11

The voice…

Helena was now getting goosebumps behind her back when she realized who was back. As much as she wanted to finish her food right away, stand up, and run back to her room, it was already too late, knowing that Alpha Louis had already seen her.

She should not be hiding, alright. But the fact that she had baked him something and she is thinking that it might not be good enough and she doesn’t want to hear it from him creates a hollow feeling in her that she wanted to just sulk and never want to hear his comment about it.

She was embarrassed. Knowing how Anna narrated how Louis carried her and the fact that she cried in front of him, she felt like she had opened a dimension that should be hidden forever. And she wasn’t ready to entertain the changes yet.

But it is what it is, as she said to herself when Louis was already on her side, reaching for the pitcher, and pouring himself a glass of water. She could barely glance at him as she just concentrated on her own food, wanting to just swallow everything even though she was already coughing and was just trying to hold it in.

She noticed that instead of drinking the water he poured for himself, he put it on the side of her plate and got another empty glass of water for himself.

“Chew your food slowly and don’t eat fast. You should know that since that’s the basic etiquette when you are at the table.”

“Such a snob…” Helena murmured to herself as she realized that she was embarrassed of him over nothing, knowing that he was normally cold and snobby.

Her body relaxed as she tried to eat slowly this time while Louis drank his water. Anna was pursing her lips as she tried to maintain a poker face when there was a controlled smile peaking on her lips.

“I don’t like sweets,” Louis suddenly blurted out and placed the glass of water back on the table after saying it, making Helena slow down from munching her food.

She knows it. It was what Anna said. And although she already expected it—that Louis would never try it, or taste it at least—maybe she just assumed that their talk created a bridge to build a friendly relationship with each other.

But she’s wrong, and she’s quite disappointed about it. She nodded as she tried to hide it and just concentrated on her food when, at the back of her mind, she wanted to scold Louis to at least be considerate because she gave her effort into baking it.

Maybe it was really hard to get to know him, not because he was a snob, but because it was his choice not to let others know who he really was.

It’s what her mind said, and she just accepted it while Anna was looking at her with a sympathetic twinkle in her eyes.

“There is going to be a big dinner later, and I will bring you with me, so prepare for it,” Louis said before turning his back and leaving him there.

Her shoulder loosened so much that she crouched even more like the world suddenly collapsed in her and she could no longer hold it in. Anna smiled at her encouragingly.

“It’s okay, Miss Helena. I know you did your job and it tastes nice. It’s just that Alpha Louis is just not fond of sweet food himself,” Anna explained as if she was trying to lessen whatever was looming in her.

She tried to cheer herself up and looked at the brighter side. She reminded herself that she is her for a purpose: to build her character for a bigger war. She wants to take advantage of the fact that she could learn a lot of things from those people who are already at the top. She wanted to enhance a skill that she could use if she already planned on striking Ingrid and those people who made her life miserable.

As soon as her main goal was already pinned to her mind, she reminded herself that she needed to improve more until she could get Louis’ trust. She can’t deny the fact that she needed him in her life right now so she could create a stronger ally for herself. She wanted to gather her own battalion against Ingrid and Darren. Imagine the war she would about to start knowing that they all came from a prominent family with a powerful background and a connection that is out of her.

When evening came, Anna brought another box to her room for the dress she would wear. It was an elegant dress that matched her milky skin as soon as she wore the white silk backless dress with a cowl neck. It was paired with golden hoop earrings and a gold lace necklace.

She was just too different from her old life because she could enjoy lavish parties that she had never attended. It was only Darren, her ex-boyfriend, who is the influential one, and yet she was hidden by him as his lover, which she did not complain about at first until later on; she just realized that he might be ashamed of her and that he is more proud to have Ingrid as the exposed one, despite the fact that she was his real lover.

She pitied her past self as she looked at her beautiful self in the mirror. She was just too different from her past life, and it showed not just on the face she is now wearing but also on the wealth that was just too far from her past life.

She knows that she doesn’t belong, but because she is in Helena’s body, it was a miracle given to her to experience something she thought she would never experience.

When Louis saw her entire image, he only stared at her with his unreadable expression, hands on his slacks as he was wearing a tuxedo that exuded his vibe, making him ooze with charisma that is just effortlessly showing.

Helena shyly looked at him as soon as she went down, and Louis didn’t even give her something that she would smile at. Instead, he only gestured for them to get going.

What a coldhearted man…

But she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, and she just wanted to act professionally without putting him in shame. She is trying to make herself conscious of her actions because she is afraid Louis would be mad at her for looking stupid.

They went into a fine dining restaurant that is just in the town of Emerald Ville, owned by one of the influential alphas as well, which is already close to their bloodline and just trying to negotiate more territories to expand.

As soon as they arrived, Louis smoothly put his hand against the small of her back; the other hand remained in his pocket as he guided her to the table where the people in their fancy clothes looked at them like they were the main event of the night and they were waiting for their arrival.

Helena clutched the small purse as she felt like she would be swallowed by their intimidating stare, and she just wanted to hide behind Louis’ back. But she held her head high and maintained her stance despite her knees getting wobbled.

“Everyone, this is Helena Asher, the youngest heir of the Ashers.” Louis introduced her to the table full of intimidating people looking at Helena like she was a trophy Louis just won.

“Oh, the Asher…” one of the women said meaningfully with no humor and sipped on her champagne flute.

“I thought Louis would not be tamed by any woman in this town knowing that she rejected every girl presented by his parents,” one of the men uttered in his low voice and chuckled a little.

Louis pulled the chair for Helena as she sat with a smile on her lips, and Louis took the chair next to her. She could feel their intensity mixing, and she felt like she would be swallowed by them. It was as if she was a small fish that was pushed into the big fish in the sea, and she had no choice but to swim along with them despite getting bumped at them.

“Is this what your grandpa said? An arrangement so you could have a piece of their territory? For the expansion of boundaries?” one of the men pointed out, with long hair that was sleek on the sides, making him look so weirdly intimidating.

“I thought that the Ashers would give their eldest, which is Ingrid. I heard a lot of good things about that girl.”

“She was paired with Darren Adams, right? The one who is taking over the entire Adams’ territories. I bet that man is quite smart. But not smart enough to outsmart Louis.” A woman smirked at Louis, who was just calmly putting his attention to the food and to the ongoing topic.

Helena’s throat ran dry now that the one she hated the most was mentioned. Every time she would hear Darren’s name linked to Ingrid, there was a disgust in her stomach that was always churning, and she felt like she would just vomit right away out of anger and disgust from the both of them.

“Seems like the Adams has a bit of interest in the north side of the Emerald Ville—the secluded and least prioritized land. I wonder why they’re up to…” one of the men said, which got their attention.