The memory of that day in the park felt like a movie playing in slow motion.
Isabella sat on an old wooden bench in Prospect Park. Her fingers were stained gray from her charcoal pencil. The wind was sharp and cold, but she didn't even feel it. She was too busy drawing a coat. It had a high, strong collar that looked like a bird's wing. It was the kind of design that screamed for attention.
"That line," a voice said, startling her. "The way it gets thin at the waist. It's not just pretty. It's smart."
Isabella looked up. A man stood there in a navy coat that looked like it cost more than six months of her rent. He didn't look like a park person; he looked like he owned the giant buildings across the street.
"It's meant to be strong," Isabella said. her heart started to beat fast.
The man didn't walk away. He stayed and looked at her sketches with a quiet, serious face. He introduced himself as Daniel Reed. He told her he was an investor—someone who looked for "the next big thing" before anyone else knew about it. He praised her work and said she had a real future.
Isabella felt a warm blush creep down her cheeks. After Daniel left, Isabella didn't walk home—elle ran. She burst into her apartment and called Victoria. "Come over right now! Something huge just happened!"
Victoria came running, worried that something was wrong. But when Isabella showed her the business card and explained what happened, Victoria's eyes grew wide. She didn't just see a name; she saw a way to escape being poor.
"This is it, Bella. This is the one," Victoria said, her voice shaking with excitement. Isabella jumped up for joy. They hugged, screaming and laughing about their big break.
Isabella and Victoria spent the few weeks together by getting ready for the pitch with Daniel, they had worked in their tiny kitchen, drinking cup after cup of cheap coffee.
"We need a name," Victoria said one night. "Something that sounds expensive."
"Bel V," they both said at the exact same time. They laughed, shocked that they were thinking the same thing. "Bel for Isabella. V for Victoria. Beautiful Victory. It sounds like a brand people will kill to wear."
A few days later, they went to Daniel's office. It felt like a glass cage hanging over the city. Isabella sat on the edge of her seat, hiding her shaking hands under her legs. Victoria did all the talking. She spoke about "changing the fashion world" and "building a legacy."
Daniel didn't even look at the math papers Victoria had made. He only looked at Isabella's sketches.
"I'm in," he said. And just like that, their lives changed.
To celebrate, they went to a club to drink and dance. While they were there, they met an aspiring designer named Ellie. She was stylish but had a mean look in her eyes, Isabella didn't like. They talked for a bit, but Isabella was too happy to notice that Victoria was already watching the crowd, wondering if people noticed her too.
Six months later, the lights at their first fashion show were so hot they felt like they were peeling the skin off Isabella's face.
Isabella and Victoria had worked so hard. Isabella had spent every night sewing, making sure every stitch was perfect. The "Aggressive Coat" walked the runway first, followed by a beautiful, tight tailored dress.
The room was so quiet you could hear the fabric move. Then came the gasps of surprise. Then the camera flashes. It was a total success.
When the show ended, the audience stood up and cheered. It was a roar of love. Isabella was pulled onto the stage, her heart racing. The photographers crowded around her.
"Isabella! Over here!"
"Isabella, look at the camera!"
They ignored Victoria. Victoria stood just three feet behind her, wearing the same clothes and sharing the same dream, but the cameras acted like she was invisible. To them, Victoria was just the manager. The shadow in the background.
Only Isabella turned back. "Victoria! Come here!" she shouted, reaching for her friend's hand. Victoria smiled for the cameras—a fake, professional mask—but her hand felt cold when Isabella grabbed it.
Later that night, the party moved to a dark club with bright neon lights. Isabella was stuck in a corner with a famous fashion editor who was calling her a "genius."
Victoria stood at the bar alone, holding a drink she didn't want.
"Tough night for the help?" a voice said.
Victoria turned to see Ellie. She was the designer they had met before. She was mean and knew exactly how to make people feel bad.
"We had a great show, Ellie," Victoria said, her voice tight.
"For Isabella, maybe," Ellie said with a mean smile. "Did you see the news? 'Isabella Laurent's Bel V.' They are already forgetting your name, Vic. If you're not careful, she will realize she doesn't need a friend from the old neighborhood. She'll hire a real boss, and you'll be back to sewing buttons for a living."
"She wouldn't do that," Victoria whispered.
"Wouldn't she? Everyone wants to be the queen. No one wants to share the throne." Ellie tapped her shoulder and walked away, leaving her words to sink in like poison.
Victoria looked across the room at Isabella. Her best friend was laughing, her face glowing. People were touching her arm like she was a star.
The jealousy didn't hit Victoria all at once. It was a slow, sickening feeling. She looked at her own hands. She couldn't draw like Isabella. She couldn't create. She was just the girl who paid the bills.
I can't do it alone, a voice whispered in her head.
But then, a dark thought followed. So I'll buy it.
She thought of all the starving, smart students who didn't have an investor. The ones who could draw better than Isabella but were just unlucky.
I can hire them. I can pay them for their designs and put my name on them. I'll build my own 'genius.' I'll be the one they look at. I won't just be the girl in the background.
"I can do it," Victoria muttered, her grip tightening on her glass until her knuckles turned white.
The voices in her head wouldn't stop. Hire them. Pay them. Take the credit. Be the star.
Victoria looked back at Isabella, and for the first time, she didn't see a sister. She saw a rival. The birth of Bel V was a success, but for Victoria, it was the start of a war.