman presents herself and the way she dresses changes the way she performs or acts. Say she's wearing her favorite blazer and has her makeup done up on point, wouldn't the assumption be that she's feeling self-assured?
Not for Alana.
Because despite looking confident, Alana could feel the nerves begin to bubble up inside of her as her mind swarmed with the different possibilities of how this would all go. This would be the first time in a long time where she would be putting herself in a vulnerable position, where she would lay everything on the tables.
And vulnerability was something Alana had avoided the past 3 years of her career as she continuously built up a stone wall around her heart. Because being vulnerable meant opening up opportunities to be taken advantage of. Being vulnerable meant laying yourself onto the tables for everyone to see. Being vulnerable meant letting everyone pick at your flaws.
She hated it. But today, it was something she had to do. She was going to have to be vulnerable to bring her point across and if it meant having people look down upon her, then so be it. Because in reality, she was strong and brave for telling her truth.
As the elevator steadily rose, she could hear her heart pounding and she was sure Daniel and Matt, who stood stoically in front of her, could hear the loud pounding in her chest.
It was like deja vu.
Because once again, Alana was heading up the top floor of Limitless Talent.
"Are you ready?" Asked Leanne, breaking the silence as she looked over at Alana with a mixture of concern and determination.
"No," confessed Alana softly. "But I can't avoid it forever."
"We're going to all be here for you," Leanne grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze. She could see both Matt and Daniel look at her with their own nods of support. Again, she was grateful for the people around her and their endless support.
The elevator dinged signaling that they had finally made it to the top floor. As soon as the doors opened, she could see a cluster of people standing near the doors. She was immediately swept into a pair of strong arms, which caused her to smile at the familiar scent of his masculine cologne.
"Hi, beautiful," Cameron hugged her close before she was immediately whisked away into another pair of familiar arms. She laughed, giving each of the boys warm hugs.
"Looking beautiful as always, sweets," Owen winked, causing Alana to roll her eyes. He always had a way with words, especially with his British accent— maybe this was why he was so popular with the ladies. "Looking all professional and fly with her blazer and Gucci belt. Shit," his voice went up an octave before he let out a whistle. "Might as well shout out to the world that you're Gucci's brand ambassador."
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Well, he wasn't lying— she did always dress her part and she was proud to be chosen by the brand. Regardless, Alana slapped his arm, feeling her cheeks warm up with embarrassment as she rolled her eyes. "Shut up— why would I need to shout it out to the world when the whole world already knows?"
