Beatrice stood near the stage, a small smile plastered on her face, as everyone from the crew was invited to her engagement party.
"I can’t believe you are already getting engaged. I was hoping for you to at least sign a few movies before settling down," Director Han chuckled.
Beatrice smiled at his words.
"Come on, Director Han. We all know that I am not settling for less. It’s not like I will stop working after this engagement. Andrew would love to see me in a few more movies before we even plan to retire," Beatrice said.
She turned when she heard the chatter increase and saw Heather entering with Williams. The sight of the man made Beatrice smile bitterly.
Though he wasn’t the reason behind her family’s direct downfall, he was indirectly the reason they had become what they were today.
And to say the man was getting to live freely without any remorse while her family was suffering made Beatrice suppress the urge to clench her fingers, which would damage her nails.
Besides, the event was full of media outlets, and she didn’t want to give them a bad photo to post the next day.
"Beatrice, can I talk to you?" Carla walked to Beatrice, and the latter nodded before she followed her to the side.
"What is it, Carla?"
"We have been trying to reach Brother Andrew, but his phone is unreachable. Did he say anything about an important meeting or being late? Everyone is waiting, and the perfect timing for the engagement is approaching, but he is nowhere to be found," Carla said.
Beatrice’s expression turned a bit ugly.
Was Andrew nowhere to be found? What was that supposed to mean?
"He didn’t mention anything like that," Beatrice said, and Carla nodded.
"It’s okay. Don’t worry. He will be here soon." Sophia walked to Beatrice and asked her to keep smiling, or people would think something was wrong.
Beatrice nodded and walked to the crowd, though her gaze kept lingering on the entrance, her heart feeling complicated as a weird fear settled in.
At the same time, Elara, who was getting ready to attend the engagement because Beatrice invited her and she wanted to see Andrew’s demise by marrying Beatrice herself, wore her earrings.
"What did Justin have to say?" Antonio asked her, upon seeing her exit her bedroom, to look for her gift box.
"Nothing actually. He went to the mall and saw a silver pendant that he thought would look good on me. He just wanted to give me that," Elara smiled, and Antonio nodded.
"Why?" Antonio asked as he followed her to the bedroom, staying at the door.
Elara looked at the man through the reflection and smiled.
"I don’t know. He said he just liked it, and since he has no one to give it to, he gave it to me," Elara said.
"And you just took it? What if the man thought of it wrongly?" Antonio asked.
Elara chuckled at his reaction.
"Seriously? You are acting worse than George would. Besides, Justin is not into women. He is into men," Elara wriggled her brows, and Antonio coughed to hide his surprise.
"I still don’t believe you are going there. What if Sophia tries something?" He asked.
Elara rolled her eyes.
"And risk embarrassing her son before so many people? Nah. I don’t think she would be dumb enough to do that," Elara said.
She was about to grab her clutch and put her phone inside when it vibrated with an incoming call, and she saw George’s name flash on it.
She looked at Antonio with raised brows, and the man raised his hands in defense before saying he didn’t tell George anything.
Elara sighed and picked up the call.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Are you okay?" George’s comforting voice confused Elara until realization dawned.
"Seriously, brother? You think I still love Andrew? His engagement doesn’t affect me at all. I don’t even—"
"It’s not about Andrew. I am talking about Daniel. The photo that was released and the article—" George paused when he realized.
It looked like his sister didn’t know anything about it.
"What photo?" Elara asked.
"No photo. I was just kidding and—" George couldn’t finish his sentence when Elara pulled the phone away from her ears and quickly scrolled through the business news.
Macros’ family was the most influential family, pulling the strings of the underworld and business flows in the state, and it wasn’t hard for her to find it.
The news was released in the morning and had been trending since then, but she was only seeing it now.
In the photo, Daniel stood before a few Italian men, while a woman stood by his side, her hand hooked in his.
It wasn’t the only photo. The next photo showed the woman hugging Daniel from the side, her body pressed against him, and Elara’s heart squeezed painfully in her chest.
She stumbled back in shock, not because she suspected Daniel immediately, but a sense of deja vu hit her.
"Miss Elara," Antonio quickly held her hand to protect her from falling, and George, who heard the bodyguard’s panicked voice, immediately stood from his seat.
"Elara, listen to me. That woman is just his secretary. You don’t have to think too much about it. Okay? Don’t let your horses run wild until you hear from the man himself. I am trying to reach him but—"
"But he is unreachable," Elara said, interrupting George.
It was what hurt her the most.
She understood that the man was busy, that he was dealing with the kind of business she wouldn’t understand, according to him, but did he not have time to contact her even once? Call her, or at least tell her how he was?
She tried to reach out to him so many times, hear him, see him, or just know how he was doing, but he didn’t have the time to revert even once. Was this the profound love he talked about?
Even with the news of his business completion, she was getting it from the news channels.
The article, though purely business, also mentioned that Mr. Daniel Macros probably found the love of his life.
"Why is it always a secretary?" Elara asked, then took a deep breath and ended the call.
"Miss Elara, I am sure there is a misunderstanding," Antonio said.
Elara smiled at Antonio.
"I know there is. But this news went live in the morning, Antonio. He said he loved me. Is it too much to expect a call from him? Could he at least call now? It’s not like I am some pesky girlfriend who has been annoying him. I just wanted to—" Elara choked on her words before she took a deep breath to control her emotions from spilling.
"I don’t want to spoil my mood," Elara whispered, hiding her pain and heartache from the man.
She was about to grab her purse to leave when the doorbell rang, and she furrowed her brows.
Who could be here at this time? She wondered and nodded at Antonio to go and check.
The door opened, and the man walked in. To say she was surprised would be an understatement as she looked at the man and his condition.
"Andrew?" she asked, shocked.