Elara walked to the white rose field in the garden, barely nodding at Emma, Carla’s cousin, who just scoffed and left.
Elara’s face was solemn, not a hint of peace in her heart as she stood in a place where she never really belonged or could call home.
She remembered how she had planted all these roses painstakingly, but at the end of the day, all she got from the in-laws was mockery.
’We have enough money to pay gardeners. What are you trying to show by doing all this? Just because you are poor and haven’t seen money in real life, you think no one has?’ That was precisely what Sophia had said to her when she had looked at them in hope of getting a little praise.
These roses weren’t standard. They were imported from Finland. The thorns had pierced her countless times, but the hope that her family would appreciate her efforts to make the home beautiful kept her going.
And yes, she regretted it.
"What are you doing here when the party is going on inside?" She heard a strangely familiar voice.
She turned around and noticed Heather Lloyd’s sister, Lara Lloyd, standing before her with a glass of champagne in hand.
"I am not really a fan of crowds," Elara commented.
Lara nodded at her words.
"Right. You used to be in the background, just clapping in the corner, never showing yourself previously," Lara said meaningfully, hinting at her minimal value in the house, and Elara looked away.
"But seriously, does it not bother you that your husband is meeting everyone with his secretary by his side, almost pretending to be his girlfriend?" Lara asked.
Elara’s lips twitched at this sentence. She looked at Lara briefly before sighing.
"What can I say? It must be in the destiny of people with similar names," Elara said.
Lara’s smile vanished when she heard those words. It was no secret that her husband was a renowned troublemaker with multiple affairs, known throughout the city, but no one dared to openly mention them for fear of crossing the Lloyds.
"You have grown a sharp mouth from the last time I saw you," Lara said.
Elara smiled.
"I always had this mouth. I just never felt like using it before," she said.
Lara’s smile faltered before she took a deep breath.
"It’s okay. I understand. With a husband like Andrew, who doesn’t give you any attention, I’d get peachy too. But don’t let it get to you, or you’ll turn into a nasty old woman who nags at everything at an early age," Lara said, and without waiting for her response, she turned and left.
Elara furrowed her brows.
It was strange that this woman, who didn’t usually interact with her, approached her.
She shrugged and turned to the patio to walk inside the hall again. It was better to stay inside, since that way she would be able to avoid being singled out and talked to more.
As soon as she entered the hall, she arched her brows in confusion when she noticed a crowd forming at the center.
"Don’t panic, Emma. We’ll find it somewhere here. It must have fallen," someone said.
"Are you for real? It’s not a candy that dropped from my clutch. It’s a goddamn necklace worth millions that was on my neck. I just removed it for a brief second to adjust the collar of my dress," Emma raised her voice.
From the looks of it, Emma had lost her necklace, and everyone was panicking over it.
Elara’s first instinct was to open her clutch to check if anyone had placed the necklace there, just to be on the safe side.
She has read her share of such novels in her free time these days because of the drama’s plot, and this was one of the tricks widely used to frame someone they disliked.
Elara took a deep breath when she noticed the necklace wasn’t in her clutch.
Well, thank goodness. Maybe someone really stole it.
She turned to walk to the snacks section, least interested in the drama, and was about to leave when she heard a familiar shrill cry.
"How can this be? I didn’t do anything. You have to believe me."
It was Beatrice’s voice.
Elara couldn’t comprehend what was going on for a second.
Something was terribly fishy here.
Beatrice was trying to get into the Lloyd family by appearing good and capable to Andrew.
There was no way she would steal a necklace worth millions when her own family could afford to buy such things for her. Not to mention, Andrew would buy it for her if she wanted.
Since she was already a favorite of Carla and Sophia, there was no way they would scheme against her, and Emma and Lara, who always try to suck up to Sophia, wouldn’t hate on Beatrice without any reason.
So if none of those options clicked, what exactly was going on?
"The necklace came out of your clutch, Beatrice. I always thought you were an elegant lady from a prestigious family who was just working under my brother to learn business, but you—" Emma raised her hand to slap Beatrice.
"What is going on?" Andrew’s sharp voice cut through the crowd, and Elara watched as Andrew rushed forward to help Beatrice and protect her.
"I didn’t do anything, Drew. Tell them. I would never steal anything. Please," Beatrice cried in Andrew’s arms, who pulled her close, hiding her face in his chest.
"Don’t worry. No one will harm you as long as I am here," Andrew declared as he glared at Emma and Carla, his steel gaze demanding answers.
As Elara witnessed everything, a weird thought crossed her mind. She pictured herself in Beatrice’s place and wondered if Andrew would ever have taken her side. Protected her like that?
As soon as the absurd thought crossed her head, she scoffed at herself in mockery. What was she thinking about?
Hadn’t something like that really happened when it came to the company report going missing and being blamed on her? All along, it was a random kid who took the file away and was playing with it.
When they found out the real culprit, after thoroughly humiliating her, what did they say to her in apology?
’Don’t overthink. The elders were just angry. You must understand,’
Yes. That was the profound apology she received after being made to kneel in punishment by none other than Sophia.
The memory made her clench her fists when she saw how protectively Andrew held his so-called secretary.
"The evidence is right in front of you, Andrew. The necklace came out of her clutch. What else do you want? She is a thief!" Emma glared before she looked at Beatrice with a murderous gaze.
"There has to be a mistake. I was with Andrew from the moment I arrived. I just had a little break to use the washroom. Maybe someone placed it there at that time?" Beatrice cried in Andrew’s arms, and the man sighed.
He massaged his forehead before looking around, his gaze landing on Elara, and his body went rigid.
His body immediately stepped back from Beatrice subconsciously. As if he knew what he was doing was wrong.
He shook his head and looked at Emma.
"You said you took the necklace off near the patio, didn’t you? Was there anyone by your side? Someone you saw? There has to be a witness who saw Beatrice stealing it in such a large area, no?" Andrew asked.
Beatrice wiped her tears, her cheeks red from sniffing as she looked at Emma for answers.
"There was no one apart from that maid who helped me with the collar and Elara who..." Emma turned to look at Elara, her eyes sharp.
Elara didn’t react. She had understood what they were trying to do when they mentioned the patio. It was a fleeting doubt, but now her doubt has been proved right.
Everyone in the household, including the guests, looked at her with raised brows.
"Elara? Was it you who placed the necklace in Beatrice’s clutch? Oh my god, I can’t believe it!" Carla walked to Elara before pointing her fingers at her accusingly.
"Everyone knows how envious and jealous of her you get. Just because my brother came with her, must you go to such lengths to taint her reputation?" Carla molded everyone’s thoughts into thinking the worst.
Elara, on the other hand, stood there, not affected by her words. Rather than panicking like she used to, her gaze turned rather cold, and she looked Carla straight in the eyes.
"What proof do you have that I did it? Don’t throw accusations at me without any evidence. That’s called defamation," Elara said.
"Elara! Don’t talk to my daughter like that! You are talking about defamation? What reputation and fame do you even have to call it defamation? Besides, it won’t be the first time you have stolen something. A lowly birth like you can—" Sophia started, but before she could end her sentence, Elara raised her voice.
"Mrs. Lloyd! Watch your mouth," Elara said.
Sophia stood frozen in her place for a few seconds, a gasp leaving her mouth before she looked at Andrew.
"Did you see that? She just raised her voice at me! Are you not going to say anything?" She asked.
Andrew pressed his lips into a thin line and looked at Elara.
"Apologize to Mom, Elara," he said.