Carla looked to and fro between Elara and Sabrina, trying to figure out how things turned out like this.
"Do you mean this dress she is wearing is legit?" The same woman from earlier asked, still trying to gain some brownie points from Beatrice.
Meanwhile, Beatrice suppressed her urge to smack the girl’s head. The verdict was crystal clear. Must she ask again to bring it to everyone’s attention?
Sabrina looked at the group, then at Elara, in confusion.
"Why would Elara ever need to wear a knockoff when her mother is—" Sabrina started to explain, but Elara cut her off mid-sentence.
"Sabrina was my classmate during college. Regarding this gift, it was from my friend, whose mother is a prominent figure in the fashion industry. I can’t say her name for privacy matters," Elara said, deliberately creating a fake story to make Sabrina understand she didn’t want her background exposed.
Sabrina looked at Elara in confusion but said nothing further.
"Anyways, now that I have seen the Ophelia collection myself, do you mind having a selfie with me? I want to be the first one to post it on my social media." Sabrina winked at Elara, and the latter smiled before nodding.
At the same time, Antonio, who was sitting at the adjacent table and saw everything unfold, couldn’t help but admire Miss Elara even more.
Not because she has such a prominent friend, but because everything was indeed going according to her plans.
Around two hours ago ~~~
"What are you thinking so hard about, Miss Elara?" Antonio asked when he saw her sitting before the window, deep in thought.
Elara shrugged.
"Call me petty, but I just can’t seem to let go of how easily Carla got away after stealing my song. This wasn’t her first offense. Now at the dinner, I am sure they would look for ways to humiliate me," Elara said before she called George.
She talked to her brother for some time, who was confused about why she would call him when they had met at the restaurant earlier.
However, once George found out the news, he couldn’t help but agree to her arrangements.
Within forty minutes, the package she had asked to get delivered was already at her doorstep.
When Elara opened the box and saw the marvelous dress, she smirked.
Since Carla and Beatrice were always so eager to find fault in her, she might as well give them an opportunity herself.
She checked everything and asked Xylon to look into the restaurant’s reservation schedule to see if anyone from the fashion industry would be available at the same time.
It was just her luck that it was none other than her acquaintance, Sabrina, and it made her work even easier.
She was ready to make Carla kneel before her sooner or later, and this was just the second step she would take towards destroying that venomous brat.
Present~~~
Elara looked at Carla and Beatrice’s pale faces when they realized their technique backfired on them.
And the ones getting thoroughly humiliated would be them.
From the moment of her entrance until now, whatever she had done, every sentence she said, and the relentless provocation to let Carla take the bait—everything was a pre-planned act.
Even just now, leaving the production because she felt thoroughly humiliated was an act that added fuel to the fire.
She knew that she would be suffering this ’can’t offend Carla and Beatrice because they are backed by Andrew’ throughout the shooting, and thus, she needed something to establish her importance without declaring her identity, and judging from the director’s wide eyes, it definitely felt like she did her job quite well.
Maybe Daniel was indeed correct. She didn’t need to learn to act to compete against Carla and Beatrice. She has been acting docile for so long that even staying in the same character for the drama would look like acting.
"Where did you go after college? Even your best friend, Candice Stewart, didn’t know," Sabrina asked, her voice loud enough for the people around to hear.
Elara smiled at the girl.
"I fell into a well, thinking it would keep me satiated. It took me years to realize it was a dirt well and would only continue to suffocate me. Don’t worry. I am back now. How about we catch up later over some dinner? As you can see, I am kind of busy right now," Elara said before anyone could ask Sabrina to join.
Sabrina nodded and gave Elara her personal number before leaving the scene.
Once the girl was out of sight and returned to her table, Elara turned to Carla, who was too tongue-tied to say something.
Elara arched her brows at the girl.
"W-well, if it was yours, why didn’t you say it?" Carla asked, still trying to get out of the situation.
But of course, Elara wasn’t going to have it. She planned all this for this very moment.
"Apologize," Elara said, her tone cold, her composure calm, but her eyes blazing fire.
"What did you say?" Carla asked as if she had heard some kind of joke.
Elara smiled. After wasting so many years on Andrew, she definitely had time for this.
"One should be humble enough to admit one’s mistake when they are wrong. You said it. So, apologize. I warned you, but you just wouldn’t listen because you wanted to humiliate me so badly." Elara shrugged her shoulders, her gaze drifting to Beatrice for a second.
"So either you apologize or I am leaving this production. I have a perfect voice, which many companies would be eager to hire me for. This isn’t the only production," Elara said.
This was her second strategy for the day. Retreat to attack stronger.
Carla scoffed at Elara’s words. Did this wench really think she mattered so much to production? Just because she won and got the upper hand once, she really thought she was some kind of prominent figure? Carla shook her head at Elara’s words.
"You think you are suddenly so important to production? You have a weird habit of forgetting your place, Elara, don’t you? Just because you have some high society friends, you think it puts you in the same league as us?" Carla rolled her eyes.
Elara didn’t say anything to Carla. She didn’t want to. Talking to Carla was like talking to a wall. No matter what you say, they won’t understand a thing.
"I actually thought Andrew’s little intelligence might have rubbed off on you earlier, but I was wrong. You both are dumb. I guess it runs in the bloodline," Elara smirked, only loud enough for Carla to hear, who narrowed her eyes in rage.
"What did you say? How dare you?!" Carla raised her hand to strike Elara, but before she could even reach Elara’s cheeks, a strong force twisted her hand behind her back and kicked the back of her knees, making her kneel before Elara in a humiliating position.
Elara gasped loudly.
"Oh my! Antonio, don’t be so harsh on the girl. Miss Carla, why would you try to hit me when you clearly know I have a bodyguard just for that purpose?" Elara feigned innocence with her hand on her mouth before she pushed Antonio away.
"Go have your dinner. I am sure Miss Carla won’t dare to lift her hand on me again." Elara blinked her eyes before looking at the director.
"Do you have the same opinion as Miss Carla, sir? Because I have no value or importance here, I’d better leave," Elara said before she helped Carla up despite her struggling.
The director swallowed hard.
"Of course not. It’s rare to have a talent like you around. Please sit. We have had enough drama. Let’s eat in peace now." The director spoke with finality.
Elara nodded before patting her dress to smooth it, before looking straight into Beatrice’s eyes with a smile.
Beatrice stared back with equal intensity, finding everything strangely scripted.
No. How could a simple and dumb woman like Elara, who stupidly suffered so much in the name of love, actually plan all this out? It could be her paranoia. Beatrice nodded to herself.
Author’s Note— Guys, we’re already at 60 Chapters. If you like this book, don’t forget to leave a review for everyone to see. Even a few words would help the book get a rating.