Chapter 23. The Response

Camila refreshed her browser for the umpteenth time, her slender fingers drumming a staccato rhythm on the sleek surface of her desk. Each tap was a heartbeat, sharp and impatient, echoing softly in the otherwise quiet studio. Her latest post—a meticulously curated collage of her recent designs—loomed on the screen, the number of likes stagnant, unmoving, almost taunting.

“Come on,” she muttered, willing the notification bell to chime with fresh activity. But as minutes ticked by, her work was callously pushed down the feed, buried beneath an endless stream of flashier, more sensational content. Videos of influencers posing in neon outfits, viral pranks, and the relentless tide of memes washed over her creations like a storm, leaving them unseen and underappreciated.

“Seriously?” she scoffed, the frustration rising in her chest like smoke. “Eight hours of work for what? To be buried under ca