REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight

Chapter 96: A treat.

Adrian stared at Mr. Gorden for a long moment, an unreadable expression on his face, then he lowered his gaze to the fabric in his hand. "Does the reason change anything?" he said quietly.

After a short pause, he added, almost as an after thought. "She deserves to know. The rest doesn’t matter."

Mr. Gorden gave a small, knowing nod."That’s a good answer," he said.

"I found her when I was coming back from my wife’s grave," he continued slowly. "I had nothing waiting for me at home. No family. No children. Just an empty house."

He glanced at the blanket on the table. "Then there she was, wrapped in this."

"I picked her up and went home," he coughed a little and then cleared his throat. "And the house wasn’t empty anymore."

Adrian leaned back slightly in his seat, his gaze drifting forward, unfocused.

"I’m telling you this because sometimes the reason we do things isn’t something we can explain clearly..." Mr. Gorden said.

Before he could finish, footsteps sounded from outside and Harris returned, stopping a short distance from them. "Boss, whenever you’re ready," he said.

"Five minutes," Adrian replied immediately.

"Of course," Harris said and turned to leave, but before he could take more than a step–

"Harris."

He stopped and turned back.

"Thank you for calling every time," Mr. Gorden said.

Harris blinked, then a warm smile spread across his face. "Of course. Always." He gave a long bow and quickly walked out again.

"And, about..." Mr. Gorden started, but suddenly he coughed. "All these..." The cough came again, sharper, cutting his words short.

Almost immediately, Zia rushed in from outside, her small face tightening as she looked at him. Without saying anything, she ran into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water, handing it to him quickly.

Mr. Gorden took it and drank a mouthful before handing it back.

Zia’s eyes moved to the table and landed on the untouched cup of tea. Her cheeks puffed up instantly. "You didn’t drink my tea," she said.

Mr. Gorden made a small helpless face at her, but she had already turned to stare at Adrian with the same sulky expression.

He let out a quiet sigh and looked at Adrian. "I told her you were coming and she insisted on making tea. Don’t mind her, she can be quite troublesome at–"

He stopped mid-sentence.

Adrian had already reached out. He picked up the teacup calmly and lifted it, taking a long drink until the cup was empty before setting it back down.

Zia blinked at him, stunned. Then she leaned forward and looked into the cup as if to confirm it. Her face lit up instantly. "Grandpa! He drank my tea!" she said, almost bouncing in place. "He drank everything!"

Adrian stood up calmly, as if nothing had happened.

Mr Gorden watched him quietly, and then spoke again. "What I wanted to say is... you shouldn’t tell her everything yet." He paused briefly. "But not too long."

"I’ve had enough years to make peace with things," he added slowly.

Adrian looked at him, then gave a faint nod. "Hm," he muttered, before turning and walking toward the door. He stepped out of the house and walked along the narrow path toward the gate. Just as he was about to reach it, small hurried footsteps sounded behind him.

A figure ran past him and stopped right in front of him.

It was Zia.

She stood there, looking up at him with bright eyes. "I asked Grandpa if you’re Elara’s man and he said no," she said seriously, and then a strange smile suddenly appeared on her lips. "Or... are you hiding something?" she giggled, wagging her finger at him.

Adrian paused. His gaze dropped to her face.

She continued without waiting. "Because I think Elara is very beautiful, and you’re... a bit good-looking," she said, tilting her head as if carefully judging him. "So it matches a little."

She was still talking when suddenly–

Harris appeared from behind and scooped her up in one swift motion, lifting her off the ground as if she weighed nothing at all.

"You little troublemaker," he said breathlessly, holding her firmly as she kicked her legs in protest. "If you say one more strange thing, I’ll personally deliver you to your mother with a full list of your silly nonsense."

Zia struggled in his hold, her small legs swinging in the air as she twisted around. "Put me down! I’m not finished talking!" she protested loudly. When she saw that Harris wouldn’t let go, she leaned forward, stretching her arm toward Adrian. "Next time bring Elara with you!" she called out. "I want to see her again!"

Harris quickly turned and carried her back inside despite her protests, her voice still echoing as she complained and argued all the way.

Adrian turned his head slightly and glanced back at them with an unreadable expression. Then he faced forward again and continued walking.

–

Elara sat on the bed in her room, the script from the audition resting on the locker beside it.

The past week had passed slowly and no matter how she tried to keep herself occupied, her thoughts kept circling back to the same thing. There had been no update from Ziva, not even a small hint. She had told herself not to think too much about it, but it was difficult not to.

She leaned back on the headboard, staring at nothingness, until the sound of her phone ringing suddenly broke through the silence.

She picked it up and glanced at the screen. Grandpa.

Her expression softened a little as she answered the call and brought the phone to her ear. "Grandpa," she said.

His voice came through in that calm familiar way that always made her feel settled. He asked about her health first and she answered simply, telling him she was fine. He didn’t press too much. He rarely did.

"I just called to remind you to eat properly," he said after a short pause. "I know you. When you focus on something, you forget everything else."

Elara lowered her gaze, a faint smile touching her lips. "I know," she said quietly.

They spoke for a little while longer, then the call ended and the room fell silent again.

Elara slowly lowered her phone and stared at it, her thoughts drifting without direction until one name surfaced clearly in her mind.

Lioren.

She hadn’t thanked him properly.

The realization hit her right away, and with it, came a simple decision.

If nothing else, she could at least show her appreciation.

A meal seemed to be the best option.

She unlocked her phone and scrolled through her contacts. There weren’t many names there. She had cleared most of them when she left Lorien, leaving only the ones that mattered.

It didn’t take long for her to find his number. She tapped it and lifted the phone to her ear.

It rang longer than she expected. At first, she thought he might not pick up, but just as she was about to lower the phone, the call connected.

"Elara," his voice came through.

"Lioren," she replied calmly.

"Sorry I was in the restroom" he said quickly.

"It’s nothing," Elara said.

She didn’t delay before she told him why she had called: she wanted to know when he would be free so she could treat him to dinner.

On the other end, Lioren hesitated. "Uh..." he murmured, then went quiet for a second before letting out a small sound of realization. "Oh."...

They talked briefly about the time and location. When the call ended, Elara lowered her phone slowly, her gaze drifting back to the quiet room around her...