Free Web NovelChapter 42: Model / 6.6 : The truth
When the candidates arrived at the hotel Atom there were already railings to make way, contrary to before they were hundreds of people. They kept screaming excitedly and some of them had signs. They were a lot of members of the press wanting to get pictures of them too. The bodyguard opened the door of the car and Ezra came out. He gave his hand to Eden and he took it. As they walked to the hotel the fans kept screaming Eden’s name. Most of the signs were for him. Ezra felt reassured by his decision to stick by his side.
Eden smiled and waved at the people screaming his name until they entered. Everyone’s name was screamed at least one except Astrid’. She felt humiliated but she still walked in with a smile. She got into the elevator and looked at Eden’s back. Ezra has to fix their relationship or she’ll be eliminated. Like he predicted everyone loves Eden, he’s clearly the most popular.
They entered a room and saw a table with three judges sitting behind it and on the left was a large screen. They all stood facing them nervously. The host said:
"Hello, today two candidates will be eliminated then you’ll have your second challenge."
She pointed.
"This is the three judges, runway coach Leah, fashion photographer Dayne, and designer Arnav."
Everyone clapped excitedly, they’re legends in the fashion world so everyone knows them. But having them judge them is something entirely different, it’s terrifying.
Eden got a pretty good idea of what the judges liked and disliked as he listened to them scoring the candidates. When it was Astrid’s turn he became more attentive.
Leah said:
"Your walk was okay, you can tell that you don’t have experience but correcting the mistake should be relatively easy. My problem is with the garment and the modification you made. I know Enders Arman and his theme for the new collection was classical beauty but it’s impossible to tell with the way you looked and walked the runway. Between the way you rolled your hips and your cleavage, it was too sexy. You were dressed a certain way but you decided that it wasn’t sexy enough, you can’t do what you want you have to follow the designer’s vision. As a model, you have to be a chameleon and be able to become who the designer needs you to be. On the runway, people have to look at the clothes, not the model’s breast."
Astrid felt like she’d been slapped. She didn’t like the shirt she wore it was too prude and bleak. Just opening a few buttons isn’t the end of the world so why is she coming down on her so hard? Leah said:
"For that, I give you a 5 out of 10."
Astrid looked at her stunned, her walk was the best, and contrary to most candidates she wasn’t scared. Her face turned red in anger when the two other judges shared the same opinion. They both gave her a five as well, she needs to get an overall vote of at least 4 from the viewers or she’ll be on the chopping block. She let out a relieved breath when they gave her a five as well. At least she won’t be eliminated today.
Eden smiled at the judges when it was his turn. All he cares about is that Kalel and Ezra don’t get eliminated and they aren’t since they both scored higher than five. He knew Gege wouldn’t since he isn’t a real candidate. Everyone watched him walk again and they felt anxious when he almost fell even if they knew he is okay. When it was over Leah asked:
"Have you walked the runway before?"
"Never."
The three judges looked at him surprised.
"Your walk was perfect as a coach I have nothing more to teach you. Even if everyone’s eyes should be on the clothes it was impossible not to look at you. You can’t help feel be drawn to your beautiful eyes and the clothes fitted you to perfection. I would have nothing to say if you hadn’t almost fallen, but the way you were able to resume and get into that focused state of mind was amazing. I’ll give you a six."
Eden smiled gratefully, he looked at the next judge and received a 5 and a 6. When it was time to see the viewers vote they all looked at the screen stunned. Eden seemed just as shocked as everyone else. The host said:
"It seems like the viewers were impressed with your walk and gave you an 8."
The candidates could tell that Eden was the most liked when they were downstairs but when you see the disparity between his score and the other candidates’ they couldn’t help but feel bitter.
Once the two candidates with the lowest scores left the host informed:
"The second challenge will be a photoshoot with one of the many protected animals from the animal welfare organization Fury. The winner’s picture will be used in their new awareness campaign. Each of you will pick a paper out of that box and it will be your animal, you can’t change it. You’ll choose the clothes you’ll wear during the photoshoot and have at your disposal a makeup artist. You’ll be in charge of everything including choosing the picture you’ll be scored on."
Everyone felt the pressure and they picked a paper and read it.
Astrid frowned when she saw the name of her animal, she can’t shoot with an owl. She needs an animal that everyone will find cute like a cat those kinds of pictures always win. She glanced above Ezra’s shoulder and read baby lion. She whispered discretely:
"Can we change animals?"
Ezra looked at her and asked
"Why?"
"My animal is an owl I’ll never pass this challenge with it. You’ve seen how low the public’s votes were I’ll need the judges to give me a high score and they will if I have the baby lion."
Eden who was listening to the two asked loud enough so everyone would hear:
"Ezra, what animal did you get?"
Ezra looked at Eden then Astrid, she looked back at him pleadingly. Ezra felt guilty even if he decided that he would go all-in with Eden. He should help her one last time then he’ll tell her she’s on her own.
"I have the..."
Before he finished Eden said:
"Right you have the baby lion."
Astrid looked at Eden furiously, she knows he did it on purpose. That son of a bitch! Ezra looked at Eden and when he saw the anger in his eyes he felt his heart beating faster. He swore to him that he would be honest and have his back but he was just about to do the opposite. He asked:
"What’s yours?"
After a few seconds Eden answered:
"White wolf."
As he said that everyone noticed his eyes softening.
Ezra took a step closer and asked with a smile:
"Are you happy with it?"
Eden nodded, Ezra was reassured to see that he wasn’t angry anymore. They all went to another floor and looked around. The spacious floor was divided into two sides one for the photoshoot with a big white backdrop with lighting equipment and reflectors. The other side had multiple racks with clothes and there were multiple vanity tables with lights. Everyone hurried to pick the best clothes.
Eden took his time and carefully looked at the garments. He needs to make sure that the white wolf is the first thing you see when you look at the picture and for that, he can’t wear something too bright. He chose the white wolf on purpose because first, he loves them second he has blue eyes like him. He wants to show in the picture that he and the wolf are the same. He needs people to think that the wolf and Eden should be treated the same. He decided to wear a simple white shirt and pants.
After dressing he decided not to put any makeup on and waited for the other. When Naomi was done she sat next to Eden. He smiled.
"I like what you’re wearing it will look great with the fox."
She was wearing a simple peach dress and her long her was cascading on her back. Naomi smiled.
"Thank you. As usual, you’re wearing Arman Couture."
Eden blushed slightly and she chuckled.
"What’s your obsession with him?"
She was asking jokingly but she stopped chuckling when she saw how uneasy Eden was.
She asked worriedly:
"What’s wrong?"
She was surprised when Eden looked around to make sure they weren’t filmed.
"You know that I don’t have a relationship with my parents."
Naomi nodded.
Eden confessed:
"I’ve never felt close to them and I always felt like I was a burden, especially to my father. A month after Ezra and Astrid were signed to Grey Modeling I waited for them to come home from work and begged them to give me a chance. My father lost it and beat me, my mother did nothing for a long time until I was on the floor bleeding. She took him outside to calm down and they came back an hour later. I had passed out because of the pain and they called an ambulance. When I woke up they threatened me not to say anything, they had told the police that someone had beaten me because he hated Gers. The next day they checked me out of the hospital because they were worried I might tell someone the truth. Once I was home they left for work and I was alone again. I decided to go through my mother’s belonging to find out if Dawson was my biological father."
Naomi looked at Eden stunned.
"Why did you have doubt?"
"When he beat me I only saw hatred in his eyes and I realized that I was fooling myself before, he never loved or cared for me. I found a diary my mother had hidden and it confirmed my suspicion. How could a father break three of his son’s ribs and leave him bleeding for an hour?" frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Naomi looked at Eden wide-eyed.
"My mother was in love with a man who wanted to become a designer when she find out she was pregnant. She broke up with him and started to date Dawson because he was rich contrary to my birth father."
Naomi gaped at Eden, when she finally found her voice again she said incredulously:
"Enders Arman is your birth father."
Eden nodded as his eyes flashed with pain.
"I’ve been a fan of him since I was a kid and I felt like our stories were similar. When he was trying to become a designer a lot of people said he would never make it but then Arman Couture became a household name because he never gave up on his dreams. Even if I know he’ll never recognize me as his son wearing the clothes he created makes me feel closer to him."
Naomi was speechless, she already felt like Eden’s life was difficult but finding out that he has a father out there with who he has no relation must make it a hundred times harder.
She hugged him and Eden hugged her back. She has no words to express how sorry she feels, she honestly doesn’t understand how he is still standing after such a hard life. She pulled back and asked:
"You’re never going to tell him?"
Eden shook his head.
"He never had children which means he doesn’t want any. I don’t want him to think I want anything out of him or make him feel forced to build a relationship with me when he doesn’t want to. I already have a father who despises me I don’t need another let alone the person I’ve admired most of my life."
It’s the truth he won’t force someone who doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. His mother Erin that gold digger was in love with Enders but she broke up with him when she found out she was carrying Eden because he had no money. She got together with Dawson and said that she was pregnant. They married and built Grey Modeling. Eden knows he’s filmed since the floor is equipped with cameras. He wants to allow Enders to choose if he wants to be in his life or not. Enders is a partner of Modeling Atom and he’s collaborated with Atom many times over the years.
He and Kalel are even friends despite their age difference. He knows that someone will send him the footage since he dropped a bomb. Like that Eden will know if he wants to be in his life or not. Enders is a good person and it’s rare for him to have good parents. If he doesn’t want to Eden will leave him alone and that’s that. No one will know that he is his birth father since he’ll delete the footage. It’s the easiest way to know how he feels without having the world know the truth of his birth. In the original timeline, Eden had no idea but Enders found out a couple of months after he died.
He and Erin saw each other during a fashion show and decided to catch up in a bar. When Erin was drunk she blurted out that Eden was actually his son. Enders had Eden’s exhumed and performed a DNA test. When he found out the truth he was heartbroken, he felt guilty that his son had led such a difficult life and died in the street alone. After that, he changed completely and couldn’t design anymore. He retired and only stayed at home until he died. Eden wants to give him a chance and make sure he doesn’t have the same bad ending, it’s up to him if he takes that chance or not.
