REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight-Chapter 46: I just want to keep singing...

Not long after Elara walked off the stage, she moved into the backstage area. She didn’t look at the other singers who were staring at her unblinkingly as if she has something on her face. They should look to their content.

Ziva came in not long after her. She did not stop to say anything. Instead, she quickly placed a bottle of water into Elara’s hand. Then she made a small gesture, signaling that she would be back in a moment. Before Elara could ask anything, Ziva had already walked past her toward a door nearby. She pushed it open immediately without knocking.

Elara frowned slightly, wondering what was wrong. After a moment she followed after her.

Inside the room was the technical team. Several people were sitting in front of screens and other equipments.

As Elara stepped inside, she noticed something. None of the people in the room looked at her. Not one of them met her eyes. It was as if they are avoiding to meet her gaze.

She said nothing about it. She simply opened the bottle and took a drink of water while watching quietly.

Ziva walked straight toward the group of technicians. Her face was filled with anger and frustration.

"The microphone, what happened to it?" she said sharply.

A few of the staff members quickly stood up. "You can’t be in here," one of them said nervously. "No one is allowed to enter this room."

Ziva didn’t move. She stood exactly where she was. "Then explain something to me," she said coldly. "Why didn’t this happen when the other singers were performing?"

The room became awkwardly quiet.

One of the men cleared his throat and spoke carefully. "It was just a technical fault," he said. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Ziva narrowed her eyes. "What kind of technical fault?"

The man seemed not to know what to say anymore. He glanced around at the other members of the team, as if looking for help. But the others quickly looked away, pretending to focus on their equipment.

Elara noticed their reaction immediately.

She reached out and gently pulled Ziva’s hand. "Let’s go," she said quietly.

Ziva stared at the technicians for another moment, her eyes full of anger. Then she turned to walk out of the room with Elara.

"It wasn’t accidental," Ziva spoke up immediately.

"I know," Elara replied calmly.

The moment the door closed behind them, they almost walked straight into someone standing outside.

Livienne.

She looked surprised at first, as if she had not expected them to come out so suddenly. But the expression disappeared very quickly and a warm smile appeared on her face.

"Elara that was so incredible. When the microphone misbehaved, I was so worried for you." she said sweetly with a slight shake in her voice as if she had been truly scared and worried.

Elara almost laughed inside.

Misbehaved. Oh yes. The microphone had truly misbehaved.

Livienne reached out and took Elara’s hands in both of hers, squeezing them warmly like a caring friend. "I was afraid the problem would ruin your performance," she continued softly.

Ziva looked at the scene with clear irritation. Without caring about manners at all, she suddenly grabbed Livienne’s wrist and forced her hand away from Elara.

Livienne winced slightly at the sudden pain but Ziva only glared at her. "Fuck off," she spat. Then she grabbed Elara’s arm and pulled her away down the hallway.

Behind them, Livienne stood frozen in place, fuming in anger.

–

After all the singers had finished their performances. the finalists were called back to the main showcase space facing the Judge’s table.

Elara stood straight among the other singers. Her hands rested calmly at her sides. Her face looked peaceful, but inside her chest her heart was beating harder than before. Ziva stood at the side of the stage, watching just like she always did.

The Head Judge began to speak. He spoke for a long time, thanking the singers and praising their efforts. He said they had all done well and that every performance had been impressive.

But he paused for a moment. Then he spoke again.

"Today, one performance made me realize something again." he said while everyone listened quietly.

"Most people stop when things go wrong. But one singer today did not stop. Instead, she started again from the beginning." he continued, resting his hands on the table as he looked at the singers.

"And that reminded me of something very important. Voice comes first. Everything else is only assistance."

Everyone already understood what he meant. Before he even said the name, people were already glancing toward Elara.

Then the judge announced it clearly. "Elara Veyne, from Voice Entertainment."

The hall filled with applause immediately.

Elara couldn’t believe it, but she walked forward nevertheless. Her face remained composed but her eyes stung a bit. She forced herself to stay calm. She did not want to become emotional here.

The moment she stood facing the audience, her body was still standing in the hall, but her mind had drifted to somewhere else.

To Crelou. To the garden behind the house. She imagined her grandfather standing there alone, trimming the shrubs carefully like he always did.

She wished he could be here. She wished he could see her now. This was the first time in both her past life and this life that she had won a singing competition. She wanted this moment to stay forever.

When she came back to herself. Her expression returned to calm. The Head Judge stepped forward with two items in his hands. The first was a slim folder.

"This is the contract. Rye Entertainment awards you as the Rising Voice winner." he said.

He explained that the award included one guest single. Rye entertainment would handle the production and all the costs. After that song is released, It would carry her name and also her identity as a singer from Voice.

"Rye Entertainment is pleased to invest in your voice," the judge said.

Elara accepted the folder and looked at it for a short moment, then looked up at him. "Thank you," she said simply.

Next, the judge handed her an envelope.

"The cash prize. Eight thousand Aurel." he said.

Elara took the envelope with the same calm expression. She did not open it. She simply held it in her hand. Though her heart was thumping so hard that she was afraid the judge who was standing close to her would hear.

After that, they prepared for the photograph. Elara stood beside the officials and looked at the camera directly without forcing a big smile.

After that. The judge asked one more thing.

"Would you like to say anything?"

Elara looked out at the room. She did not know what to say. She had never imagined herself standing here as a winner before, and she had never prepared anything. So she said the only thing in her mind.

"I just want to keep singing."

She hadn’t listed names or give long thanks. But the room responded warmly anyway.

–

After the results were announced, many people came to congratulate Elara. It took a long time before the crowd slowly began to thin out. By the time things became quieter, Elara felt a little tired.

The contract folder and the envelope were already inside Ziva’s bag. Ziva stood beside her, and the two of them exchanged a small knowing smile. Without saying much, they turned and began walking toward the exit.

But before they could escape, a small group of people suddenly rushed toward them as if they had been waiting for this moment.

When they got closer, Elara realized they were students. They looked to be about sixteen to seventeen years old. All of them wore the same school uniform and there were six of them in total. Four girls and two boys.

The shortest girl reached them first. She had short hair and freckles. The others hurried behind her. She waved both of her hands with a big smile.

"Hi! my name is Mira. We watched your performance on Starhunt before!" she said quickly.

Elara smiled gently and looked at them. Before she could reply, another girl suddenly pushed forward. She was the tallest among them, and her whole body was shaking with excitement. "I watched the Starhunt live show! I cried when you were singing!" she said, her eyes glittering. She looked like she might cry again even now.

"Even I almost cried again today!" she continued, her voice trembling.

"Yena," Mira said through gritted teeth. The tall girl, whose name was Yena, pouted slightly. "I’m just telling her," she said.

Mira sighed, then quickly introduced the others. She pointed at each of them one by one and said they were all her friends.

"We really like your singing, we admire you a lot." she said.

Elara simply kept smiling as they talked. Then they started asking questions.

"Did you write the Starhunt song yourself?"

"How long have you been singing?"

"Were you scared today when the microphone malfunctioned"

"Can we take a picture?"

"Are you going to release music? Because if you release music I will—"

"What was it like singing without the microphone?"

The voices overlapped as they spoke one after another. Ziva began to look uncomfortable. She stepped forward quickly and raised her hand.

"She needs to rest," she said firmly. But Elara looked at the group of students again. Their faces were full of excitement and admiration. Her heart felt warm. "It’s fine," she told Ziva softly.

The students immediately moved closer, their faces lighting up even more. They quickly took pictures with her one by one.

After a short while, Ziva stepped forward again.

"That’s enough. We really have to go now. She needs to drink some water." Ziva said calmly.

One of the two boys suddenly spoke up. "We have water!" He quickly opened his bag and pulled out a bottle.

Ziva stared at the bottle for a second and immediately waved her hands.

But Mira smacked the boy lightly on the head. The boy glared at her. "It’s sealed," he said defensively.

Ziva sighed. Before she could say anything else, Elara reached out and took the bottle. "Thank you," she said.

The group looked at her with wide eyes. Their admiration was clear in the way they stared at her.

Just then, someone called Elara by her name from behind. Elara turned toward the voice but her smile froze slightly when she saw the person standing there.

Behind her, the students suddenly gasped in excitement as they looked at that same person...