I Carry My Own Light

As the most recognizable face among the new generation of supermodels, every single runway I walked became the center of the fashion world's attention.

But just hours before the most critical show of my career, my boyfriend, Rahm Denton, gave away my custom haute couture dress. He handed the exclusive, first-in-the-world debut piece to his childhood best friend.

When I confronted him in the middle of our penthouse, Rahm just looked irritated.

"Daisy just entered the industry. Wearing a global debut piece will put her on the map. She wants it, so I am giving it to her."

"You are already an established supermodel. What difference does one dress make to you?"

I stared dead into Rahm's eyes, refusing to take even half a step back.

This specific gown was custom-fitted for me by Celestia, the most prestigious lingerie and couture brand on the planet.

Tonight's runway would determine if I became the very first supermodel from our agency to sign an exclusive, multi-million dollar global contract with them.

Rahm knew exactly what was at stake.

Seeing my absolute refusal, Rahm furrowed his brows. His limited patience was completely gone.

"I am an heir to the Denton empire. As long as you are with me, what could you possibly lack?"

"Anna, remember your place. Stop screaming at me. Without my backing, you are nothing."

In that exact moment, the ugly truth finally clicked into place. My dreams, the career I had bled for, were nothing more than a childish game in Rahm's eyes.

"I have never relied on your money or your name, Rahm."

"With or without you, I am still Anna. I built myself."

I kept my spine perfectly straight, standing my ground in the center of the living room.

Rahm rubbed his temples in aggressive frustration.

"Are you seriously going to throw a tantrum over this?"

"It is just a piece of fabric. Daisy needs this opportunity infinitely more than you do."

Before I could even open my mouth to fire back, Daisy interrupted with a soft, trembling voice.

"Forget it, Rahm. It is totally fine if Anna does not want to share."

"I am already so lucky just to share the same stage with her. How could I ever dream of wearing the global debut piece?"

Rahm's dark expression instantly softened. He looked down at her with undisguised tenderness.

"Do not worry about it. The stage, the dress, it is yours."

"As long as you want it, I will give it to you. Trust me."

I watched the two of them with eyes colder than ice.

They were casually deciding the fate of a masterpiece that rightfully belonged to me, acting like I was completely invisible.

Rahm turned his gaze back to me.

"Anna, as long as you marry me, you will have the world at your fingertips. Why be so obsessed with one dress?"

"Enough. The decision is made. I will have my assistant deliver the gown to her dressing room tomorrow."

I took a deep, shaky breath, tilting my chin up to glare right through him.

"You know exactly what this runway means to me. You know what my dream has been since the day we met."

"This is not just a piece of clothing. It is my golden ticket to becoming a signed Celestia Angel."

A rare flicker of guilt flashed across Rahm's handsome face.

But when he met Daisy's wide, expectant eyes, he chose to completely crush my dream without hesitation.

"Daisy and I grew up together. She wants a shot at the spotlight, and obviously, I am going to help her."

"So what if you don't walk for Celestia? Does it even matter?"

"Once you marry me, you will be the wife of a Denton. A meaningless modeling title is nothing compared to that."

With those words, the very last shred of love I held for Rahm turned to ash.

He despised my profession. He looked down on me.

When Daisy wanted to be a model, he moved mountains to pave her way.

But every agonizing step I had taken over the last six years meant absolutely nothing to him compared to the title of 'Mrs. Denton'.

To him, I was just an accessory.

I was completely done talking. I turned on my heel, marched straight to the front door, and yanked it wide open.

"I am not an accessory to anyone. I have my own empire and my own ambitions."

"Rahm, with or without you, I will always be Anna. I am in no way inferior to you."

"Now, both of you need to get the hell out of my apartment. I have the most important runway of my life tomorrow, and I need my sleep."

Rahm's face flushed with anger. He took a step forward to argue, but I shut him down instantly.

"Get out!"

"Get out of my house, and get out of my life."

This time, I left absolutely no room for negotiation.

His ego severely bruised, Rahm grabbed Daisy by the wrist and dragged her out into the hallway. He glared back at me, his jaw clenched tight.

"You are going to regret this, Anna."

I stood frozen in the doorway, staring at their retreating backs until they disappeared into the elevator. The tears I had fought so hard to hold back finally spilled over, dropping heavily onto the hardwood floor.

I had loved him deeply for three years.

But if he was going to deny my worth, sabotage my career, and mock my dreams...

Then I did not want a man like him.

Early the next morning, my assistant Ruby and I arrived perfectly on time at the VIP dressing rooms backstage.

But the moment we reached my door, a massive bodyguard stepped in front of us.

"Apologies. This room is currently occupied."

"You will need to find another space."

I frowned in pure disbelief, but Ruby was already furious.

"What is that supposed to mean? Everyone in this building knows this is Anna's exclusive suite! Who else would be in there?"

"Are you expecting her to do her makeup in the public hallway? Move out of the way!"

The bodyguard did not say a single word. He just stood there like a brick wall, making his orders abundantly clear.

Ruby was shaking with rage and prepared to scream.

I didn't waste my breath. I reached out, shoved the man hard in the shoulder to unbalance him, and twisted the door handle open.

Inside, Daisy was sitting comfortably in my makeup chair. Standing right next to her, gently holding her shoulder, was Rahm. And applying her foundation was my personal, exclusive makeup artist.

I walked straight into the room.

"Who gave you permission to be in here?"

"Was stealing my couture dress not enough? Now you have to steal my artist and my room?"

Rahm scowled at me.

"Anna, can you drop the toxic attitude for one second?"

"Daisy is a rookie. She does not have a private suite assigned to her. What is the big deal about her borrowing yours for an hour?"

I ignored his pathetic excuse and looked down at the vanity counter. My premium, custom-ordered cosmetics were scattered everywhere, completely unsealed and used.

I pointed a shaking finger at the mess.

"Is this what you call borrowing?"

"For a high-stakes show like this, you let your artist rip open and contaminate all of my personal products. How am I supposed to use them now? Do you expect me to walk the runway barefaced?"

Whether it was a commercial shoot or a global runway, models required heavy, layered theatrical makeup.

After six grueling years in the industry, my skin barrier was dangerously sensitive.

Whenever I attended major events, my cosmetics were strictly sanitized and reserved only for my face. A single breakout or allergic reaction could destroy a campaign.

Rahm knew all of this.

The very first time I suffered a severe allergic reaction, he had held my swollen, red face in his hands, his eyes full of heartbreak.

He had sworn to me, "From now on, your suite and your products will be totally exclusive. I will never let this happen to you again."

Hearing my furious question, a brief flash of guilt crossed Rahm's eyes. But he quickly swallowed it down and masked it with arrogance.

"She used it once. It is not going to kill you. Your skin is not made of spun glass."

"Stop throwing a fit. Daisy is almost done. She will give you the chair in a minute."

I glanced at the glowing digital clock on the wall, then back at Daisy.

They were barely blending her eyeshadow. Her hair had not even been touched.

If I waited for her to finish, the show would be over before I even got dressed.

I refused to waste another second breathing the same air as Rahm. I unzipped my personal travel bag, pulled out my emergency backup cosmetics, and walked over to the secondary mirror in the corner. I sat down and began aggressively applying my own makeup.

I thought that would be the end of the morning drama. But suddenly, Daisy started crying softly.

"Rahm, did I make Anna mad again?"

"This is all my fault. I should have hired my own team so I wouldn't have to steal hers."

"But you know this is my very first time on a stage like this. I do not know how any of this works, and now she hates me."

Rahm immediately leaned down, wiping away her tears and whispering sweet, protective comforts into her ear.

The sound of their voices made my blood boil. I spun around in my chair.

"Borrow? I never agreed to lend you a damn thing. Taking without asking is called stealing."

"Whether you are truly clueless or doing this on purpose, you know the truth better than anyone, Daisy."

"If you want to cry, get out into the hallway and cry. Stop polluting my air and ruining my focus."

My words were razor-sharp. Rahm stepped forward, his fists clenched, ready to defend his precious childhood friend.

But Daisy grabbed his sleeve, looking up at him with wide, tear-filled, innocent eyes, slowly shaking her head.

I had a strikingly sharp, high-fashion face. It wasn't traditionally sweet.

Daisy, on the other hand, had pale, porcelain skin and soft, youthful features. She looked like a fragile doll.

Seeing her bite her lip in silent suffering, even a stranger would feel an urge to protect her.

"Let's go, Rahm. She is right, this is my fault. We shouldn't disturb her preparation anymore."

Rahm glared at me with absolute venom, but ultimately kept his mouth shut. He wrapped his arm around Daisy and escorted her and the makeup artist out the door.

Two hours later, the music started pounding. The show had begun.

As the reigning queen of the runway, I was meant to close the segment. I was wearing the heavy, breathtaking global debut piece that Celestia had designed exclusively for my proportions.

My spot in the lineup was the undeniable center.

I lifted the heavy silk train of my dress and stepped out into the blinding stage lights. But the very second my foot hit the polished glass runway, Daisy, who had been placed directly behind me, completely lost her footing.

She slammed violently into my back.

I was carrying a massive pair of mechanical wings and wearing six-inch stilettos.

My center of gravity vanished. I pitched forward, crashing brutally onto the crystal-clear runway.

My bare knees hit the solid glass with a sickening crack. The blinding pain paralyzed me, making it impossible to push myself up immediately.

At the exact same moment, the sharp heel of Daisy's shoe came down hard on my silk train, ripping a massive, jagged hole right up the center of the gown. The heavy wings detached and slammed down hard against the back of my head.

A collective gasp of absolute horror echoed through the VIP audience.

With the heavy metal frame pressing my head into the glass, I slowly, agonizingly looked up into the crowd.

I saw the disappointment, the shock, the pity in their eyes.

I knew the brutal reality. This single fall had shattered my reputation as a flawless supermodel.

It had also destroyed my golden ticket to signing with Celestia.

But the heavy bass of the runway music was still pounding through the speakers. My walk was not over.

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper, forcing my trembling body to stand. I grabbed the broken mechanical wings and tucked them fiercely under my left arm.

I looked down at the shredded, ruined silk of my gown. Without a second thought, I grabbed the torn fabric with my right hand and violently ripped the damaged train clean off.

I took a deep, steadying breath and plastered a lethal, breathtaking smile onto my face.

Clutching the broken wings to my side, flourishing the ripped silk in my hand, I locked my eyes onto the cameras and stomped down the rest of that runway perfectly on beat.

The moment I stepped past the backstage curtain, my adrenaline completely vanished.

My knees buckled. I collapsed onto the concrete floor, burying my face in my hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Daisy stood a few feet away, her hands clasped together, trembling like a frightened mouse.

"I am so sorry, Anna. I swear I didn't mean to do it. My ankle just gave out."

"You know this is my first time walking. I don't have the muscle memory..."

I didn't even have the breath in my lungs to scream at her. My mind was completely consumed by the agonizing realization that my entire career was dead.

Ruby dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around me. She glared up at Daisy with absolute hatred, cutting off her pathetic excuses.

"You know exactly what you did, Daisy!"

"Not on purpose? Does your fake apology fix the fact that you just destroyed her entire life?!"

Rahm immediately stepped out of the shadows, pulling the weeping Daisy into his chest, shielding her from our anger.

"Watch your mouth! Daisy already said she was sorry. What more do you want?"

"If you really want to assign blame, blame yourself. Daisy is a rookie. You are supposed to be the veteran supermodel."

"Your own balance and core strength failed you, and now you are trying to project your incompetence onto a terrified girl? Is this how you handle pressure?"

I forced myself to take three deep, shuddering breaths. The oxygen slowly cleared the red haze of pain from my mind.

I pushed myself off the floor.

I was completely done holding back. I raised my hand and delivered a vicious, echoing slap directly across Daisy's face.

Daisy shrieked in pain, but I did not give her a single second to play the victim.

"According to the director's lineup, you were not supposed to be walking behind me."

"You know exactly what you did, and you know exactly why you did it."

"Keep your pathetic, fragile little innocent act to yourself. It might work on a gullible idiot like Rahm, but it does absolutely nothing for me."

Rahm's eyes widened in fury. He shoved Daisy behind his back.

"Anna!"

"She already apologized! What gives you the right to put your hands on her?!"

I laughed, a cold, bitter sound, even as hot tears continued to stream down my face.

"What gives me the right? She just slaughtered six years of my blood, sweat, and tears."

"Is that a good enough reason for you?"

A brief shadow of pity finally crossed Rahm's eyes as he looked at my bleeding knees.

"Anna, calm down. I am here. I will not let your career die."

"I will have my PR team bury the videos and spin the narrative. You just need to..."

I did not want to hear another word. I raised my hand high into the air again.

This time, my palm connected violently with Rahm's jaw.

"Daisy is a snake, and you are absolute garbage."

"I made myself perfectly clear last night. We are done."

"For six years, I built my own name. I never relied on your money, and I sure as hell won't start now."

Without waiting for his reaction, I turned my back on both of them, pushing through the crowd of shocked stagehands and walking toward the exit.

Rahm's dark, threatening voice echoed through the concrete hallway behind me.

"I am giving you exactly one second to take back what you just said."

"If you drop to your knees and beg me right now, I might still save you."

I didn't even bother to turn around. I just stood in the hallway and laughed loudly, the sound bouncing off the walls.

When I finally caught my breath, my voice was raw but steady.

"You are not worthy of my apologies."

"I will never bow to you."

The consequences of rejecting the Denton heir were swift and brutal.

By nightfall, my name was dominating the top trending spots across every major social media platform.

Anna Runway Fall.

Anna Incompetence.

Those two phrases sat comfortably at number one and number two.

Clicking on the hashtags revealed thousands of high-definition clips of me crashing into the glass. Trolls had already edited the footage into humiliating compilations, looping my agonizing fall to comedic background music.

The comment sections were a bloodbath.

"Celestia is definitely going to drop her. She is a total embarrassment to our fashion industry."

"Right? Her PR team hyped her up for years as our nation's top model, and she can't even walk in a straight line. What a joke."

"If this is the standard for supermodels, I could walk the runway in my pajamas."

Thousands of comments ripped my professional abilities to shreds.

Simultaneously, my phone began ringing off the hook. Every single luxury brand I represented demanded immediate contract terminations.

In a single night, my endorsements, my commercials, and my billboards vanished.

I sat on my living room floor, staring blankly at the endless stream of hate. Ruby paced back and forth across the rug, practically hyperventilating with rage.

"This is a coordinated smear campaign! Look at the accounts, they are all paid bots!"

"Anna, he is trying to permanently bury you so you can never make a comeback."

I let out a tired, hollow laugh.

"My career is already in ruins. Does it really matter if he pays people to throw dirt on the ashes?"

"Go home, Ruby. Get some sleep. We have to go to the agency tomorrow morning to negotiate my termination."

Early the next morning, I walked through the glass doors of my modeling agency.

Standing right in the lobby, wearing oversized designer sunglasses, were Daisy and Rahm.

Rahm frowned the moment he saw me.

"Anna, what are you doing here?"

I actually smiled at the sheer audacity of his question.

"Do you really have the nerve to ask me that? Am I not here because of the hit job you ordered?"

I walked right past them, heading for the elevators.

As I brushed past his shoulder, Rahm reached out and clamped his hand around my wrist.

"I am willing to pretend yesterday never happened."

"As long as you lower your head and apologize, I will make all of this go away."

"You know the power I have. I am a Denton..."

I ripped my arm free and backhanded him across the face, cutting off his pathetic monologue.

"Clearly, I didn't hit you hard enough yesterday if you are still spewing this garbage in my presence."

"All day long, you hide behind your family name. Without the Denton wealth, what exactly do you have to offer?"

"If you leave your family, you are nothing but an empty suit. But I am different. If I leave you, I am still Anna."

I didn't spare them a second glance as I stepped into the elevator and let the doors slide shut.

My physical retaliation completely destroyed the last ounce of Rahm's patience.

That evening, the second wave of coordinated attacks hit the internet.

Every single brand that had just terminated my contract released synchronized public statements.

They proudly announced Daisy as their brand new global ambassador.

The promotional photos flooded the timelines. The comment sections were heavily manipulated, designed specifically to crush me while elevating her.

"Oh my god, this new girl is breathtaking. She has that perfect, sweet innocent look. A million times better than that aggressive, washed-up Anna."

"Agreed! I never understood the hype around Anna's 'high-fashion' face. She looks too mean. Daisy is beautiful."

"Watching a toxic model lose everything is the greatest karma ever. We love to see it."

Conspiracy theories began brewing, heavily guided by paid accounts.

"Was Anna actually a top model, or did she just sleep her way to the top to block rookies from getting a chance?"

"Exactly. The minute Anna gets canceled, this gorgeous new girl instantly gets booked. Anna has definitely been bullying the new talent behind the scenes."

"Isn't that just workplace abuse?"

And right on cue, a leaked video surfaced.

It was the footage of me slapping Daisy backstage.

The video had no audio. It had no context.

It was perfectly cropped to only show me raising my hand and striking the fragile, weeping rookie.

Instantly, a tidal wave of death threats and pure venom flooded my personal accounts. My name was dragged through the mud on every single platform.

In the midst of the chaos, a text message from Rahm lit up my phone screen.

"This is the absolute last chance I am giving you."

"Beg."