Chapter 165

Stella probably realized by now that I might have swapped the designs behind her back, but she couldn't call me out directly—just stomped off in frustration. On the surface, I looked calm, but inside, I was anything but. Sure, I knew Lena’s draft was stolen—she had nothing of her own. But so what if I knew? She still looked like she had it all—fancy, glamorous as ever. Even if the whole world knew her private life was messy, even if she once tried to hurt my baby, none of that stopped her from shining in the design world. She was still the precious Carter heiress. This world’s always been harsher to the broke than to the shameless. That thought reminded me of something Henry once told me. He was right. Lena had always been the demon in my head. If I couldn't let her go, I’d never move forward. I should be thinking about how I ranked in the prelims, where I fell short, and how to get better—not wasting time on someone like Lena. Once I cleared my head, I went through every piece that ma