"Oh my gosh, he is here," Candice's excited voice snapped Elara out of her thoughts, and she looked up with a neutral expression.
When her cold eyes met her brother's, his eyes immediately softened at the sight of her. She quirked her brow, and that little action was more than enough for her brother to know she didn't wish for him to acknowledge her as his sister.
George scoffed inwardly.
What a brat she really was. While others wished for such wealth and fame, she was always running away from them as if they were a curse.
She was really something. He rolled his eyes inwardly before nodding at her and then at the woman sitting before her.
He knew who the other woman was.
Back then, Elara used to go on and on about how she found a true friend amidst all the fake ones, and Candice treated her with the care and love of a true sister.
Sometimes he used to get jealous of this woman because his sister seemed more reliant on an outsider than on her own brother.
"Miss Elara," George extended his hand professionally, and Elara looked at his hand before she stood and shook it politely.
"Mr. George," she nodded.
Honestly, she had no intentions of hiding her identity from Candice. She trusted the girl more than enough. It just never occurred to her how to be open about it since Candice never asked either.
It was like a silent agreement between them. She never asked about hers, and Elara likewise never inquired about Candice's, though the news about her household was already widely spread.
"Miss Candice," George then looked at Candice and extended his hand.
Candice barely contained her smile to appear professional and gently shook his hand.
"Miss Elara here has already briefed me about your idea. Let's order something first. Yeah?" George's voice felt like a hot chocolate melting inside Candice's mouth, and she nodded shyly.
Elara, who had picked up her phone when she saw an incoming message from Andrew's sister, Carla, rolled her eyes and looked up, raising her left brow when she noticed Candice's almost red cheeks.
Her friend was being shy? Before her brother? A smirk appeared on her face when she figured out what was happening.
Candice didn't just want to work with her brother because their company was leading in technology; she also had a major crush on him.
"Waiter," Elara raised her hand, and soon the waiter walked over.
"We are ready to order," Elara said before she mentioned some dishes.
Candice followed suit before George added his order.
"Since when did you start eating such stale food?" George asked, his question directed at Elara, who noticed she ordered the things she barely used to like earlier.
She always loved spicy food with lots of gravy and flavor, but Andrew had a weak stomach and could never digest it. That was the reason she stopped cooking what she used to like or what she used to eat outside.
"It's nothing. I just wanted to eat it," Elara said, her legs shaking under the table, something that didn't go unnoticed by her brother.
"You don't need to lie to me. I know you better than anyone else," George said.
Candice looked between Elara and George, then noticed how caring George looked, how his eyes softened a little, and how his voice went a tone gentler when he spoke to Elara. She couldn't help but feel her heart sink a little.
Then again, after everything her friend went through, she surely deserved better. With this thought, Candice nodded to herself before forcing a smile on her face.
George cleared his throat and looked at Candice, asking various details of the project, the capital, and the market value of the idea.
After some time, the food finally arrived, and Elara was about to dig in when she saw Andrew's sister and mother walk into the restaurant with their friends in tow.
Her gaze darkened visibly, and she quickly looked down before taking out her sunglasses, not wanting them to cause a commotion here, and… she stopped in her thoughts.
Wait. Why should she be wary of them anymore? She was already divorcing Andrew, the one thing they always threatened her with.
As if Carla and Sophia could feel someone looking at them, they turned in Elara's direction, surprise flickering in their faces.
Carla didn't waste a second and rushed to her.
"Elara! You have really grown some balls. I messaged you earlier. Why didn't you reply to me?" Carla asked, disregarding the other two people sitting at the table.
George's hand on the cutlery froze before they tightened, his gaze turning a shade darker, and he was about to stand to address the woman who dared to talk to his sister this way when Elara tapped the table impatiently with her index finger, an indication for him to stay put.
Elara lazily looked up at the seething woman before she raised her brows.
"What about it?" she asked, keeping her cool before she took a sip of the soup she ordered.
Carla's face twisted at the blatant disrespect.
"What did you say? What about it? Have you seriously lost your mind? How can you ignore my messages? Do you think just because you gave me a good piece last time, I won't tell my brother about this?" Clara asked.
Elara, least fazed by the woman's outburst, leaned back in her seat, placing the spoon down on her plate before she tilted her head to look up.
"Why are you angry? For someone begging me to write a song for you, you are surely haughty," Elara smirked, deliberately provoking the woman.
Since she had spent more than three years in that household, letting them off so easily—without making them regret ever crossing her—just because she had fallen in love with the wrong man felt against her principles.
All her life, she lived like a free soul; no one could disrespect her, not just because she was rich but because of her own talents and her goodness, and to think she was treated like shit in that household, and she put up with all of that just in the name of love…
The thought alone made Elara want to slap her former self, but growth often began with forgiving yourself for past mistakes you can't control anymore, and that was precisely what she planned to do.
Rather than blaming herself, she was ready to make them pay instead.
"What did you say? I begged you?" Carla's eyes went wide in shame.
She wasn't just Andrew's sister but a renowned singer with thousands of fans. Thus, this kind of public statement was a direct attack on her popularity and legitimacy.
When Elara didn't give her any response, and she noticed people starting to look at her and gossip, Clara raised her hand to slap Elara.
However, before her hand could even come near Elara's face, someone stopped her mid-action.
Elara looked up, her brows raising when she saw Antonio standing there.
"It's time I return to my duties. I had enough time off," Antonio said before he bowed to Elara.
Carla, irritated from being stopped like this, chuckled mockingly.
"What is this, Elara? You always go on and on about loving my brother, but you don't shy away from wandering around with other men? Tell me the truth? It's because my brother doesn't want to sleep with a woman like you that you have found these two men to satisfy your—"
Carla started but couldn't complete her sentence because in the next moment, Elara raised her hand and slapped her so hard that the woman stumbled back, twisting her foot before falling on the ground with a screech.
"Elara! You bitch!" Carla screamed.
Sophia, who had been standing afar, not interfering, quickly rushed to her daughter's side before glaring at Elara.
"Elara! Have you lost your mind? Don't you know my daughter is a star and has an upcoming show? Must you go to such lengths to bully her?" Sophia asked, her raised voice making it seem as if Elara had started everything.
Paired with Carla's pitiful and fake crying, everyone started pointing fingers at Elara, and the latter couldn't help but scoff.
She wiped the corner of her lips with the napkin before she stepped forward and looked at Sophia.
"Must I go to such lengths?" Elara blinked before she smiled.
"Hmm, I didn't think about it earlier, but should I?" She asked before smiling at Carla.
"This is the last time you dared to raise your hand at me. The next time your hand won't stay intact on your body," Elara said darkly before she stood straight and grabbed her purse.
"Elara! I'll remember this, you bitch! You think my brother would let you off with it? You just wait and watch!" Carla shouted, while Elara just nodded at her brother to tell him she was alright before she left with Antonio hot on her tail as her bodyguard.