Bed of Nails

Chapter 23

"I want you to ruin me."

Those words still echo in my head to this day. That was the day everything started. It still manages to send shivers down my spine when I get lost in my past. past, which was better buried. past, which I never want to remember again. My alarm rang again, and it made me turn my body to switch it off. Another sleepless night I was so lost in my thoughts that I couldn't sleep a wink last night. I kept staring into space. My heart was beating a little fast because flashes of my past were in front of my open eyes. I sigh and sit up. My hands moved to my face and rubbed it. I didn't feel like getting out of bed. My tiredness and sleepless nights were making things difficult for me. Another sigh of exasperation left my mouth. I can't keep sitting in my bed. I need to get ready for the day. I dragged myself out of bed and to the bathroom. It took me an hour to get ready for the day and another half an hour to reach the office. I was the first to reach you today. I decided to get myself busy for the coming fashion week. It was important to us. Important for my career. I can't keep myself from indulging in the past. I will focus on the present now. I was busy making some changes in my design when Evelyn entered my office with the sweet aroma of coffee.

"You are early today," she said, placing my coffee in front of me.

"Yeah, I had some changes to make in design, so I decided to come early. Thank you," I said while taking the coffee with a small smile on my face. I didn't tell her my actual reason for being early. I didn't tell her how I didn't sleep a wink last night. I'm going to keep it to myself. I took a sip of coffee and instantly felt like it was a stress reliever. Evelyn sat on the empty chair in front of my desk.

"So?" she asked when I took another sip. It made me look at her. She looked at me with curious eyes.

"So, what?" I asked with raised brows and blew on my hot coffee to take another sip.

"So did you find out how you ended up in Erick's bed Friday night?" she asked the question curiously, and I ended up burning my mouth.

"Be careful," she said when I hissed because of the burning sensation in my mouth. I kept my coffee away and grabbed some tissues.

"Did I miss something?" Aria burst into my office. We both turned our heads to look at her. She was breathing heavily. She must have rushed to the office.

"You only miss Grace burning her mouth from hot coffee," Evelyn taunts, rolling her chair back to face me. Aria just rolled her eyes in response and walked in, slumping on the empty seat beside Evelyn. Both of them looked at me with the same curious eyes. I sigh and throw the tissue in the trash can.

"I don't know how I ended up in his bed, and I can't even remember a thing because I was so drunk," I said, slumping back in my chair.

"I just hope that I didn't take a taxi to his place. I was so drunk, I can't remember a thing," I said in mortification. I used to take a taxi to his house in the past when I was in distress.

"I don't think so because you have not done that in ages," Aria said, supporting me. It made me lift my head and look at her.

"Yeah, she is right," Evelyn said with a little nod. I will die in shame if I have done that.

"Did you ask him about the deal or about what you were doing in his place?" Evelyn asked me. I could see both of them were eager to know about it too. They both knew about my past, so it was obvious that they were eager to know about it.

"I didn't ask, nor did he tell me. No words were exchanged between us. I walked out of his house as soon as I woke up," I said exasperatedly, and I got up again to finish my coffee. Again, a dull pain had started to form in my head, and only coffee could cure it. They both nodded their heads in understanding. I was about to take another sip of my coffee when, again, someone barged into my office.

Why is everyone barging into my office today?

"I did it," Alice, my intern, said with a hundred-volt smile on her face. It made my brows furrow in question.

"What did you do?" I asked with the same expression on my face. I kept coffee away from me. I don't want it to spill on me from whatever Alice was about to tell me.

"You told me that we can't afford to pay the price of big models because of our budget," she said with enthusiasm while walking in with her laptop in her hand.

"Yes, I do." I slowly nodded my head. I remember her absurd idea of approaching Erick for our fashion week.

"I approached his secretary and told him about us and said this fashion week is for a cause and asked if he could spare a date for us, and they said yes," she squealed while showing me the emails exchanged between his secretary and her. My eyes became as big as sausages when she said that. I had a horrified look on my face. Nothing came out of my mouth. I didn't know what to say. Alice looked at our horrified faces.

"You are not happy," she asked, looking at our faces. Her excitement slipped away. It was not her fault. She was doing what she could for us as an intern. She doesn't know about the problems I have with the Erick Villain. I breathed out in distress and started to massage my head.

"Alice, darling, you should have asked us before you approached his secretary. You know how bad it would look now that they are ready to give a date, but we can't afford his fees." Aria tried to make her understand in her calmest voice. I knew she was holding back when I scolded her.

"You know how bad an impression it makes on us. Now we can't approach him even when we can afford him." Evelyn said it in the same tone, and I kept massaging my head. My headache is going to kill me.

"You guys are worried about it. You guys, you almost scared me." Alice laughed when Evelyn said that. It made me stop massaging my head and look at her with raised brows.

"He agreed to do it without any fees because it's for a cause. I know we can't give his fees, so I made it clear to his secretary in the very first email," she said while showing me that email. My eyes involuntarily read it. She has clearly said that we can't afford his fees but would appreciate it if he joined us in the cause of saving animals.

"I can't believe Erick Villain will be our showstopper," she squealed again, and this time I was forced to give a smile.

"You did a great job," I said halfheartedly. She had worked hard to get his secretary's contact information and then get this opportunity for us. I need to appreciate her. Alice smiled even brighter when I appreciated her. I looked at Aria and Evelyn. They had a worried look on their faces. I again forced a smile at them, ensuring that I was okay. But what she said next made even my forced smile slip from my lips.

"He wants to meet you first before finalising the dates."

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