One Night in Valeria - Chapter 49: Chapter 49
You are reading One Night in Valeria, Chapter 49: Chapter 49. Read more chapters of One Night in Valeria.
The hotel suite was sleek chrome, leather, glass. The kind of place where billion-dollar conversations happened under soft lighting and chilled wine.
Jessica sat across from Mikhail Sartori, the international director of Eidolon Studios the fashion investment house that had discovered and funded three of the world’s biggest names.
He smiled like someone who already owned her future.
“We’re not just offering a tour,” he said smoothly. “We’re offering legacy. Full independence. A rebrand that takes you from ‘Klara’s daughter’ to Jessica Hale, global force.”
She didn’t flinch.
She just waited.
He slid the folder across the table.
“I won’t insult you with numbers. You’ll be set for ten lifetimes. Your story, your control every show, every headline, curated. No mess. No risk. Just your vision, sharpened and clean.”
She opened the folder.
Her designs. A media rollout plan. Tour locations.
Then at the very bottom terms.
> No affiliate ownership.
No shared trademarks, including “Unwritten.”
No ongoing collaboration with Liam Kai or affiliated co-designers.
All press to redirect focus to rebranding narrative.
She closed the folder slowly.
“You want the version of me that exists without the people who bled to get me here,” she said quietly.
Mikhail didn’t blink. “I want the version of you that wins.”
Jessica smiled.
But it didn’t reach her eyes.
She returned to the studio that evening, empty-handed.
Liam was there working late, dust on his shirt, half-asleep in a chair.
He looked up. Saw her face.
Paused.
“Well?”
“I said no,” she said softly.
Liam stood slowly, unsure if he heard her right.
“I told them I wouldn’t rewrite myself into someone who forgot her roots. Who abandoned the people who carried her through fire.”
She stepped closer.
“You’re not a footnote,” she whispered. “You’re my backbone.”
Something cracked open between them.
She touched his hand.
He held on.
And this time…
They didn’t let go.
Later, as they sat on the rooftop, watching the lights of Velaria twinkle like nerves beneath skin, Liam turned to her.
“So… what now?”
Jessica leaned against him, her head on his shoulder.
“Now?” she murmured.
“We rewrite the rule."
Jessica sat across from Mikhail Sartori, the international director of Eidolon Studios the fashion investment house that had discovered and funded three of the world’s biggest names.
He smiled like someone who already owned her future.
“We’re not just offering a tour,” he said smoothly. “We’re offering legacy. Full independence. A rebrand that takes you from ‘Klara’s daughter’ to Jessica Hale, global force.”
She didn’t flinch.
She just waited.
He slid the folder across the table.
“I won’t insult you with numbers. You’ll be set for ten lifetimes. Your story, your control every show, every headline, curated. No mess. No risk. Just your vision, sharpened and clean.”
She opened the folder.
Her designs. A media rollout plan. Tour locations.
Then at the very bottom terms.
> No affiliate ownership.
No shared trademarks, including “Unwritten.”
No ongoing collaboration with Liam Kai or affiliated co-designers.
All press to redirect focus to rebranding narrative.
She closed the folder slowly.
“You want the version of me that exists without the people who bled to get me here,” she said quietly.
Mikhail didn’t blink. “I want the version of you that wins.”
Jessica smiled.
But it didn’t reach her eyes.
She returned to the studio that evening, empty-handed.
Liam was there working late, dust on his shirt, half-asleep in a chair.
He looked up. Saw her face.
Paused.
“Well?”
“I said no,” she said softly.
Liam stood slowly, unsure if he heard her right.
“I told them I wouldn’t rewrite myself into someone who forgot her roots. Who abandoned the people who carried her through fire.”
She stepped closer.
“You’re not a footnote,” she whispered. “You’re my backbone.”
Something cracked open between them.
She touched his hand.
He held on.
And this time…
They didn’t let go.
Later, as they sat on the rooftop, watching the lights of Velaria twinkle like nerves beneath skin, Liam turned to her.
“So… what now?”
Jessica leaned against him, her head on his shoulder.
“Now?” she murmured.
“We rewrite the rule."
End of One Night in Valeria Chapter 49. Continue reading Chapter 50 or return to One Night in Valeria book page.