Azalea's POV
"What…why?" My voice came out heavy with emotions.
I was a few seconds away from bursting into tears. Again, another effect of the pregnancy hormones.
"You are infected with those freakish things that destroy a woman's shape and beauty. You are shapeless. You are the most ugly thing I've ever seen. You have zero fashion sense so I wonder how the hell you will be dressing a high class one of a kind model like me." She paused for a moment to catch her breath.
"And lastly, the only difference between you and a homeless beggar is that you are the first to stand in front of an award winning beautiful model like me." She finished, fanning herself like she was on fire.
My world felt like it had crumbled as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Ciara Cowell's interaction with me.
"You can't fire me, you didn't hire me."
My whole body began to shake under the intense stare of the other employees and Ciara Cowell.
I have always hated attention. Whenever people stared at me, it felt like they were assessing me to discover all my flaws and imperfections.
Sweats broke out on my forehead, my whole body feeling weak. My knees buckled beneath me, the voices of everyone around me fading into nothingness.
Everything became meaningless as my chest felt heavy and congested, my stomach rumbling as anxiety like never before plagued my whole body.
My head suddenly felt like the company's building together with everything and everyone in it had been placed on my head. My head felt like it was carrying a burden that was way too much for even the universe itself to carry.
My legs felt weak and it buckled underneath me, giving out until I pathetically collapsed on the ground.
All eyes were on me and my heart couldn't take it. It felt weak, failing and I felt like the biggest failure in the world.
Like a black hole that sucked you into the darkest part of your mind, regret for my pregnancy and the situation that brought about my condition suddenly barged into my mind, destroying my logical thoughts and actions.
Events that happened yesterday replay like an old record in my mind. Actions and words that were spoken to me and destroyed my life followed suit, reminding me of things I have accepted myself to be a long time ago.
Pathetic. Worthless. A mistake. An abomination. A curse to my parents. The universe's punishment to my parents. Useless. Ugly. An amoeba. Someone unpleasant to behold.
Things I grew up being called by my parents. Things I grew up being teased about by my sister and her friends. Things my cousins and extended family members called me, at one point or the other, as their accusative fingers pointed at me, laughing at my helpless predicament.
Things I thought I had escaped from when I left my parents house and cut my sister off. Things I thought were officially over when my parents sent me out of their house for being pregnant, silently ordering me with their eyes to never step foot there again.
I really thought I had gotten my emotions in check. I really thought I had buried my greatest insecurities to the deepest and darkest part of my heart. But all it took was one word from Ciara Cowell for everything to burst out.
I wasn't sure it came from me, but I heard a scream but it felt too far away to be mine.
I was having a panic attack in a room full of strangers and the wicked witch of the fashion industry on my first day at work. Talk about a grand first impression.
"Miss! Miss! Miss! Miss, you need to calm down." A voice begged, pulling me into their body and rocking me back and forth.
"Miss, come back here. Come back to us." The voice pleaded again, running their soft soothing hands through my face.
"Somebody, get water. She's having a panic attack. Oh shit! I hope the baby is fine. The way she slumped must have affected the child."
I felt myself being moved from one hand to another. "Miss. Miss. Can you hear me? If you can, I need you to follow my instructions. I need you to look at my fingers. How many fingers am I holding up?"
I tried to focus. I tried to fight the darkness that had drowned me. I tried to bring myself out of the dangerous train of thoughts that had invaded me but it is as hard as trying to fold your hands at your back.
But the thought of my baby being in danger pushed me into trying to come back to reality.
I blinked several times, trying to get my blurry and unfocused eyes in check.
"Focus miss. Please, focus." I knew it was a man addressing me and that was an improvement on my side.
I was coming back, slowly but surely.
"Don't pour water on her, it might send her into shock. This is all your fault! Every employee we get here ends up either dead, in a psychiatric hospital, or traumatized so much that they visit a therapist for years just because of you. You are really ruining the image of my company. One last strike and you are gone for good, model of the year or not." The voice said as he continued stroking my face softly.
"What the hell is going on?" I mumbled, finally coming out of my panicked state.
"Miss! Can you see my hand? How many fingers am I holding up?"
Squinting my eyes, I focused on the hand in front of me, shaking my head. "Four fingers. You're holding up four fingers."
"Good. I need you to look around. List five things you can see."
I looked around me, screwing my face up as I felt a wave of nausea. Swallowing the feelin, I looked around the room. "I see clothes. Shoes. Makeup. Chair. Tables. Mrs Drywoods, Ciara Cowell and you."
"Good. Bring water." He said to someone.
I was given water from a glass cup and I gulped it down greedily. "Thank you." I wiped the remaining water off my lips.
The man clad in a blue suit helps me up, offering me a reassuring smile. "How do you feel now?"
"I feel better." I whispered, looking at anywhere but his eyes, embarrassed to the core. I couldn't believe all the drama that had happened in just a few hours, first it was the receptionist, then Ciara and now I collapsed in front of everyone!
"I am Noah Hale. I rushed here as soon as I was told what happened. I am here to assure you that you are not fired. No one has the authority to fire you in this company except me and Mrs Drywoods." He explained. All I did was nod my head as he spoke.
"I suggest you go to the hospital to make sure your baby is fine. That was a nasty fall you had there."
I shaked my head, raising my head to see the hunk Lara kept yapping about.
My words got stuck in my throat the moment my gaze met his. If it were possible for a person to be knocked out from another person's good looks, I would have been long gone by now.
Saying Noah Hale is as hot as hell would be the greatest understatement of the century.
He was ice cream on a hot summer day when the angry eye of the sun almost drained all the liquids in your body. And we all know how fast you lick every drop of ice cream on a hot summer day.
Lara didn't do justice to his god-like looks when she talked about him.
"Miss, are you sure you're fine?"
"No. Yes. No. I mean yes. I'm perfectly fine. There wouldn't be any need to go to the hospital. My baby is fine. I didn't fall on my stomach." I mentally facepalmed for letting a handsome man almost make me tongue-tied.
He took my right hand gently, leading me out of the room. "I insist. Just to make sure."
Ciara Cowell jumped to his front, stretching her hands to the side to stop his movements. "She said she's fine. The lady just wants attention."
"Ciara, please, behave yourself. You have been a nuisance. If she quits, then you're gone too."
Snatching my hands out of his hold, I moved away from him. "I am fine…seriously. There's no need for me to go to the hospital."
"See, I told you she is an attention seeking whore." Ciara said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
Noah pointed a threatening finger at Ciara. "Do not address any of my employees like that." He turned to the rest of us. "In that case, I want everyone back to work. No more mishaps."
The moment Noah Hale left, Ciara walked over to me, her angry gaze staring me down. She looked at me like I was the trashiest human on earth. "I can see you were trying to flirt with my man. Noah Hale is mine. Stay away from him or watch me destroy your pathetic little meaningless life."