REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight-Chapter 56: Something I couldn’t have...

Relanie walked out of the restroom, a bath towel wrapped around her body. Another towel rested in her hand as she slowly wiped her damp hair. She walked toward the mirror and and sat down on the chair in front of it, gazing at her reflection.

Then she reached out and turned on the automatic dryer. Warm air brushed against her skin and hair.

When she was done, she picked up her skincare products and applied them one after another quietly.

After that, her eyes went to the mirror again. Not blinking for a long time. Time seemed to pass without her noticing.

Then her gaze shifted slowly and landed on her phone lying on the bed. She stared at it for a few seconds thinking. Then, as if she had finally made up her mind, she stood up.

She walked over to the bed, picked up the phone, and returned to the chair in front of the mirror.

She sat down again. Her fingers moved across the screen of her phone fastly. And soon, a video began to play.

She watched it quietly, not missing a single detail. When the video ended, she let out a cold snort. Her lips curling up in a way that look foreign on her face.

"Something I couldn’t have..." she muttered under her breath, her gaze darkening.

"...who would dare to have it."

–

Elara woke up that morning with a small headache. Though It was not too strong, it lingered at the back of her head uncomfortably. She lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling, trying to shake off the strange feeling that had followed her out of sleep. After a while, she sat up.

Ziva had not arrived. And that thought made Elara frown a bit.

That was quite unusual. Ziva was rarely late, and even when she was, she would have sent a message.

Pushing the thought aside for that moment, Elara got out of bed and went to dress up, her movements slow because of the headache. After that, she cleaned and rearranged the room.

When she finally stepped out of her room into the hallway, she could feel the eyes almost instantly.

People were looking at her. Not one or two... but many, almost everyone she walked past.

Elara’s steps wavered a bit, her brows drawing together in confusion, but she did not stop completely. She continued walking down the corridor with a calm expression on her face, even though something about the way they looked at her made her feel uneasy, like she had peed on her body.

When she passed by a glass wall, she stopped to look at it. She looked at her face carefully, checking for anything unusual.

Her hair was neat and her clothes were fine. Nothing was wrong at all.

She could not understand why they were staring at her like that.

She did not let it bother her too much. She turned and continued walking.

When she got to the restaurant to take breakfast. The stares and murmurs did not decrease, and by the time she reached the training hall, the atmosphere had worsened.

A group of grade three singers were gathered together not too far from the entrance talking among themselves in low voices. But the moment they saw her, they went silent suddenly.

Elara’s feet slowed again, her eyes moving to them.

Then they began to mummur again, louder this time, as if they wanted her to hear.

"...she’s here."

Someone let out a mocking sigh. "Some people don’t even need talent to rise."

"No wonder she got promoted so fast." another person said.

Elara’s feet came to an abrupt stop and confusion filled her eyes. She turned her head to look behind her if anyone was there. But there’s no one.

Are they... talking about me?

She thought furrowing her brows.

A bad feeling rose in her chest. Still then, she turned away and walked toward the piano at the far end of the hall. She sat down on the chair and placed her music book on the piano.

Again, her eyes moved back to the group who were mummering earlier. They were still looking at her, but the moment they realized she had noticed, they quickly looked away, pretending to be busy with their own conversations.

Elara’s gaze then shifted to Perri and her friends who stood by a window far away from her. They were also staring at her, but unlike the others, they did not look away when their eyes met.

Elara let out a cold snort and turned her gaze back to the piano. But the uneasiness in her chest only grew stronger. She was not a fool. She knew something had happened.

Her fingers began to tap against her legs. She wished Ziva was here. At least if she’s here, she would not have to face this alone. At least they could try to understand what was going on together.

Just then, someone walked up to her side and she looked up.

It was Jeni. She has a concerned expression on her face. "Haven’t you seen the post on the internal platform?" she asked, while Elara blinked in confusion.

"Post?" she repeated in her mind before turning to her. "I haven’t seen anything," she said.

Jeni stood there quietly for a moment, as if unsure how to explain. Then she continued.

"It’s about the—"

"Elara Veyne." A voice suddenly cut through her words and the both of them turned toward the source of the sound.

A man stood by the entrance, peering into the hall. At once, the attention of everyone in the room shifted from Elara to him, then back to Elara again.

"Your presence is awaited in the Vale wing." he said clearly.

Elara felt her heart jerk suddenly, but her face remained calm. She had learned long ago that panic would not help in situations like this. So she simply stood up without asking any questions or hesitating. And then followed him.

When they finally arrived there, the man stopped in front of a door. "You can go in," he said.

Elara nodded and reached for the door. Then she pushed it open and stepped inside.

A meeting room came into her view. She paused mid-step, her eyes slowly taking in her surroundings.

A long table was at the center of the room and around it sat a few people. The director, Mrs Han was seated at the head with a straight posture. Mr Kain sat on a chair at the side close to her, with a tight and serious expression on his face. Three other staff members were also present, seated along the table.

Then Elara’s gaze shifted further to the far end of the table. To the man sitting quite apart from the others, leaning back in his chair nonchalantly. A key turned slowly between his fingers.

Adrian.

Their eyes met and for a moment, everything else seemed to fade.

Elara’s gaze lingered on him. Then, just as calmly, she looked away and turned her attention back to Mrs Han.

"Come and have a seat," Mrs Han said.

Elara nodded and walked forward. She chose a seat near one of the staff members and sat down, her hands resting on the table in front of her. Then, after a long moment, Mrs Han finally spoke.

"Have you seen the clip?" she asked.

"I haven’t seen any video." Elara answered, shaking her head in negativity.

"Good." Mrs Han said nodding. She picked up the tablet in front of her and tapped on it for a few seconds. Then she turned it around so the screen would now face Elara...