It had been a bit more than a month since the release of Cyrielle’s album, but its popurity was far from declining. It had reached a 12th pce on the World Music Charts Europe, and the title song ‘To my weak self’ was now ranked 5th on the french charts. Even though the famous singer Ma?lys Christophe had released an album the same month, Cyrielle’s song had already surpassed most of his music in the rankings. It was unprecedented for a first album. Of course, the people who made it possible were the horseboys.

  -I’m listening to the album on repeat on both my phone and my ptop ! We can do it guys, aim for n°1 !!!!!!

  ?o7

  ?o7

  -Just bought 3 more albums and gifted them to friends again. With my family, it makes 12 people in total. And you want to know the best thing ? They all became fans of our angel after listening to it !

  ?Of course, who wouldn’t ? Our angel’s voice comes straight from Heaven !!!!!

  ?I recently became a horseboy after someone gifted me the CD, can rete !

  -Day 28 of sending emails to radio stations to broadcast Mademoiselle Cyrielle’s songs. For now, I’ve only had 2 successes, but I won’t give up !

  ?Italy is having it so hard for no reason istg…

  ?Doing the same in Norway, it’s not working great

  Their strategies were so powerful that it was safe to say all of France had heard ‘To my weak self’ once, and a third came across other songs from the album. It was a bit different in other european countries, but Mademoiselle Cyrielle was still mentioned on TV a few times, and her foreign fans made it their mission to help her gain more recognition. One thing, however, helped them in an unexpected way.

  After being aired for almost a month, the cosmetic ad was very successful in France, helping the brand achieve record sales, even more so after Mademoiselle Cyrielle had posted a photo of her bathroom on Instantgram, with their products visible near the sink. Seeing this popurity, they decided to dub the advertisement in different nguages, and broadcast it in all the european countries they had a store in. It was an instant hit. The trending searches on the Internet had included the brand’s name and Mademoiselle Cyrielle for a whole week.

  Another fact proving her popurity, was the number of people registering to a horse club. The activity had been losing popurity for the st ten years, since horse riding had fallen out of fashion. However, after the viral video of Cyrielle and Coline at the stable, their Versailles photoshoot, and the recent Instantgram post that Cyrielle had made during their forest outing, horses had become fashionable again. Hordes of people had registered to horse clubs, and stables were the pce to be, pictures of people in riding clothes or on a horse were becoming the new Instantgram trend.

  A recent interview had also gathered intention, it was Coline announcing her change in agency, and that she was coming to Angel-Minet. Now, she and Cyrielle were seen together so often that their two fandoms had decided to join forces. After all, if Cyrielle was doing great, Angel-Minet would thrive, which would help Coline in her career. The contrary was also true, so the horseboys didn’t mind applying their well crafted strategies to Coline’s activities. Besides, some of them had some theories of their own.

  -our angel and coline are so close ngl I ship them

  ?I don’t think they are a couple, it’s seems more likely that they became friends after the cover shoot

  -Everybody is free to have their own headcanons, but mine will always be : they are secretly sisters and didn’t know about each other, but they reunited on the day of the photoshoot

  ?+1

  ?love the drama

  -I have another theory. You know how there is a rumor that Mademoiselle Cyrielle was already part of the entertainment industry, because it makes no sense that someone this talented would go unnoticed ? I’m sure they knew each other from before

  Fantasizing was a fan’s right, and Julie let them be, sometimes reading some funny comments to Cyrielle and Coline. The blonde model always ughed, and the other simply shrugged at the nonsense.

  A few days passed, and soon it was the 15th of August, the Assumption, a holiday which allowed all of the selected models to be present. It was the day of the fitting for the collection’s runway. Angel-Minet had paid for the hotel and the travel of all those who needed it, even for the second choices who weren’t guaranteed to even be called to the building.

  They had rented a fitting room for the occasion, and Cyrielle was hard at work, making the models try on the outfits, and adjusting them if necessary. During this time, the waiting room was abuzz.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to see our angel in real life !”

  “Angel ? You are a horseboy too ?”

  “Yes ! Oh my gosh, I’m so happy to be with someone from the fan group !”

  “I was listening to her album on the way here, I can’t believe someone can be talented both at singing and designing ! Is she even real ?”

  “Of course not, she is a goddess !”

  While most were excited, one woman was frowning. It was a red haired model, famous in the industry for her voluminous curves. She had applied to participate in the runway, but the idea of getting dressed by a new designer with no accomplishment to their name felt humiliating.

  ‘I don’t like her. I’m sure she is acting all high and mighty because she has such fans kissing her ass. I hate it.’

  The woman simply couldn’t bear to appear on a runway alongside civilians, and not even as the ending model ! It was infuriating. Deciding she couldn’t take anymore humiliation, she walked in the room when called, resolute to put that designer back in her pce. But her determination wavered when she actually saw Cyrielle.

  She was wearing a puffy white shirt with a ce jabot, tucked into high waisted bck bell bottom pants. Her long wavy brown hair was loosely maintained in a chignon with a pen, and she had a round magnifying gss attached with a chain, as if it was a watch, to her shirt’s pocket. She looked a bit strict and severe, but her moles gave her a more sophisticated and elegant air, amplified by her soft and graceful makeup. If someone told the red haired woman that Cyrielle was the model and not the designer, she would have believed them. She was that beautiful.

  But the arrogant woman soon regained her senses. She had a mission.

  “You are Margot, right ? Model for outfit 9. Nice to meet you, I’m Mademoiselle Cyrielle.”

  ‘She doesn’t even call me by my family name ? Does she think we have raised the pigs together ? Her ck of professionalism is astonishing !’

  The woman didn’t reply, showing her intention to not let Cyrielle have her way. The designer stayed silent, and brought the outfit. It was a poofy skirt with a soft corseted top, paired with a half shirt that would flow on the shoulders while allowing a bit of the waist to be seen. It was absolutely splendid. But apparently, not for the model.

  “What ?! Do I have to wear this thing ? I’m known for my perfect body, but that won’t show it at all ! How can you hire me and not even use my greatest asset ? A designer is supposed to create clothes that will make the person who wears them beautiful, and those clothes won’t do it. You’re just terrible at this, that’s why you should stick to singing !”

  In reality, the outfit was breathtaking, and the woman could see it. She knew that she would look incredibly good in it, but she needed to criticize it to establish her dominance. She had been in the fashion industry for many years, and she knew her value. She was a star, and designers would fight to hire her. But the woman never thought that she would be walking the catwalk with a bunch of nobodies, and she needed to show that she was clearly different and had more value than them. She waited for Cyrielle’s reaction, who would surely apologize for her fashion sense, and start negotiating with her. But it didn’t happen the way the woman had envisioned.

  “I get that you don’t want to model this outfit. You can get out, then.”

  “Wait, what ?”

  She stood on the spot, her mouth agape. Surely she must have misheard. But Cyrielle gave her no time to process. She turned to Julie.

  “Call the second choice. I have enough time to tailor the outfit again, the runway is in two weeks.”

  Her manager nodded and took out her phone. Seeing that the model wasn’t getting out of the room, she gestured to Hugo, the tall road manager, to guide her to the entrance.

  “No, wait, you can’t do this to me ! Do you even know who I am ?”

  Cyrielle tilted her head.

  “What I know is that you came to the fitting for my collection and insulted me, saying I was a bad designer. I don’t see any reason for letting you wear my outfit. In my eyes, you ck professionalism.”

  “Ha ! I ck professionalism ? You are making a big mistake !”

  Hugo finally succeeded in getting the woman out, and Julie ended her call with an anxious look.

  “Honestly, I support you 100%, she was being so rude ! But will you be okay ? She has a lot of connections with the press.”

  Cyrielle waved her hand as if it was no big deal. Maybe it was because of ‘nerves of steel’, or she simply had changed, but she didn’t feel nervous at all.

  “She can try what she wants, it was written in the contract that the fitting might be filmed.”

  She pointed to the camera, positioned in a corner to capture the entire room. The model didn’t pay attention to it because she was focused on fighting with Cyrielle, but it had captured the whole scene.

  “I don’t know how she expects to get out of that one. Well, I won’t do anything if she doesn’t start it. But I’m curious about what will happen if this footage is released.”

  Julie nodded, with a determined look. If someone didn’t treat her friend with the respect she deserved, she would use anything to tear them down.