novelraw Chapter 119: Get in.
Chapter 119: Get in.
Grandpa shot Zia a long, knowing look. She immediately shut her mouth, flashed a small guilty grin, and hurried over to sit beside him.
Elara’s gaze lingered on her grandfather’s face for a moment before she walked over and stopped in front of him. "Is he the man?" she asked, even though she had already made a quiet guess.
He did not answer immediately.
Elara sat down beside him and waited patiently. Zia opened her mouth as if to speak, then quickly pressed her lips together again.
After a short while, he nodded. "He is."
"He is..." Elara repeated, letting out a short laugh. She don’t even know what to say.
What should we call this? Kindness? Or pity... or something else?
Then her eyes sharpened and she looked up at him again. "But why is he still coming here? I thought he only helped with your hospital bills. Is there something you’re hiding from me?"
"Come on, girl," Grandpa sighed. "How can I hide things from you?"
Then he quickly turned to Zia and patted her arm. "Go and make tea for your sister."
Zia groaned as she stood up lazily. "Now that I know how to make tea, nobody will let me rest. At home, my mom has retired from tea completely. If visitors come, she just points at me like I’m part of the kitchen equipment."
Elara frowned immediately. "Wait... you’re going to make the tea?"
Zia blinked. "Yes?"
Elara leaned back on the chair. "Grandpa, are we sure we are not risking our lives like this? I just came back peacefully, I don’t want to go back as a ghost."
Zia placed her hands on her waist. "Excuse me! My tea is good now!" she snapped while Elara shook her head slowly.
"Last time, you made the tea so crunchy. I wasn’t sure if I should sip it or use a fork because of all the leaves!"
"It’s not my fault!" Zia cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "My brain was smaller that time."
* * *
Relanie wiped her hair with a towel as she stepped out of the bathroom. Reine, who was seated by the table working on her laptop, glanced up at her briefly before returning her attention to the screen.
"Mrs. Vale called," she said quietly.
Relanie did not stop walking. She moved straight to the closet as if she had not heard anything.
"Why is she calling me?" she muttered, pulling out her nightwear. "I thought she had already found herself a brand new daughter-in-law." She let out a quiet, tired sigh.
"She said she wants to see you."
"See me?" Relanie repeated, letting out a low laugh. "And what did you tell her?"
"I told her I would pass the message to you," Reine replied calmly.
Relanie shook her head. "You should have just said I’m not available, Reine." She said slipping into her pyjamas slowly.
"She can’t just think she can see me anytime she wants. I’m sick of everything," she muttered under her breath.
Then she turned and looked around the room. A small mocking laugh escaped her throat.
"I already suspected it from the first day we got here that the assistant director was up to something. If I hadn’t gotten this key, it would have been Elara staying in a room like this." She let out a short scoff. "Adrian is really something. Even I didn’t expect him to go this far for her."
She paused, then added with a snort, "I wonder how he felt when he saw that it wasn’t the room he had kept for her that she got. Shameless."
"Relanie," Reine called again, her fingers still moving across the keyboard. "That Lornian brand..."
"V&C," she continued, "they messaged again about the track they want you to record for the perfume launch."
Relanie did not even turn. She walked to the bed, pulled the covers over herself, and lay down.
"Tell them to lose my number. I’m exhausted."
Reine finally looked at her properly, her lips tightening into a thin line before she looked back at the screen.
"Okay," she murmured.
–
The road stretched out quietly under the night sky with trees lining both sides. The air felt very different from Starfall. Softer and more natural.
Elara stood by the roadside, her gaze distant as she stared into nothingness. Every now and then, she lifted her hand and tried to flag down a passing car but none of them slowed.
She lowered her hand slowly, tapping her feet on the ground repeatedly.
She wouldn’t want to admit it, but this was the reality of life in Crelou. The same roads that felt peaceful and free during the day became stubborn at night, making it nearly impossible to find a ride once the sun went down.
She sighed and looked down at the road again. But then, her eyes caught sight of two soft lights approaching her way from a small distance. Thinking that the person might want to turn into the streets behind, she made to step back a little.
But before she could do so,the car slowed down and stopped perfectly in front of her. Seeing the shape clearly, Elara forgot to move for the first few seconds.
Then the window rolled down silently.
"Get in."
Her expression did not change, but she stood, hesitating at first, before finally walking forward. She opened the door, got in, and closed it beside her.
As she settled into the seat, a memory flashed through her mind. Her brows furrowed a little and she opened her mouth at once. "If you’re planning to drop me off in the middle of nowhere again, at least pick a spot that..."
Her voice stopped abruptly.
In the next second, the space in front of her was filled.
She froze as he leaned over.
Suddenly, she was pressed back against the leather seat. The warmth of his presence closing in on her before she could react. His arm moved past her, his fingers brushing lightly against her hip as he reached for the seatbelt.
After clicking the buckle into place, he pulled back just as naturally.
For a moment, Elara could not speak. Her thoughts were a mess.
Was that really necessary?
He could have just told her to fasten it herself.
It took a while before she finally found her voice again.