Chapter 42

MADISON'S POV It was steamy backstage; my skin was literally stuck with the heavy linen of my designer dress; my heartbeat pounded louder and seemed to echo some kind of crescendo filtering through the curtain. Cold moisture developed over my hands: I entwined them in such a firm grasp that the jitteriness didn't leave even in this hiding. I peered out through a slit in the curtain: faces of most of the city's mighty among chandeliers that glittered like diamonds. The flashes of cameras from the photographers lit up the place, flashing across like lightning amidst rain at random intervals. There was a hurricane in my rib cage. For sure, the people here weren't down for anything really close to fashion, but they had come for another reason-an out-of-the-world amazing one. And I needed to deliver it. Lying to the press about showcasing Miss K’s designs had been a desperate move, one I’d argued against until my voice gave out. But my father and brothers insisted it was the only way to sal