Unbreakable Duty

Allies from the Shadows

As the day wore on, Earn found herself increasingly distracted. She had been coordinating a meeting with the stylist and suppliers for the final touches on the bridal collection, but her attention kept slipping, drawn to Fahlada, who was once again surrounded by a group of models. One of them - a tall, confident woman with dark hair - leaned in closer to Fahlada, her voice low but playful. Earn could make out what she was saying.

"So, Lada," the model said, her tone unmistakably flirtatious. "Are you single? Someone like you must have all the girls chasing after you, huh?"

Earn felt something tighten in her chest. She tried to refocus, to tell herself it was nothing, but the irritation bubbled up inside her. It wasn't just the question -  was the way Fahlada smiled politely in return, clearly uncomfortable but still too professional to outright shut it down.

Engfa, who had been quietly observing from across the room, caught Earn's expression and thought it might be the best time to make Earn remember something. She strolled over her best friend with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Uh-oh," she whispered conspiratorially, nudging Earn in the ribs. "Someone looks like they're about to throw a model right off the runway."

Earn clenched her jaw, trying to hide her feelings, but Engfa having witnessed the same scenario before wasn't buying it.

"Come on, princess," Engfa teased, "just admit it. You're jealous."

Earn snapped, her voice tight but still controlled. "I'm not jealous."

But Engfa simply crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Thinking that this might be the right time to execute her "make Earn remember" mission. "Sure, sure. It's not like you've fired a model for this exact reason before, right?"

That's when it hit Earn - a sudden, vivid flash of memory. A time when she'd fired another model. The woman had been bold, making moves on Fahlada during a fitting session. At the time, Fahlada had calmly told her she was already in a relationship, but the model persisted. And Earn, unable to stomach the disrespect, had given her the boot without a second thought.

The memory was so clear, it was as if she was reliving it. She could see herself watching as Fahlada had diplomatically handled the situation, and she remembered the heat of that same jealousy creeping up on her - except back then, she had known exactly why. Confused, Earn is now doubting her memories. "How could Fahlada be hers? It's not possible." she thought.

Why was she feeling the same thing now? What had she lost in her mind that kept her from understanding why this jealousy ran so deep?

She blinked, her breath catching as the memory began to fade, leaving only the ghost of her emotions behind. Earn turned away from Engfa, but the gnawing feeling remained. There was something there, something important she couldn't quite grasp.

Engfa, watching her best friend, smirked again but said nothing this time, her teasing momentarily forgotten. She could tell Earn was rattled, but for once, she let it slide, sensing the shift in her friend's mood. Maybe her strategy to shock Earn to recover her forgotten memories and feelings will work.

Earn stared at Fahlada from across the room, the noise of the preparations for the launch fading into the background. Why did it feel like this had happened before? Why did it feel like Fahlada had once been hers?

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Fahlada, ever observant, had been watching Earn's behavior throughout the day. It started subtly - Earn's tone growing sharper when she spoke to the stylist, the impatient tapping of her foot as the suppliers discussed fabric options. But as the day went on, it became clearer that something was bothering her.