The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 32

Sloane's face was ashen as she threw her pen onto the table.

"Elegance and rebellion are fundamentally contradictory concepts."

Sloane gritted her teeth, her tone dripping with frustration. "They want classic warmth, but they also want an aggressive visual impact. We've exhausted every combination of rubies and crushed diamonds, pushed the micro-setting techniques to the absolute limit, and they still call it a standard commodity instead of art."

Joe immediately chimed in. "The client doesn't even know what they want. How are we supposed to ground such an abstract concept?"

Complaints filled the conference room. Everyone felt it was an impossible task.

Nora sat at the far end of the long table. She kept her head down, staring at the project brief for 'The Dawn.'

Elegance and rebellion. Warmth and aggression. The words collided continuously in her mind.

She thought of her past three years, placed in the Hayes family's display case like a delicate piece of porcelain. To cater to their aesthetics, she had smoothed over all her edges, only to end up completely shattered.

Nora looked up, meeting Professor Lawrence's gaze.

"Professor Lawrence, I'd like to try." Nora's voice cut through the noise in the room.

All eyes instantly snapped to her. Joe froze for a second before bursting into an exaggerated laugh.

"Nora, you can't be serious."

Joe's face twisted in contempt. "Sloane led us through three sleepless nights and we still got rejected. You haven't touched haute couture in three years, and you say you want to try? The deadline is eight tomorrow morning. What exactly are you going to try with?"

Sloane frowned, eyeing Nora with intense scrutiny and distrust.

"This isn't the time to play around."

Sloane warned coldly, "If the draft we submit is trash, it humiliates the entire studio."

Only Nora's desk was still illuminated. Janie Fisher walked over with two cups of black coffee, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw the sketch on Nora's desk. She covered her mouth in shock.

"Nora, this..."

Janie's eyes were wide, deeply shaken by the intense tension radiating from the design. "This is incredibly powerful."

Nora set her pen down, rubbing her aching wrist before taking a large sip of the coffee.

"Janie, do me a favor."

Nora handed the finished three-view sketches to her. "I can't render fast enough. Can you build the 3D model for this structure? I need to refine the lighting details."

"You got it!"