Chapter 126 - 124

Once Becca left, Navaya decided to resume reading the godforsaken book. She bought it so she might as well finish it. But as if on cue, her phone rang again and she puffed out a sigh. 

They were at it again. Why wouldn't they leave her alone?

At this point, audaciously ignoring them seemed more tempting by the second but she knew what would happen if she did that. She would get an earful for sure. But then again, weren't they still going to give her one anyway?

Reluctantly, she dug out her phone from her purse again and answered the call. Just for the sake of being courteous, nothing else.

This time the caller wasn't dad but mom.

Navaya brought the phone to her ears. " Hello."

" Finally, you chose to answer." A woman's voice came from the other line and Navaya sucked in a breath.

" I'm doing great, mom. Thanks for asking." 

Navaya rolled her eyes rudely. Her mother wasn't able to see it so it was alright.

" Your dad called you a while ago but you denied his call. Why?"

" I was in a meeting." Navaya lied but in her defense, her parents had their motives for calling her. They always did and it happens to be something Navaya despised talking about. She prayed it wasn't that same issue again. " Why did you call this time? " 

Aside from utterly infuriating her, what could have motivated her parents to call?

" Why are you doing this, Navaya?" Her mother asked, her voice only sounding sweet to lure Navaya into her web.

" Doing what, mom?" 

Here we go again. The earful as Navaya loves to call it.

" It has been three years already. Why are you still doing this?" 

Navaya's grip on her phone tightened, a knot forming in her chest. " You know very well why I am doing this." 

" Of course, you left Massachusetts, your parents, to New York City to make a name for yourself. I completely understand but do you think your petty ambitions are more important than the prosperity of your family's business?" 

Navaya's eyes shut abruptly, anger almost charring her soul. All she wanted now was to toss the phone across the room, at least then the damn call would end.

" They are not petty ambitions. You would know that if you took a break from building a spotless public image and got to know your daughter so no, mom. You don't understand." Navaya shook with emotions as she spoke. She didn't know why it still affected her, or even why she allowed herself to be disturbed by it. But it still did, always. Never once did it stop, only getting worse whenever she spoke to her parents. That was why she always tried to avoid them as much as possible but then again, she could only try. Unfortunately, never succeeding.

" You know what, I don't understand. I don't. You are the only child of one of the richest families in Massachusetts, an heiress to our fortunes but here you are, saying you don't want any part of it. You left everything behind despite being your father's successor. In the past, I thought you were just feeling overwhelmed by everything that was going on. I tried to understand you but now I know that you are just being stupid. Making rash decisions just like when you were younger." Her mother scolded and Navaya immediately hung up, not wanting to listen anymore.

It had always been like this. Three years after she left and her parents are still narrow-minded. As though growing up without parental love and attention wasn't enough to make Navaya dislike them, they still had to go ahead and call the greatest decision she had ever made in her life stupid. That she made a terrible mistake by leaving everything behind but to Navaya, it was the best thing she had ever done for herself.

She was finally able to break free from the misconception her parents groomed her with, the belief that chained her for years. The bondage.

Do this, not that. 

Sometimes she wondered why she didn't leave sooner than she did. The fear. She hesitated a little in the past because of all the advice people fed her. The misconceptions. Why do you want to leave when you already have everything?

It was the most frequently occurring question in people's minds when they spoke to her, some even asked her upfront about it and her answer always stayed the same. Freedom.

It took being raised by people who believed buying a child expensive things and truly loving that child was the same thing for Navaya to realize the difference. And she saw a big difference. Her parents didn't want a child, they wanted an heir.

Leaving would be the biggest mistake you can ever make in your life.

Navaya recalled those words, memorized them. Her father's words on the day she told him she would be leaving and wouldn't be inheriting his business like he wanted her to. He was devastated but Navaya couldn't care less. She was finally free.

The tightness of her chest loosened when she remembered that day was a special day. Atlas was hosting a fashion show and today was the day it would be launching its magazine of the month. The event's biggest sponsors are Trex corp and Alexus.

" Alexus," Navaya muttered softly. It was the name of the Ramus family business. Johnny's company. Since his company was one of the sponsors, it meant he might come to the launching.

Her heart fluttered.

She hadn't seen him since their last argument and it kinda felt a little weird.

Navaya lifted her purse off her desk and sauntered out of her office to Atlas's auditorium where the event was going to be held. She got there and the place was still a bloody mess, packed with bustling people trying to get everything ready. Perfect.

She scouted the entire place for Becca and couldn't find her at first but when she finally did, she noticed an anxious look on her face.

Reaching where Becca stood, Navaya placed a light touch on her shoulder.

" Are you okay? You look worried." Navaya said and Becca turned to look at her. 

" That's because I am worried. Two of the top models we hire aren't here yet." 

" So? We still have three hours to go. Relax, okay? They will be here." Navaya reassured and Becca nodded but that didn't stop her from fidgeting in worry. 

Navaya occasionally glanced at Becca to see if she still looked tense and sighed when she saw that she was. The project in question was one the company had dedicated four months of effort into perfecting. Just its success had the power to push their company to the next level but at the same time, its failure could also set the company on a spiral of financial problems. It would make other companies doubt the credibility of Atlas so hence, Becca's worry. 

Trex corp was one of the biggest sponsors, and the last thing Becca wanted was for Leo to see her as incompetent.

One hour to the show, the auditorium already looked presentable but still no models. Becca's nerves soared.

Just then, a woman dressed in a suit scampered their way. The manager.

She turned to Becca. " Ma'am, one of the models who were absent just arrived." 

The manager reported and Navaya smiled as she turned to Becca, grabbing both her friend's hands in hers.

" See? I told you everything would be okay." Navaya said but Becca still didn't release the breath she held in. 

Just one model came. There were two absent so why was it just one that came? Something doesn't feel right.

" Just one?" Becca asked and the manager nodded.

" Unfortunately, the other one got into an accident on her way here. It wasn't anything major but she was taken to the hospital and won't be able to perform."

Becca's heart shattered, the speed of its beats heightening.

" Which model got into an accident?" Becca asked, praying to God so it wouldn't be who she had in mind.

" Laura, ma'am."

No no no no! Laura was the star of the show for god's sake. 

Becca and Navaya looked at each other, wearing identical horrid looks on their faces. 

What the fuck were they going to do now?

The sound of someone else approaching, snatched them out of their stupor. 

Distressed, Navaya tilted her head to the side to see who it was. Johnny. 

Why was he so early?

Navaya stared at him as he neared, only for him to walk past her and stand beside Becca. With his gaze fixed only on Becca, he didn't even look at Navaya and it bothered her. Navaya didn't know why it did— Johnny clearly came for his sister— but his blatant— sudden— lack of interest found a way to upset her. 

Becca let go of Navaya's hands that she held and lobbed her arms around Johnny, blubbering to him about how her career was soon going to be over. Navaya couldn't help rolling her eyes as Johnny tried to calm Becca down, ignoring her even more. He didn't even have the decency to say hello.

Fed up with what was happening, Navaya averted her gaze away from Johnny, her eyes hardening when she caught sight of the sheepish smile on the manager's lips. She was staring at Johnny.

Oh no, you don't.

Anger sparked in Navaya, compelling her to make the giddy manager stop staring at him. Navaya knew it wasn't the manager's fault, with a man as handsome as Johnny, it was virtually impossible not to stare. But although she understood that fact, it didn't mean she was willing to condone it.

She got agitated by the second. Everything around her infuriated her to the core. First, it was Johnny overlooking her presence, now it was the Manager staring at him with drool coming out from her mouth.

Inpatient, Navaya tapped the manager's shoulder to get her attention or at least, in this case, divert it away from Johnny. 

" Let's go see what we can do. We can't possibly accomplish anything by just standing here." Navaya said to the Manager and somehow succeeded in getting Becca and Johnny's attention as well.

It was the first time he intentionally stared at her since he came and her heart thumped hard as they locked gazes. Her legs buckled slightly, almost giving out.

What the heck? Navaya asked herself. What was wrong with her legs?

An idea popped into Becca's head as she stared at Navaya while Navaya stared at Johnny, seemingly powerless over the hypnotic spell his gaze was putting her under. She simply couldn't break loose.

" I think I know how to resolve this." Becca's voice broke the staring match Navaya and Johnny were having, thwarting it from dragging on. " Navaya, remember when you won that beauty pageant when we were sixteen?"

" Yeah, so?" Navaya asked and quickly got the gist when Becca's eyes turned pleading, glistening with hope. " Nope. I'm not doing it."

" Why not?" Becca retorted and Navaya's brow arched incredulously.

" Why not?" Navaya repeated in disbelief. " It has been almost seven years and I don't know the first thing about modeling. You would just be setting me up for failure. What if I trip over my heels and fall in front of everyone?"

" Johnny will catch you if you fall," Becca said to support her notion, unaware of the true impact her words had.

Don't go there, Becca. Just don't.

Navaya hoisted her gaze away from Becca and glanced at Johnny. He wasn't grinning as he would in a situation like this one, not even smiling. Though he wasn't frowning either. He looked aloof and it bugged Navaya much more than she could explain. 

What the fuck was wrong with him? Was it about the last fight they had? Was that it? Was he giving her the cold shoulder because of that? Well, fuck him. He didn't have the right to be angry when it was he who pissed her off.

" Forget it, Becca. I'm not doing it." Navaya declared, and Becca's eyes turned even more beseeching.

" Please."

" No"

" Please." 

Navaya's lips parted to refuse once again but her words were stuck to the back of her throat, the sad look on Becca's face making her freeze.

" If not for anything, do it for Atlas." Johnny intervened and all of the sudden, doing the job in place of Laura didn't seem like such a bad idea.

" Fine," Navaya grumbled.. " For Atlas."