---- Chapter 8 In the studio, I carefully sketched out the last line of the drawing before looking up to see Leo leaning against the doorframe. He was gazing at me and had two cups of coffee in his hand. The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled and commented, "The wing pattern of the bird in the final draft of the 'Rebirth' series has one more crack in it compared to the initial draft." The wings of the flying bird depicted in the drawing were extremely lifelike. It was beating its wings and trying to break free of its shackles, just like how I felt back when I sketched the initial draft. l accepted a cup of coffee from Leo and tooka small sip. "The cracks in its wings are the price it has to pay to be free. Once it soars into the skies once more, those cracks will become a badge of honor representing its hard-earned freedom." ---- Leo traced the edges of the drawing with his slender fingers. He leaned down, his face coming very close to my ear. The faint scent of sandalwood drifted into my nose, and I subconsciously shrank back. He chuckled and placed a contract in front of me." The client has requested that the 'Rebirth' series be exhibited at Fashion Week next month. I'd like to make them out of natural materials and inlay the bird's feathers. Are you afraid of birds?" "T used to be." I looked out the window and saw some flying birds forming an arc through the sky. It brought to mind the memory of Hayden throwing the small bird ornaments on my desk into the trash can. ladded, "But now... I'm even more afraid of being locked up in a cage." Leo gazed quietly at my side profile. Then, he ---- turned to take a gift box tied with a ribbon from one of the drawers. "I prepared this for you. Take a look and see if you like it." There was a feathered headband inside the box. The base of the feathers was wrapped in gold thread and embedded with diamonds, and two pearls were hanging from the ends of the headband, shining with a gentle luster under the sunlight. My eyes instantly reddened. This headband was my initial draft from two years ago-the one that Hayden had put down as worthless! Now, Leo had carefully made an actual accessory out of it. "T picked up this draft on the day you retired from the competition," Leo explained in a voice as gentle as a lover's sigh. "I'm now returning it to its original owner. I hope you like it." Late at night, I was concentrating on revising my