When Love Turns to Ash Novel – Chapter 19
My first solo fashion show in Milan. Years after Florence.
The culmination of everything. My brand, “SAVVY,” was known for its edgy, emotional aesthetic.
The final collection was titled “Rinascita” – Rebirth.
Silhouettes that hinted at brokenness, then soared with defiant strength. Fabrics that seemed to mend themselves with threads of gold.
Backstage, Mateo squeezed my hand. “You’ve got this, amore.”
His belief in me was my bedrock.
The final piece: a wedding dress.
Not traditional white, but a deep, stormy grey, shot through with intricate kintsugi-inspired embroidery in gold and silver thread.
It symbolized everything: the pain, the healing, the transformation. My complete rebirth.
“You’ve come so far, Savannah,” Mateo whispered, his eyes shining with pride and love. “You deserve all of this. A new start.”
The show ended. Thunderous applause.
I walked the runway, a genuine smile on my face, the warmth of the lights like a benediction.
For a fleeting second, I thought I saw a familiar face in the shadowy depths of the audience.
Jax. Older, haunted.
But then he was gone, or maybe he was never there. A figment of a past I’d long since laid to rest.
It didn’t matter.
The kintsugi tattoo on my collarbone felt warm against my skin. A reminder of my journey, my strength.
At the after-party, champagne flowed, congratulations buzzed in the air.
Mateo found me by a window overlooking the Milanese skyline.
“From frammenti to rinascita,” I murmured, thinking of my first award-winning collection, the fragments of my heart, and now, this rebirth.
“Pain can be a powerful catalyst,” Mateo said, his arm around my waist. “It can break you, or it can forge you into something stronger, more beautiful.”
He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket.
Inside, not a ring, but a single, perfectly preserved butterfly wing, its delicate patterns traced with the finest gold.
“A new project,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “A collaboration. For life.”
He didn’t need to ask the question.
I leaned into him, my heart full.
“Yes.”
He embraced me, his hold strong, secure.
My future.
Our future.