Rex, standing to the side, cleared his throat theatrically. "Hey, not to interrupt your romcom mont, but do I get introduced or am I just going to stand here like an awkward extra?"
Lena laughed and turned to Ellie. "Oh right! Ellie, this is Rex. A good friend of mine," she said, accentuating the words ’good friend’ with a knowing smile toward Rex, "the reason I could get into a star-studded party like this."
That’s when Ellie finally turned her attention to Rex. Until now, she had been too swept up in the excitent of seeing Lena in such an unexpected place to really notice the man standing beside her. After all, Rex had his back to her when they t.
Now, hearing the introduction, she tilted her head slightly and looked at him fully for the first ti, and the mont she took in his features, she was stunned—like, literal stunned. Her jaw slackened, her pupils dilated, and she stood like her brain had crashed from the sheer overload of visual perfection standing before her.
She blinked once. Then twice. Then stiffly turned toward Lena, her face a mix of awe and disbelief.
"L-Lena," she stamred, "can you pinch to see if I’m still dreaming? Because why do I see an angel here smiling at ?"
Lena smiled, a glint of mischief dancing in her eyes, and reached out to pinch Ellie’s cheek—just enough to make her flinch slightly.
"There you go. I can guarantee you’re not dreaming. This one’s very real."
"Ouch! I was just joking!" she whined, rubbing her cheek.
"Why’d you pinch so hard? Are you taking revenge for when I touched your soft—"
Before she could finish that incriminating sentence, Lena lunged forward like a panicked stage actor trying to save a live performance from going off script. She slapped a hand over Ellie’s mouth and threw her other arm dramatically around her shoulders, squeezing just enough to look like a loving hug to any outsiders—but Ellie knew better.
"What the heck are you talking about, Ellie?! Can’t you at least watch out for the surroundings?!"?!" she hissed through clenched teeth, her smile frozen and increasingly desperate. "If you don’t care about your reputation, at least care about mine—I still have to so sha left!"
Ellie’s eyes bugged out slightly as she tried to mumble through Lena’s hand, her shoulders shaking with barely restrained laughter. Her fingers pointed wildly at Rex, who was looking as if he was enjoying a free show, as if saying He’s looking all this! Save your reputation!
Rex, anwhile, looked absolutely entertained. He folded his arms and leaned slightly to the side, as if settling in for the next episode of his favorite sitcom, then raised his eyebrows and muttered, "Well, that escalated quickly."
After a few seconds, Ellie finally raised her hands in exaggerated surrender, her fingers wiggling in mock defeat. Only then did Lena, with a dramatic sigh of relief, slowly let her go, brushing invisible dust off her own shoulders like she had just completed a dangerous mission.
Ahem," Lena coughed, her voice suddenly small. She turned to Rex with a sheepish expression, her cheeks still flushed. "We just had sothing to, uh, discuss," she explained, gesturing vaguely between herself and Ellie.
Rex smiled and gave her a look—a perfectly tid raise of his brow and a small nod—that wordlessly said, I totally understand, and I believe you.
Seeing Rex’s expression—sowhere between amused and curious—Lena felt an overwhelming urge to burrow a hole in the ground and disappear forever. But instead, she summoned every ounce of her poise and gave a flawless performance, keeping her face composed in a mask of nonchalance. She turned to Ellie and said sweetly, "Right, Ellie?"
But her eyes told a very different story. They weren’t just daggers—they were twin rapiers, practically poking holes through Ellie’s soul. A silent warning scread from them: Restrain your mouth. Don’t you dare say anything scandalous.
Ellie felt the sharp shift in atmosphere instantly. She gulped, her smile freezing in place like it had been plastered on by force. Her body tensed as the mories rushed back—days of being tornted and dominated by Lena’s terrifying twin mountains. It was not just traumatic; it was suffocating.
So, wisely choosing life over death, Ellie gave a high-pitched laugh and said with forced enthusiasm, "Yeah, yeah! We were just joking, rembering old tis together. Right, Lena? Ha. Ha. Ha..."
Seeing her awkward smile, Lena couldn’t help but facepalm ntally. This girl... can’t she even lie properly? That was precisely the reason she never made it past level one in acting class.
Seeing her awkward smile, Lena couldn’t help but facepalm ntally. This girl... can’t she even lie properly? That was precisely the reason she never made it past level one in acting class. Her delivery was off, her smile looked like it had been borrowed from a horror movie extra, and her voice scread that she was being blackmailed.
Lena tilted her head slightly, still holding that picture-perfect calm, but inside she was screaming. We’re supposed to be subtle, Ellie. Not reenacting a soap opera ltdown.
anwhile, Ellie, oblivious to the internal damage she was causing, kept nodding like a bobblehead at a car show, her smile growing more deranged by the second. Lena resisted the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her into silence.
Lena, giving full play to her acting skills, maintained the calm poise of a woman who had everything under control—even if internally she was screaming. With the elegance of soone used to navigating high society drama, she turned to Rex with a soft, almost regal smile, as if none of the chaos from monts ago had ever happened.
"Let’s continue the introductions," she said smoothly, her voice silky and composed. "Rex, this is Ellie. Ellie Hart. My best friend back in the UK. We went to high school and college together."
She glanced fondly at Ellie—more for show than sentint—then added, "But due to her father’s job, they had to transfer to the US a couple years ago."
Ellie, who had been teetering on the edge of a breakdown monts ago, blinked rapidly and straightened up like soone trying to regain control of a runaway shopping cart.
Her pink cheeks faded into a bright, bubbly grin as she bounced back into her usual energetic self.
(End of Chapter)
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