MasukThe brief silence that settled between them pressed harder on Elara with every passing second.Her gaze slowly lowered to his chest, her lips slightly parted. What should she say at this moment?As she lifted her head to speak, her phone suddenly began ringing.Julian turned toward her bag, which vibrated slightly with the ringing of the phone.“I... I need to go,” Elara murmured, pulling away from his grip. She grabbed her bag and walked away.“Hello?” she answered as she left without turning back._______Eclipse Models...Elara hurriedly walked into the office to meet Lyra discussing with the other models who were to wear her designs for tomorrow.“I’m late, sorry. Something came up,” Elara sighed as she walked up to them.Lyra smiled. “It’s okay. I was just discussing with them how the event was going to turn out,” she muttered.“I really pray that tomorrow is a success,” Elara sighed.“Hey.” Lyra held Elara’s hand. “You’re Elara. You’ll definitely ace it,” she reassured her.Elar
For a brief moment, Elara stood rooted to the spot, staring in the direction Julian had taken.“...right, Elara? Elara?”“Huh?” Elara blinked, turning to face Aria.“What were you saying?”Aria exchanged glances with the others before looking at her.“We were thinking if we should go on a trip. Your birthday is next month,” Aria said.Elara smiled. “That would be nice,” she muttered.“Great! Let’s go. I’m hungry.” Aria held Elara’s arm as they were guided to their table.Walking into the VIP sector, Elara’s gaze locked with Julian’s. He was sitting not far from her.Once again, he looked away.Her chest tightened as she looked away too, feeling a boiling sensation rising in her chest.They all settled at their assigned table, and the attendant began taking their orders.Soon after, their food arrived.They all ate while discussing and laughing in between.Henry immediately gulped down a glass of wine as he nearly choked from laughing at something Isabel said.Elara laughed at the scen
Lyra released Elara, wiping off her tears with an embarrassed giggle.“Thank you so much, Elara. I promise I won't let you down,” she said.Elara smiled. “I know you'd do a great job. Friday is just two days away, so do make sure you come tomorrow. Let's tweak the dress to fit your proportions,” Elara said, raising her hand to help her clean the small tear on her cheek.As expected, the expensive diamond on her finger didn't go unnoticed.Lyra gasped and immediately took her hand, examining it closely.“Oh my God... No way... Elara, are you engaged?” She looked at Elara with wide eyes.“Keep it low!” Elara hushed her.She bit her lips, looking down at her finger before giving a small nod.Lyra's hand flew to her mouth, gasping louder.“Oh my God!”Elara let out a small smile, rubbing the ring. “The wedding is next month,” she muttered.“That's the reason why I invited Vance. I didn't want it to come as a surprise to him, so I wanted to tell him for old time's sake, but seeing him in p
Elara gazed at him with wide eyes, her breath getting shallower by the second. Her thoughts spiraled in various directions, yet none could provide answers to her questions.Julian's brows furrowed even more.“Elara, what—” Julian raised his hand to feel her cheek, but before it could come in contact with it, Elara hurriedly left the room.She made her way to the kitchen and immediately grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.Thankfully, everyone in the household had retired to bed.Chugging down the water in heavy gulps, she dropped the bottle on the counter, heaving out deep breaths as she tried to steady her emotions after this huge discovery.Julian had died... Or more correctly, Julian will die. But why?Was it an accident?Did he have an underlying sickness she wasn't aware of?Was he murdered?The more she thought about the various possibilities that presented themselves, the quicker her heart raced.How much of her knowledge could she trust at this point when the past she wa
Elara's eyes twitched as she looked at Sebastian, who was now laughing at something Lorraine said.Her gaze returned to her phone. Blurred pictures of Richard, hanging from his cell window, were being displayed.Her stomach immediately churned in disgust.She knew Sebastian was someone to be wary of... But never in her wildest imagination did she imagine him being capable of taking it to this extent.Her fists folded tightly the more she thought about it. Without thinking twice, she jerked up, her chair screeching backwards.Her burning gaze remained on Sebastian as she marched towards him, but just when she was two steps away from him, Julian intercepted her.“Come with me.”“Julian —”Before she could utter another word, Julian pulled her to the side.“Your mood changed,” Julian commented.“Sebastian killed him,” Elara gritted her teeth, glaring at Sebastian, who was far away from them.Her gaze returned to Julian. “Richard is dead, hanging in his cell, but I'm sure it wasn't ordina
Evening...“C’mon, guys...” Gwen pouted as she dragged Tristan’s arm.“Gwen is right. It’s been a while since we’ve had a team dinner night since our former teammate quit. The night is still young, after all,” Alex said, then looked at Elara for an answer.Elara let out an awkward smile. “Umm...”“Tonight won’t be possible. I had a little accident, remember? My head is aching so badly right now,” Tristan replied.Gwen sighed, slowly releasing his arm.“I’ll get going then. Gwen, let me drop you off,” Alex said, and Gwen nodded with a smile.They all looked at Elara.“You guys should go without me. I’ll be fine,” she smiled.“Let’s go. I’ll drop you off,” Tristan muttered, taking her bag from her.“I’m fine.” Elara stopped him. “I already booked a ride. It’s on its way.”Tristan frowned. “Are you sure you’ll be fine?”Gwen and Alex exchanged glances with raised brows before looking back at them.“I’ll be fine. Now go. It’s so weird having you worry about me,” Elara smirked.Tristan sta







