Unlike Kjell. But you do, he said to me yesterday when I opened up to him and shared my deepest desire. The longing to shine.
It would be great to be as honest with Kahlo as I was with Kjell yesterday. But if I show weakness in front of him, he'll use it against me.
"Are we going to get anywhere today?"
I catch Kahlo's exasperated gaze. "We need to put the past behind us," I say firmly, as my plan dictates. I forbid my fingers from nervously fidgeting together and strive to control my body language as Father taught me.
The chief designer's response is a disdainful grunt.
"This is not about you or me. Feelings have no place here." I wait anxiously to see if he'll interrupt me. He doesn't. Is that good or bad? "Let's start fresh." I extend my hand to him. "ForTouch av lyx. We would both do anything for this label. That's the truth, isn't it?"
Now he raises an eyebrow. "ForTouch av lyx?" he asks in such a menacing tone that my stomach churns. "You couldn't care less about the company."
"What? No!" That was too emotional, dammit.
Before I can deny it more calmly, Kahlo slams his item onto the table. It's theAftonbladeti, Sweden's largest gossip newspaper.
"And how do you explain this, then?" He heatedly points his finger at the front page.
Is that me in the picture?
I pull the newspaper toward me and unfold it to see the entire front page.
Oh crap.
That's really me! Ice-skating with Kjell.
"How...? Why...?" I stammer, unable to form a complete sentence. I feel my control slipping away.
Kahlo's mocking laughter makes the situation even worse. "Gustav will have a heart attack when he wakes up."
That's true. Father's disappointment will be boundless. He'll see this article and think I've broken my promise.
And in a way, I have.
After all these years of being away, I felt safe. Only in the hospital did I make sure not to be recognized. Even in Stockholm, I could never have moved around freely.
I want to read the article, but the letters blur in front of my eyes. I can only make out the headline.
Skady Blohm—the missing daughter is back!
This can't be true.
"I won't say it again, Sky. You have no business being here. Go back to wherever you've been for the past six years," he says witha dangerous undertone. "We don't need you here, as the events in Milan clearly showed."
"But Stig asked me to help," I reply because I can't give up so easily.
"Stig's opinion doesn't matter anymore." He snorts with contempt. Then he takes the newspaper from my hand and holds the cover so close to my face that I can see every detail. "Take a closer look. What do you see?"
I press my lips together. Even if the photo's resolution were worse, the situation would still be all too clear. "It's not what it looks like."
Kjell is nobody. He means nothing to me. If anything, he's an acquaintance. I have this under control! Does Kahlo really think I'd ever be as foolish as I was back then?
"Oh no? So you're not gazing at this guy like he's a superstar with a completely ridiculous expression on your face?" He pretends to reexamine the picture, then looks at me with feigned sympathy. "Poor little Sky," he says with mock pity. "Poor little silly Sky."
Oh God, why is he doing this? Why is he digging his finger so deep into my wound?
Suddenly, it becomes clear to me what this means.
