Everyone looked at the phone with raised brows, unsure what was on it that made the girl so proud of herself, and sure that Sophia wouldn’t want it presented to the world.
The first recording started, and as soon as it did, everyone could clearly hear a man’s voice that was asking her to drop out of the drama because Carla was a bratty woman and wouldn’t settle for less.
"Mr. Lloyd came to me with a proposal today. I am ready to give up that spot, but will the public accept it after this video goes out?" Elara asked.
Blood drained from Sophia’s face. Carla was already sailing over rumors, and if this video were to be released, the earlier rumors about bullying would surface again.
Sophia remembered Carla’s threat of taking her life, but not bowing down to Elara, and couldn’t help but gulp.
"You wouldn’t dare," she said.
Elara smiled.
"Mrs. Lloyd, your mind hasn’t seemed to understand the situation here. I am not the same girl you could bully and say all kinds of names. I am Elara Frost," Elara said before she looked at the sales assistant.
"You wanted me out of this store. Do you really think I should walk out?" Elara asked.
Sophia looked at the girl, tongue-tied, clenching her fists by her side.
"I wouldn’t want to shop in a place where lowlives like you are. Let’s go," Sophia said, and Elara looked at the back of the woman, not satisfied.
She looked at the sales assistant with raised brows.
"Your potential high-paying client is leaving. Will you let her go just like that?" She asked them.
The manager looked at the girl, unsure.
Did she want Sophia to leave or not?
"What makes you think leaving like this wouldn’t make me release this tape to the media?" Elara raised her voice, and Sophia stopped dead in her tracks.
She turned around with wide eyes.
"I am leaving just like you wanted. What else do you need?" She gritted out.
Elara gasped, placing her hand on her chest as she looked around, feigning surprise.
"When did I say I wanted you out? How could I? Why would I interrupt this store’s sales? It was you who wanted me out. Me? I want you to see how I am rising slowly," Elara smirked.
The more Sophia heard, the more she felt a headache shooting up her skull. Her anger was rising to the point where she wanted to throw everything around and pull Elara’s hair.
But with that kind of video in Elara’s hand, she didn’t dare to do anything rash.
"For some reason, you thought this little thing was the only evidence that gives me confidence to stand against you," Elara pouted, but rather than explaining herself, she turned and started looking at the dresses casually as if she wasn’t the one who was creating chaos earlier.
When she didn’t see anyone moving, she tilted her head.
"Do I need to tell you guys, how to operate? Chop chop. The show is over. Please assist your favourite regular." Elara clapped her hands, and the sales assistants looked at Sophia, who was seething.
Grace and the others who weren’t affected much started browsing the dresses despite Sophia’s anger.
"Let it go, Sophia. That girl is rude and mannerless. By thinking about her, you are doing exactly what she wants; give her importance," Grace said to Sophia, and the others chimed in, nodding.
Sophia took a deep breath and turned to a pretty magenta dress.
"You indeed have an eye for the best in the collection. That dress came today only. It’s the first in the Horizon collection to enter the market," The sales assistant said.
Sophia felt a little better at the words and was about to step forward when she saw Elara moving towards the dress.
"I’ll pay you double the tip. I want that dress," Sophia said.
The sales assistant immediately understood the assignment and rushed to get the dress from the racks.
Elara looked at the dress and was about to reach for it when the sales assistant pulled it off.
"I am sorry, miss. This one is already sold." The sales assistant, who still didn’t know what kind of woman Elara was, because the first impression was only that of a troublemaker, looked at Elara with a grim expression behind an apologetic smile.
"Is it really?" Another woman chimed in, and everyone turned to look at a woman in a white chiffon dress, her face covered by a hat and dark blue goggles, as she looked the sales assistant up and down.
The sales assistant was about to agree when the manager rushed forward and quickly grabbed the assistant’s hand.
"Mrs. Hannah, what a pleasant surprise. It’s an honor to have you here," the manager’s expression took a complete turn.
She looked at the four bodyguards behind the elegant lady, who looked ready to kill.
Sophia and her friends looked at the elegant lady standing near the dress.
"Who is she?" Arohi asked.
"It’s Mrs. Hannah. She seldom appears in public. She owns the largest diamond business in the nation," Grace said.
Sophia immediately plastered a polite smile on her face as she approached the lady, having long forgotten about the dress.
"Hello, Mrs. Hannah. I am Sophia Lloyd." Sophia extended her hand.
Hannah looked at her hand and arched her brows before nodding and shaking the tip of her fingers elegantly before she turned to the dress.
"It looks like something I would want my next model to wear. Unfortunately, I couldn’t preplan this time. I want this dress," Mrs. Hannah said.
"In that case, please have the dress, ma’am. I guess it was waiting for its perfect owner," The manager said.
"Is that so? Earlier, you said it was sold," Elara said with a scoff as she continued to look at the golden dresses in the rack.
The manager gritted her teeth.
This girl was surely here for nothing more than to create trouble for her.
"Maybe you misheard—"
"I heard it too," Mrs. Hannah said before she sighed.
"Doesn’t matter. As long as I get what I want. I care less about what anybody says," she said before she looked at Elara again.
Her brows furrowed.
Why did it feel like she had seen this girl before?
She wasn’t the kind of woman to remember everyone, but if she found someone familiar, they probably left an impression on her.
"You," Mrs. Hannah arched her brows before she took off her goggles.
No. This couldn’t be possible. Was she imagining things?
Elara turned to look at her casually.
"Hello to you, too, Mrs. Hannah," she said.
The woman, who had an arrogant aura around herself earlier, softened to everyone’s surprise.
"Ara Ara?" Mrs. Hannah said.
Hannah was Gabriella’s childhood friend, and when Elara was born, she was the first one to hold her in her arms after her family. Gabriella had even made her Elara’s godmother.
When Hannah had taken Elara in her arms, she hadn’t spoken her name. She had cooed "Ara Ara" in her ears, and the giggle from baby Elara confirmed she liked it.
That was exactly how her name, Elara, was decided upon.
"Oh my... you..." Hannah dropped her bag, least bothered about her image as she stepped forward and hugged the girl tightly.
Tears brimmed in Hannah’s eyes. Her husband died just a few months after her marriage, and she never married again. Though she ran a few orphanages and sponsored many NGOs, she didn’t have a kid of her own.
And that was why she treated George and Elara as her own.
Seeing Elara alive after months of mourning with Gabriella was like breathing and finding water after walking in the scorching sunlight of a desert.
Elara, who hadn’t expected the lady to act so strongly, patted Hannah’s back rapidly.
"C-can’t breathe," She let out.
Daniel, who had been watching everything without interrupting, just like Elara had wanted, stepped towards the duo and yanked the lady from his woman.
Elara took deep breaths before looking up and smiling gratefully at Daniel.
"Are you alright?" He asked, pinching her chin, and the girl, feeling wronged by the pinch, nodded, her nose feeling stuffy.
"I know I have been dead for a long time, but must you try to kill me as soon as you see me?" Elara groaned, moving her neck.
Hannah, still in shock, was about to speak when another woman, least expected by the store manager and assistants, rushed in.
"Who isn’t letting my nephew’s wife shop?!" The lady shouted.
Elara looked at Daniel with arched brows.
Daniel— "..." It was a mistake calling her. He suppressed the urge to slap his forehead.
Daniel’s aunt, who had walked into the store, looked at the group of people and nodded to Hannah, recognizing her immediately.
"Hey, Elara," Jessica said casually to Elara and was about to walk to the manager to talk when she paused, more like freezing in her place, before she turned to Elara again.
"Elara?" She asked.
Sophia looked at all the elite ladies’ gatherings one by one, and it looked like everyone knew Elara, but how? And why?
Her gaze lingered on Elara, not with hatred for the first time, but with curiosity.