Chapter 4 - The Sketchbook in the DustDuring Marigold’s forced day of rest, Rowan decided to personally inspect the rear storage area to reorganize the luxury stock shelves. The backroom was a vast space filled with floor-to-ceiling wooden racks containing centuries-old leather samples, imported silks, and archived footwear collections from his late grandfather’s era.
While moving a stack of empty storage crates near the corner where Nova had been kept the day before, Rowan noticed something tucked beneath a low wooden bench. It was a weathered leather-bound sketchbook with frayed edges, its pages worn soft from years of handling.
Expecting to find a child’s crayon doodles, Rowan opened the cover.
He stopped breathing.
The pages did not contain rough scribbles. They contained breathtaking, master-level fashion illustrations. Drawn in precise charcoal and delicate watercolor were revolutionary footwear designs—shoes that combined classic Italian craftsmanship with daring, modern architectural lines. Each design featured intricate hand-carved heels, hidden ergonomic support structures, and artistic leather weaves that Rowan had never seen anywhere in the industry.
Tucked into the back of the book were detailed technical blueprints, material specifications, and structural weight calculations signed in elegant cursive: Marigold Ellis.
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Rowan sat down on an wooden supply box, turning page after page in absolute astonishment. As the owner of an elite footwear brand, he had reviewed portfolios from top designers in London, Paris, and Tokyo. None possessed the genius, emotional warmth, and structural brilliance displayed in this dusty, forgotten book.
He realized then that the woman he had treated as a replaceable sales associate was, in truth, a master artisan hiding her light in the shadows of his stockroom.
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