Claire’s POV
"Sissy," Evander said calmly, "goosebumps an I am doing sothing right. Maybe you should take notes. Maybe you need that for Damian in the future; he loves these things."
Sissy gasped, clutching her chest as if she had been mortally wounded and flustered, "Unbelievable! Claire, your husband has officially lost his mind. Why the hell will I learn this from him? And... Damian is my dream man, and... I don’t want to want him!"
Evander ignored her entirely as his attention returned to . "Finish your al," he said gently. "Then you can leave."
I chuckled at their bickering as I focused myself on the al. I will finish this no matter what; it was Evander who personally served .
~ ~ ~ ~
We arrived at the site where the workshops had been held. The bustling energy of the place brought a mix of excitent and nerves bubbling in my chest. At first, my role had been small and insignificant. It was a re filler to keep things running smoothly. But now I had earned an important part, sothing I could truly call my own. No matter what anyone said or tried to do, I was already here, stepping into the first significant role of my life, right here in my ho country.
This was my mont, and I wanted to live it to the fullest.
However, what I hadn’t expected was to see her here. Diana. My stepsister.
"Look who is here!" Diana said, her voice dripping with mockery as she clicked her tongue. Her sharp eyes scanned from head to toe, her disdain evident in her eyes. "Now we have to work with people like you? Seriously?"
Her words hurt . Even seeing her here sent a shiver down my spine, but I steadied myself, unwilling to let her see what affect she had on . "Nice to see you too, Diana," I replied as I forced a neutral tone.
Diana crossed her arms, her perfectly manicured nails tapping against her elbow. "I can’t believe they gave you this role. What were they thinking?"
I bit back the retort rising in my throat. Diana had always been this way—cold, dismissive, and ready to trample on anyone she deed beneath her. But I wasn’t the sa person she used to look down on. I am not my past self.
"I earned this role, just like everyone else here," I said calmly, eting her gaze head-on. "Maybe it’s ti you stopped underestimating just like you always did."
Her lips twitched as if she wanted to say sothing, but she turned away instead, muttering sothing under her breath.
We were still talking when Damian arrived. His presence was impossible to ignore, as the commanding air around him seed to draw everyone’s attention. He walked straight toward , his strides confident yet unhurried.
When he reached , he stopped, but far enough from to keep a good distance between us. "I have been waiting for you since yesterday, and here you are," he said as his voice was calm. His eyes swept over , taking in every detail as if to make sure I was truly there.
"I heard about what happened yesterday," he continued, his voice softening. "So... are you okay?" His tone was laced with genuine concern, and for a mont, I couldn’t find the words to respond.
He was Evander’s best friend, and I guess by now he was very well aware of our relationship. So, there was no way he would be that playful around as he was when we first t.
"I am fine," I finally managed, though my voice wavered slightly. "Everything went well, as you must have heard from Sissy by now."
His brow furrowed, and he tilted his head slightly, unconvinced. "Yes, I heard," he rolled his eyes as if I had said sothing wrong, but soon he controlled his expressions.
"Take care of yourself," he added, his expression softening into a warm smile. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he handed a water bottle he had been carrying.
I blinked in surprise at the gesture, my lips curving into a small, grateful smile. "Thank you," I said as I took the bottle.
He nodded, the corners of his lips tugging upward. "Don’t stress yourself out. We are here for you, so just focus on your role," he said. His voice was low, as if he were comforting . It seed Evander had told him almost everything.
"Sure," I nodded. He had given such a big chance, and I was not going to give up on that, so of course, there was no way I would let this go.
We were still talking when his attention turned to Diana, naturally.
"Hi, Diana," he greeted her with his effortlessly charming smile. It was the kind of smile that could disarm anyone, and I didn’t miss the slight flicker in Diana’s expression as he extended his hand toward her.
"Sorry, I didn’t notice you earlier," he continued smoothly. "How are you?"
Diana hesitated for a split second, her composed facade slipping just enough for to catch it. Then she recovered, flashing a polite smile of her own as she shook his hand. "I am fine, Damian," she replied, her tone light, but I could notice an edge in her tone.
She was playing the main lead in this movie with Damian, yet I was noticed before her by him. So, I could tell the discomfort and jealousy in her eyes.
As they exchanged pleasantries, I took a sip of the water he had given , trying not to gather anymore attention. I was not in the mood to talk with Diana at the mont.
"Excuse ," I said in a light tone, and I excused myself from there. I didn’t wish to tangle with them.
~ ~ ~ ~
Evander’s POV
I was elated that Claire wanted to give a chance. It was a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long ti; it was the feeling of hope. It stirred sothing unfamiliar in , making want to do everything possible to make Claire comfortable, to erase the walls that stood between us.
But it wasn’t just about her comfort. I wanted her to trust and to look at without that guarded expression. Most of all, I wanted her to stop feeling so distant, as if I were soone she needed to keep at arm’s length.
I was still in my thoughts when the sound of the door opening snapped out of my thoughts.
"Boss." Zaniel’s voice cut through the quiet of the room. He walked in with a file clutched in his hands.
I raised my eyes to him as the irritation flickered in my chest. "Shouldn’t you have knocked first?" I said, my tone sharper than I intended.
Zaniel didn’t flinch. He was used to my moods, and his serious gaze remained steady as he stood in front of my desk.
"Apologies," he replied evenly, placing the file on my desk. "But this couldn’t wait and to inform you, I did knock you a lot of ti, but you didn’t respond."
I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair as I sighed. "What is it now?" I asked as my voice was a bit softer than before.
"It’s about Master Elijah. ," he said, gesturing to the file. "I thought you would want to look at this before the eting we have to attend later."
For a mont, I stared at the file. It had sothing I wanted to know eagerly, but more than that... I was scared if I would discover sothing that I wasn’t supposed to know, as Elijah had hidden a lot of things from .
"What is it?" I asked as I raised my brows.
"I have short listed so nas that might help you to find the man who might be closer to Master Elijah," Zaniel inford with serious face.
"Leave it here," I said finally, motioning toward the corner of my desk. "I will take a look later."
Zaniel hesitated, his brows furrowing slightly. "Boss, are you... alright? You have seed distracted lately."
I looked up at him, caught off guard by the question. Was it that obvious? I cleared my throat and straightened in my chair. "I am fine. Just... a lot on my mind," I said, keeping my tone neutral.
Zaniel didn’t press further, but the way he studied made it clear he wasn’t entirely convinced. "Alright," he said, stepping back. "Let know if you need anything else."
"Sure," I said absentmindedly, my eyes skimming over the file Zaniel had left on my desk. But as I stared at it, sothing struck , a thought I couldn’t ignore.
"What about Gloria?" I asked, glancing up at Zaniel. "Is she doing well? Did she try to make things difficult for you... or for us?" The questions poured out in a rush, each one laced with concern and frustration.
Zaniel raised an eyebrow, clearly caught off guard by my sudden shower of questions. He sighed, his expression softening into one of quiet understanding.
"Boss," he began, carefully choosing his words, "Mada Gloria is your mother, after all. You sure are her son— still worried about her, even after everything she has done."
"That’s not the point," I replied, my tone sharper than I intended. "It’s not about being worried. I just need to know if she is causing trouble." I pronounced in a stern and cold tone. Who the hell would be worried about Gloria?
Certainly not !
Reviews
All reviews (0)