Way Back Into Love (Essie)

Chapter 97 Kick Me When I'm Down

Enemies are bound to meet in a narrow alley. Sunny alone was a hurdle to deal with. And now, with

Leila's arrival, things were bound to be harder. Essie was consumed by fear.

If Leila became an unfair judge, it could spoil Essie's life.

As expected, the points that Leila gave were very low, and she also pointed out a lot shortcomings.

Relentlessly, she accused Essie of not following the theme. She also said her work lacked creativity

and essence.

'What the hell!' Essie shouted in her mind. According to her, Leila was a petty person who had used

personal issues in the professional sphere. It was quite a low blow. On top of that, Zac could be

watching the show right now. 'Aren't you afraid that he will see the ugliness inside you?' she wondered.

The two judges who had been bought off by Sunny's family also took the chance to add insult to injury.

As ordered by Sunny, one gave her score five and the other gave her six.

Even the host was shocked by the result.

Even though Essie and Nicole received full points from Hanson, the other three judges' scores brought

them down to the last place.

In the spectator's stand, a man, unable to take this crap, stood up and shouted, "The judges are being

unfair to them!"

Upon hearing this, Nicole's fans, who were already angry, got the courage to speak up. They liked

Essie because she was with Nicole. Hence, Nicole's fans had slowly begun to become Essie's fans too.

When they saw that their idol was being treated unfairly, they couldn't help but stand up for her.

Together, they spoke against Leila and the two judges. They chanted they didn't deserve to be here at

the Beauty on Runway.

A moment ago, everything was fine. But things became chaotic now.

The men's team, which was supposed to perform the last show, had to come out to sing a song, hoping

to cool down the audience.

Siting in the middle of the audience, Zac stayed calm. Everything had gone as per his plans. 'Let the

contemptible scoundrels who wanted to ruin Essie's career watch their plans get backfired,' he thought

with some satisfaction. Instead of looking at this as an issue, Zac wanted to take advantage of it. This

uproar would bring Essie a lot of supporters. It would also raise her popularity.

Essie, Nicole and the other group were now in the PK.

Nicole was bereft of any worries. She knew she wouldn't be knocked out as she could tell that Hanson

cared a great deal about Essie. If she failed in the PK, he would use the resurrection right to save her.

However, she was still angry. They deserved to be the champion, but instead they had reached the PK!

Her frustration was getting out of control.

After that, Essie changed the dress. This one was hollow and had a cut in the front, giving it the shape

of waves.

When Nicole put on her new dress and walked out of the fitting room, all the guests burst into

applause.

The host gave the microphone to Nicole, whose eyes were brimming with hot tears. "I don't think it's

easy for my designer. The first dress which we worked on was damaged by an anonymous creature.

With the limited time, we started making a second one. It wasn't easy but we managed. As if to throw

salt to our wounds, another contestant poured hot coffee on our well-tailored cloth. My designer's hand

was scalded too. Yet she endured the pain and continued to work. I have never admired anyone the

way I admire her now. She is really talented, capable of turning wealth out of waste. Even if we can't

make it to the end because of some very jealous people, I don't care. This experience was wonderful

since I have formed a beautiful friendship."

In the audience, her fans shouted, "Nicole, I love you. Essie, I love you!"

Standing next to her, Essie was touched by her words. Whether Nicole meant it or said it for the sake of

formality, Essie didn't care. Her words were quite touching. When she took over the microphone, she

praised Nicole repeatedly. Indeed, it was fun working with her.

Before the final knocks, Jacob stood up and announced, "The former dress was perfect. I think they are

the champion today." He spoke in English but it was quickly translated. "Now that it has been changed,

I feel a bit weird. If someone thinks it wasn't beautiful, I think something must be completely wrong with

their aesthetic sense. I would go as far as saying that such a person isn't suitable for the fashion

industry."

That was a positive response, lifting Essie's spirit. It also went like a sharp stab to Sunny whose efforts

to destroy Essie weren't working. As the top-ranking designer in the design world, Jacob was the god

and his comments were like imperial edict.

The audience burst into a warm applause. A lot of fans howled with excitement.

"Miss Essie," he continued, "you have applied for Istituto Marangoni, haven't you?"

Essie was shocked and replied in English, "How do you know?"

"Because I was your interviewer and your work left a very deep impression on me. I recognized you as Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.

soon as you set your foot in the studio." His words began to bring some memory back to Essie's head.

When she was in Milan for the interview, she was extremely nervous and didn't dare to pay much

attention to the interviewers. The last thing she wanted was to seem like an impolite girl. As a result,

she forgot she kept her gaze on the table for the most part.

"Professor Jacob, I'm glad to meet you again!" she said with a confidence she hadn't shown earlier.

"I'm glad to see you again, Miss Essie. Among the students I have interviewed, only two of them were

extremely talented. You both left me stunned. The first one was you and the second was Hanson, who

is sitting beside me right now. You got the first place among all the students who had been enrolled that

year. Without any second thoughts, the school approved of your application for full scholarship. But to

our utter surprise and disappointment, you rejected our invitation. May I please know the reason behind

your unwillingness to come?"

Hearing that, the corners of Essie's mouth twitched a little. At this moment, she could not help but

glance at Hanson.

As soon as her eyes met his, their hearts surged, like a hurricane had happened.

This was a secret he hadn't known.

What he heard hit him hard. The year she graduated, he had just returned from Milan. 'Did she give it

all up for me?' he wondered. She had given up her best career for him. But what had he given her in

return? He made her life miserable!

Of course, Zac followed her eyes and her thoughts. His black eyes were as deep and dark as an ice

pool, terribly gloomy and dreadful. It turned out that in her heart, Hanson was much more important

than her future. And he had no space in her heart.

'Is that dude really worth her affection?' Zac couldn't help but wonder.

"Professor Jacob," she said, "Istituto Marangoni is on top of the design circles, the holy hall that every

designer dreams of. I have wished to go to this noble school to study. But some personal issue came in

between, and I couldn't join. But I will not give up since I wish to apply again. I hope you will permit me

to do that."

Jacob nodded with a smile. "I'll be waiting for you in Istituto Marangoni."

This conversation made Essie rise from a nobody to a dark horse in the design circle.

As the main judge, Hanson said, "Thank you, Professor Jacob. He is my mentor, the man I respect and

admire the most. I'm so glad to see him here today." Soon, he moved forward and hugged Jacob. "I

hope the rating will be fair this time. Don't be affected by personal feelings and external factors,"

Hanson added, as an afterthought, looking at the other judges.

Leila and two others who had to give her an awful score on Sunny's request were extremely

embarrassed. In order to save face and reputation, they were compelled to give 9. 'Wow!' Essie

thought.

Finally, the two girls managed to enter the third round.

After leaving the TV station, Nicole proposed to have an afternoon tea together.

When Essie walked into the box in the tea hall, she saw Hanson.

"I think you should talk to him." Nicole smiled and went out of the room. It turned out that drinking tea

was an excuse as she wanted to arrange a meeting between Essie and Hanson.

As soon as the door was closed, Hanson rushed to her and hugged her. His grasp over her body was

strong. Emotions flowed from his body to hers.

"I... I'm sorry. I let you down. I'm sorry... " he uttered as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Hanson." Essie broke free from his grip and stepped backwards to keep a distance between them.

"Let bygones be bygones. You never asked me for anything, I did it on my own accord," she said lightly,

as if she hadn't done something big.

A pain surged through his heart. He couldn't let her shrug it all off like it was nothing. "My mother had a

heart attack and was in dire need of a surgery. She didn't want me to be with you. I had no other choice

but to oblige. I was hoping to wait until she recovered so that I could explain things to you."

Essie trembled again. She knew he was forced by his mother, and she couldn't forget how the old

woman had insulted her. In the past, her mother's mother-in-law had been extremely hard on her

mother. She picked on her, humiliated her, and finally kicked her out. Thinking about her mother's

experience, Essie was quite worried the tragedy would be repeated if she married Hanson.

"If she can't accept me, why do you have to force her?" Essie demanded. A girlfriend or wife could be

easily replaced, but nobody could take a mother's place. Between his mother and her, he would always

choose his mother, just like her father had done back then.

"She will. She is just worried that my position will suffer. If I prove to her that I can become the

president of Bella without Sunny's family's support, she will be fine. And then, there will be no objection

against our relationship from my mother." Hanson walked forward and wanted to hold her hand, but

she shrank back. His words hadn't convinced her. "What if she still won't accept me?"

"I will marry you then. I have set my mind to it. Her rejection won't change my mind." It seemed that he

was making a vow, but she didn't feel any comfort in her heart. If anything, his determination worried

her. In the past, her father had married her mother in spite of his mother's objection, thinking that

sooner or later she would accept. However, that old lady was stubborn and wouldn't change her mind.

She did everything possible to create troubles for the pair.

From what she knew, Florey couldn't be less cruel than her grandmother. And she didn't have the

energy to live a life that was full of obstacles.

"Hanson, I am very happy and satisfied with the time I had spent with you. There is no need to go

forward, especially when we know how hard it is going to be. Let's call it an end. We have some

beautiful memories to live by."

"No, I don't want our relationship to end like this," he said, shaking his head. He couldn't let her give up

on them. He rushed to her and held her tightly again. No matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't stay

still. Holding her was akin to holding onto a handful of sand, it slipped away from his fingers.

"Give me one more chance. Essie, I promise no matter what happens, I will not break up with you. I am

here to give you happiness, not to hurt you." His voice was trembling. He was on the verge of begging.

In her heart, there were only ashes left since her heart had been burnt out. "Hanson, I've loved you for

five years. I'm really tired. I don't want to be your prisoner anymore."

"I am not here to make you a prisoner. I want you here so I can shower you with my love." He buried

his head in her hair and breathed in her fragrance. She turned her head away, trying to maintain a

distance. "Do you really love me?"

"Yes. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you at school," he confessed for the first time.

His confession filled her with astonishment and amazement. Even though she wanted to believe, she

couldn't believe him. "Then why haven't you confessed in the past five years?" she demanded, unable

to hide her shock.