REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight-Chapter 74: Bad things happen... to people around you.
The two months after Elara woke up passed by quickly, almost like a blur.
That day, she had finally gone to make the recording at Rye studio. She had thought she might see Livienne there, but she didn’t. It was as if she had disappeared completely.
By the time she returned to her dorm, it was already dark. Ziva had gone home earlier so the room was quiet.
After freshening up, Elara sat on her bed with her legs crossed and picked up her phone. She tapped on an icon, and a post opened immediately. Then she went to the search bar and typed E.L.A.R.A.
A small smile appeared on her lips as the page loaded. It was the account the high school students had made for her. The last time she checked, it only had a few hundred followers, but now the number had grown a lot.
She scrolled slowly through the posts, and then stopped when one caught her attention.
It was a video of the girl who had said her name was Mira.
"Someone asked me why I run a fan page for someone who isn’t even famous yet. I said okay, point of correction, she’s number one in Aurelia, so what are you talking about. Another person said I have too much time on my hands. I said you’re right. And I’m spending every second of it on this account. Goodbye."
Elara smiled faintly and swiped the screen again.
Just then, her phone started ringing. She glanced at the caller ID.
It was her grandpa.
Her fingers paused a bit as a thought crossed her mind.
Did he hear about what happened? Did someone tell him?
She stayed still for a few seconds, then picked up the call. "Hello Grandpa?" she said.
"Elara!" A small voice came from the other end immediately.
Elara froze. "Zia?" she said in surprise. "Where’s grandpa?"
There was a short pause, then Zia spoke up with a much lowered voice. "Grandpa is asleep. Don’t shout."
Elara went quiet in thought.
Did Zia come over to stay with him? It was already late.
Before she could say anything, Zia spoke again. "Elara... grandpa is at the hospital."
Elara’s heart jerked. "What do you mean?" she asked instantly.
Zia hesitated, and then said slowly, "Grandpa told me not to tell you... he also told the scary suit uncle too."
Elara frowned a little. "Who is scary suit uncle? And which hospital is that? Is Grandpa there? Give the phone to him."
"I said Grandpa is asleep." Zia quickly replied. Then she lowered her voice again. "He said I shouldn’t call you, so don’t tell him that I called."
Elara’s brows tightened for a long second. "Are you serious, Zia?" she asked.
"Of course. Even Mom just left." Zia quickly answered, almost whispering.
Elara took a slow breath as she stared at the surface of the door in front of her without blinking. "Which hospital?" she asked quietly.
"The big one at Lorien. The one with the ugly blue gate." Zia replied quickly.
"Lorien..." Elara muttered under her breath.
Then Zia added quickly, "Mom said your training school isn’t far from here."
After the call ended, Elara sat still for a moment. All thoughts of rest had disappeared completely. Her heart began to beat fast in her chest.
–
Relanie sat by the window, glancing at the entrance from time to time. The café was small and quiet, just the way she liked it. She had ordered tea but barely touched it. She just kept adjusting her sleeves, waiting patiently.
Then Adrian walked in.
She saw him immediately but didn’t show any reaction. He came straight to her table and sat down without a word. He didn’t even glance at the menu before pushing it aside.
It seemed he didn’t come to waste words. The first thing he said was.
"Tell them you don’t want the marriage,"
Relanie looked at him. His face showed nothing. "You want me to tell them?" she gave a soft scoff. "Of course I can’t."
He didn’t answer.
She picked up her tea and took a sip, raising her eyebrows with a curious expression on her face. "I’ve been wanting to ask you. Why don’t you want this marriage? You have nothing to lose you know" she asked, looking at his face to read his expression.
"I’m just telling you to object to it, nothing else." Was the reply he gave.
She repeated the word quietly. "Object to it"
"Yes."
Relanie looked down at the table for a moment. "This is about Elara, isn’t it?" she finally said after taking a deep breath.
"Nonsense," Adrian snorted.
"I’m not spurting nonsense. You like her. That’s it. I knew it..i’ve known that for a long time now. " she said, staring right into his cold eyes.
Adrian finally looked at her. "You don’t know what you’re talking about." he spatted.
"Okay," she said softly after watching him for a long moment. She lifted her cup and took another sip. The tea had gone cold, but she didn’t care. She set the cup down slowly.
"She should just go back," she said, almost whispering. "Back to where she came from. She doesn’t belong here. She doesn’t understand anything. She’s fighting for things she shouldn’t even touch."
"Quiet..."
"Everything she has right now is because of your family. Without that, she’s nothing." she continued.
Adrian looked at her, his expression unchanging. "Without the Vale name. You’re also nothing." he said quietly.
Relanie went completely still. Then she opened her mouth. The words almost slipped from her tongue.
And so are you.
She looked down at her hands, trying to control her emotions. And the liquid which kept stinging her eyes.
"I know it was you." Adrian said suddenly.
"The pool incident at your birthday... I know it was you." he repeated.
Relanie stiffened instantly. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"I won’t allow that to happen again," he said firmly. "Do you understand?"
She closed her mouth, her hands trembling in her lap.
Even now, she wondered. He wouldn’t admit liking Elara. Yet he was protecting her.
There was another long silence before she looked up at him. At the face she had known for so many years.
Something painful rose in her chest.
"Bad things happen," she said quietly, "to people around you."
Adrian’s eyes stayed on her.
"Have you noticed?" She paused, then added one last word. "Lia."
Adrian’s whole body stiffened.
Relanie saw it clearly. She looked at him for one more second, then something inside her broke. "I’m sorry," she said, her voice barely audible.
She stood up slowly, picked up her bag, and walked toward the door without looking at him again. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Tears started falling before she even reached the exit. She tried to stop them, but she couldn’t. She pushed the door open and stepped outside into the cool air.
She kept walking faster, tears running down her cheeks.
She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry.
But she did...
