Chapter 198

Daniel showed up at the studio looking like he’d crawled out of a drain. Dark circles under his eyes, collar wrinkled, hair stiff from not being washed. He threw a brittle grin at Priya as he walked past her. ‘Morning, Mirabelle.’ His face brightened the second he saw me. ‘Morning.’ I was halfway to my desk when Priya came pounding up the stairs. ‘Mirabelle! Got an invite this morning. Some forum thing. You want to go?’ She shoved her phone between me and Daniel. The screen showed a blocky logo with tiny stars and that over-familiar glassy-blue background everyone used for corporate invites. ‘Constellation Gem & Jade Forum,’ I read. ‘Heard of it. They’re holding it in Sunset City this year. Not far.’ Despite the name, it wasn’t exactly the Met Gala of gemstones. But the guest list caught my eye. Right under the name of an industry heavyweight was my uni advisor, the only professor I’d ever liked. ‘They’re offering you five minutes on stage,’ Priya said. ‘You’d talk about your design ap