The Yes Game Ended My Survival Mission Chapter 06

The Yes Game Ended My Survival Mission Chapter 06

Two weeks later, the international jewelry house Solène held its annual charity gala.

Ahead of it, the brand had launched an anonymous open call for young designers.

Whoever won wouldn’t just headline the new season’s exhibit. They’d wear the piece to the gala themselves.

Weston had never doubted Sienna’s Wildfire would take it.

Sienna had even had her gown ready and posted a teaser online, celebrating early.

“Get ready for tonight’s surprise.”

What she didn’t know was that Wildfire’s eligibility had already been suspended over the ownership dispute.

The piece that actually won was one I’d submitted under a different name, called Refraction.

An asymmetrical pair of earrings.

One side in oxidized black silver.

The other set with white mother-of-pearl.

Turn your head, and the black silver would swallow the light for a second.

Then the edge of the pearl would catch it, a flicker of iridescent color.

The light never disappeared.

It just showed up somewhere else.

The night of the gala, I walked in wearing a simple black dress.

When staff introduced me to Weston, he shook my hand out of habit.

“Hello.”

His eyes stuck on my face for a second.

Like something felt familiar.

Then he brushed the thought away.

After all, in his head, Wren was still hiding behind a mask in the shadows somewhere.

I didn’t take his hand.

“You don’t recognize me, Mr. Cole?”

The voice landed, familiar

His wine glass froze mid-air.

It tipped, and wine ran down the side onto his cuff.

He didn’t even notice.

“Wren?”

Sienna hurried over, staring at my cheek like she’d seen a ghost.

“What did you do?”

“Get work done?”

I looked at the two of them, unbothered.

“Just got the scar treated. That’s it.”

She recovered fast, hooking her arm through Weston’s.

“So what if your face is fixed?”

“Tonight’s about the work, not a beauty pageant.”

Right then, the host stepped up to the mic.

“This year’s anonymous open call winner is Refraction.”

The black and white earrings filled the big screen.

Weston’s head snapped toward Sienna.

Before the smile on her face could fully drop, the host kept going.

“The designer submitted under the initial W.”

“Real name: Wren Ashford.”

The lights swung onto me.

The room held its breath for two seconds.

Then the applause broke.

Sienna couldn’t help herself.

“She just got a new face.”

“Who knows if the brand didn’t package this for her ahead of time?”

Solenes head designer, August Sterling, walked up to the mic.

“The open call went through three rounds of blind review.”

“Every judge only ever saw an entry number.”

“The submission records and original sketches are all on file, and none of it has anything to do with how the

designer looks tonight.”

He handed me the award certificate.

“I knew your work before I knew you.”

August wasn’t exactly generous with compliments.

He praised Refraction, but only the structure. Not once did he mention my face.

And that was exactly why, for the first time, it felt like someone was actually seeing the work.

Not me.

Weston’s expression kept darkening.

After the gala, August invited me to see Solène’s design studio.

The bottom drawer held a pile of stones every other designer had thrown out. Cracked, uneven, unwanted.

I picked up a dull, cloudy moonstone.

“You keep these around too?”

“Every stone’s got its own kind of beauty.”

“It just hasn’t found the right design yet.”

He took the moonstone back and set it in its velvet box.

Weston was waiting at the end of the hallway when we stepped out.

“Wren, we need to talk.”

August glanced at me.

“Want me to stay?”

I shook my head.

“No need

He didn’t push He just handed me the box with Refraction inside and walked off.

Weston stepped closer.

His eyes wouldn’t leave my face

“Why didn’t you tell me you could heal like this?”

I laughed under my breath.

“If I’d gotten pretty sooner, would that have stopped you from proposing to Sienna?”

His throat worked.

“I just didn’t expect…”

I finished it for him.

“Didn’t expect the girl you always looked down on could still get picked over her?”

Weston reached up out of habit, the way he used to when he’d fix my hair.

His hand stalled halfway, then dropped.

“Five years wasn’t fake.”

“Come back and the studio’s still yours.”

“I can hand you the creative director title back too.”

I finally looked at him straight on.

“So you did know that spot was always mine.”

His face drained whiter with every second.

I walked past him and didn’t look back.