"Where are we?"
It was the first thing Elara asked when she woke up and found herself sleeping in what looked like a lounge.
One of the bodyguards who had been asked to stand by and guard her room stepped forward before bowing.
"Mr. George had a meeting here, Miss Elara. He brought you here since you were sleeping. He has gone to attend to the guests." The bodyguard explained, and Elara furrowed her brows before sitting upright.
She yawned, still feeling tired after everything she went through, before pinching the bridge of his nose.
She had asked her brother to take her to her apartment, which she had bought while still studying at university.
While she wanted to meet her parents, she didn’t want them to worry too much and thus decided to handle things first before letting them know exactly what she had in mind for her future: taking over the international branch of Frost’s group.
For that, she also knew she would need to prove her worth after staying dormant for three long years, but she was ready to do it all.
Nothing could be more insufferable than the kind of life she was living in that household, where only she was present in that one-sided marriage.
"You, what’s your name?" Elara asked, and the bodyguard cleared his throat.
"You can call me Mr. An, Miss," he said.
Elara raised her brows.
"It’s Antonio," he cleared.
Elara nodded.
"Antonio," she looked at him from head to toe before bobbing her head up and down in approval.
"You are quite a good catch, easy on the eyes. You’ll be my bodyguard from now on," Elara said.
The man hesitated, his eyes as wide as saucers.
She stood from the couch she had been sleeping on and evened her dress before she looked up at his red face.
His ears and neck had turned completely red, and Elara couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
"What’s going on in your head? I am not shooting a bodyguard romance here. Do you suspect my intentions?" She asked.
Antonio’s eyes widened even further, and he quickly shook his head, his hands waving in dismissal.
"No, Miss, I mean, Madam. How can I? It’s just I heard so much about how peculiar you were about bodyguards and never chose one. It’s an honor to be able to serve you. I’ll have to tell Mr George about the change in my employer and—" Antonio started explaining everything as if it were rocket science.
Elara looked at the flustered man, a soft smile appearing on her face.
He was right. She had always been very particular about the kind of people she allowed to hover around her. Be it bodyguards, friends, or even the types of guests permitted to approach her personal space.
That was the sole reason so few even knew her as Frost’s daughter. Only a couple of people met her, and that was on her eighteenth birthday a few years ago.
And look at where that woman was standing now after choosing such a lousy man as her husband because of one incident.
Her brother was right. If she was grateful, there were many other ways to express it. Did she really need to sacrifice her three golden years on that kind of man, who never gave her three days’ worth of attention in the three years?
A scoff left Elara’s mouth, and Antonio, who was going on and on about the things he needed to do, shut up immediately.
"I’ll inform Mr. George," Elara said sarcastically before she gave him a day off to enjoy because things were about to get hectic for him.
When she proposed to him to be her bodyguard, she intended for him to be her manager too—a manager in...
Elara smiled.
"Let’s explore this place," she thought aloud before taking her purse and stepping out of the resting lounge, a non-entry area declared by George so no one would disturb her.
As Elara walked around, she noticed it wasn’t just any usual place. It was a horse-riding arena.
She walked around, looking at the people standing in the field.
Was today an important day? Why were so many people gathered here? Elara wondered and stopped a staff member.
"Hey, is something special going on? Why are there so many people today? Is it always this crowded?" She asked.
The staff member, annoyed by personal matters, was about to snap, but stopped when her gaze fell on Elara. When she noticed the expensive clothing, she cleared her throat before adopting a polite stance.
"I am not sure, Miss. Apparently, a business tycoon is rumored to make his presence known here, and these people, mostly business aristocrats, are here to strike a meeting with him," the staff member told her.
Elara nodded and thanked the staff. Her smile vanished as soon as the staff member left.
Since her brother was here to strike some deals, she might as well explore horse riding.
Rather than returning to the lounge area, Elara walked to the horse ranch.
"Can you show me some horses to ride?" Elara asked.
The stable keeper looked at her with a sigh.
"Many people are here to get the horses, Madam. You’ll have to take a token and wait for your queue to choose a horse," he said before he pointed at the area where the tokens were being given.
Since she had nothing better to do, Elara walked to the area to grab the token and was about to turn and leave to wait for her turn when she heard a voice she didn’t expect to hear here.
"Miss Elara?" The woman’s shrill voice appeared.
Elara turned around, her expression neutral.
"Miss Beatrice," Elara said, keeping her expression blank as her gaze shifted to Andrew, who was leading with Jason behind Beatrice.
As soon as his gaze met hers, he stopped, a bit taken aback to see her in a place like this.
"Elara, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you followed me here," Andrew said before he looked at Jason, as if asking whether he leaked the information to her.
Jason quickly shook his head in defense.
Andrew rubbed the area between his brows in annoyance.
"Look, if you are here to throw some kind of tantrum, don’t. I am here for an important meeting, and I don’t want any drama before that. You should leave. Jason," Andrew looked at Jason, who nodded and stepped forward.
Elara, who used to be fazed by his words earlier, just looked at him blankly.
"Miss Elara, if you are misunderstanding something, please don’t. We are here for a business meeting. You shouldn’t cause trouble for Andrew like this," Beatrice blinked her eyes innocently, as if she wasn’t the same person who sent her that photo last night.
Elara smiled.
She had heard similar criticisms countless times. Even when she used to appear because she cared about Andrew’s health and brought home-cooked food, she was always portrayed as a jealous wife who couldn’t keep her emotions in check.
Back then, she always used to blame herself when she reached home. That she did something wrong, took the wrong action, or maybe she was stupid in the romance aspect.
Her love made her lower her self-respect, her dignity, her talent, and... Elara took a deep breath.
"You are mistaken," she said.
"Is that so? Maybe that’s right. I am sure you are mistaken, Andrew. Miss Elara’s appearance in the same place as us is merely a coincidence," Beatrice said, twisting her tone.
Elara noticed how Andrew’s brows drew closer, a sign of his annoyance, and she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
"We need to have a proper talk. About the call I got and—" Andrew gritted his teeth when he remembered that photo.
Seeing how Elara was fine, it was clear all that was just a ploy to get his attention.
How could a married woman get on another man’s shoulder herself? Pathetic! Andrew ground his teeth before taking a deep breath to control his anger.
"We have nothing to talk about," Elara said and turned to leave for the horse ranch.
"Elara!" Andrew grabbed her hand, raising his voice.
It drew the attention of a few onlookers.
His steel-like grip made Elara freeze in her place for a second before she snapped her hand out of his grip, making him stumble a bit.
Andrew looked at her in surprise. She never openly retaliated against him like that.
"Don’t you dare." Elara seethed.
"I know you are angry. I’ll explain everything to you. Go home for now," Andrew said.
Elara scoffed at his words.
"Look—" Andrew started, but was cut off when someone interrupted him.
"If you guys are done displaying your drama, can others get their token?" A man’s voice interrupted them.
Andrew turned to snap at the person, but his words stuck in his throat when he saw the man behind the man who spoke.
Elara observed the man, who looked back at her with a much stronger intensity. His eyes were cold, almost lifeless, as if they never held any emotions, and she couldn’t help but look away.
She just nodded at the new person before leaving, his aura telling her he was someone important.
The man didn’t make any move to nod at her or address her. He just looked at her with a bored and casual expression.
"Mr.—" Jason started to introduce his boss, but before he could say anything, the duo had already walked past them, leaving the trio speechless.