Elara's brows furrowed in confusion and mixed anger when she heard from the civil registrar officer that it might take thirty days before the divorce was finalized, and any party could withdraw.
She took a deep breath, standing outside a famous restaurant, dressed in an elegant beige dress with blue sunglasses. Her red lipstick made people look at her as they walked by, wondering if she was a celebrity that they couldn't recognize.
Elara had made a habit of dressing in less eye-catching clothes and always staying humble, so as not to draw anyone's attention when she was with Andrew, because he had yet to announce their relationship to the world, and she didn't want him to get into any pointless slander.
Only now did she realize how naive she used to be. A scoff left her mouth, and she pulled out her phone to ask the man how long it would take him to reach there.
At the same time, a child rushed to her to get her autograph.
Elara looked down at the child's beaming eyes, then up at the child's mother, who looked at her apologetically.
Just by her stance and how polite and humble she was, it was clear to Elara that this woman was probably someone who married into a family out of her status. Her posture told her that.
"Please forgive my son, miss. He is—" She stuttered.
Elara extended her hand. She always kept candy in her purse, and while her husband always thought it was for her sweet tooth, it was really because she had low blood pressure.
"Thank you," The kid's eyes sparkled as he grabbed the candy before leaving with his mom.
The lady smiled gratefully before following her kid, and Elara couldn't help but look away, her expression turning back to neutral and cold as she waited.
It wasn't long before the sleek black Maybach stopped at the entrance of the restaurant, followed by two more SUVs.
Elara's expression changed a bit when she saw the man who stepped out of the car.
She swallowed hard before turning around.
She had only called for Xylon to come and pick her up. What was that man doing here? Elara gritted her teeth and started to walk away, hoping he didn't see her yet.
However, she had only taken a couple of steps when a few bodyguards stood before her, stopping her from taking another step.
Elara's gaze darkened.
"Move!" She seethed through her teeth, but when no one did, she gritted her teeth.
The bodyguards pretended like they didn't hear her.
Elara placed her hands on the bodyguard's hand and tried to push them away. But as she was about to exert some pressure, a cold hand reached out for her and pulled her back.
"Let me go! Or I'll scream!" Elara hissed, but the man just tightened his hold on her.
"Scream then," He whispered coldly, least fazed by her threat.
Elara turned around and glared at the man whose eyes were hidden behind black sunglasses.
Her gaze shifted to the other man, who immediately looked down at his feet, ashamed of his actions.
"Do you serve him or me?" Elara asked.
"That's my friend, Miss Elara. He doesn't serve anyone." The man before her said, and Elara pursed her lips, annoyed.
Xylon quickly shook his head.
He stepped forward.
"I serve you, of course," Xylon corrected quickly before he cleared his throat when the man glared at him.
"Let me go. You are hurting me," Elara said before she looked up, looking straight into the man's eyes through her sunglasses when he removed his goggles.
"And what are you going to do about it?" He asked before he bent and picked up Elara, making everyone gasp.
Not only did he pick her up, but he also threw her on his shoulders, making the girl gasp.
"Bro, I think you are going a bit overboard," Xylon commented when he noticed how dark Elara's gaze had gone as her sunglasses slipped away and fell, which he quickly grabbed.
"Overboard? And what she did wasn't overboard?" The man said, and Xylon zipped his mouth.
Was it really not a good reason to inform him that Elara contacted him? Well, judging from the girl's expression, it looked like a bad decision.
At the same time, Trevor Gain, Andrew's best friend, who had a meeting at the very restaurant, walked to its entrance and saw the commotion.
He was about to walk inside for his meeting when he stopped.
Why did this woman look so familiar? He stopped to take another look. When he looked carefully, to say his eyes widened in shock would be an understatement.
Wasn't that Andrew's wife? He thought, then quickly took out his cellphone and snapped her photo to confirm with his friend.
He sent the photo to Andrew, asking him the question in the caption.
Andrew was still processing the shock of the call and driving to the company for the meeting. He wanted to deal with the matter later, since he was sure Elara was probably playing some game again to catch his attention.
He exhaled sharply in annoyance. If only his wife could be half as intelligent and understanding as Beatrice.
He looked at the photo as soon as he stopped the car in front of his company's building.
For a second, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Didn't Elara always hate such elegant colors? She used to wear dull clothes and look so mundane. How could she wear red lipstick? What was she trying to pull here by dressing like that? So obscene and immoral.
But that wasn't the matter of concern. What mattered was how she was being carried by a muscular man over the shoulders with so many bodyguards.
First that divorce call, and now this… she was really going out of her way this time.
He looked at the time, his lips pressed into thin lines.
"That's not my wife." He messaged Trevor before he called Jason to ask a few men to look into this matter, find what was going on, and save his wife if it was indeed serious.
With that, he walked inside the company for his meeting, thinking he had done more than enough in the matter.
Elara, who had been thrown into the back seat of the car, glared at the man who sat beside her.
"I'll tell mom and dad how you treated me just now." She spat before crossing her arms around her chest and looking away.
"So after three years, you finally remembered that you have a mom and dad, and probably a brother too?" The man asked.
Guilt consumed Elara's heart, and she swallowed, taking a deep breath before she looked at the man whose expression was as stoic as a large rock, and she held his hand.
"Are you angry with me, brother?" She blinked her eyes innocently.
George looked at his sister, who had broken every connection to the family three years ago because they disapproved of the marriage, then looked away.
"So you know I am your brother." Though his voice was brooding, anyone could tell that all he really wanted was to hug his sister and ask her how she had been, whether she was eating properly, how everything was, and what really happened.
However, his brooding anger was getting in the way.
"I was wrong," Elara whispered, tears brimming in her eyes, and the man finally looked at her, his heart aching for his sister, whom they cherished and treated like a princess.
For someone like her, who was so proud, talented, and strong and never did anything to apologise to anyone, to say sorry so simply… He couldn't even imagine what exactly she went through.
"It's okay. Now you are back, that's all that matters to me. We won't let you slip off again," George Frost said before placing his hand on Elara's head as she snuggled close to him, before putting her head on his lap.
"Can I sleep? I feel like I haven't slept properly in a decade," she said, her words making everyone's hearts in the car clench in pain and anger for her.
"Sleep, my princess. I'll wake you up once we reach home. We have a surprise for you too," George whispered the last part to himself, allowing his sister to sleep on his lap.