REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight

Chapter 204: Digging...

Carris stared at the man sitting calmly in front of him, his expression stern. He swirled the wine in his fingers lazily, then brought it to his lips and took a sip.

"You really amuse me, Adrian Vale," he said casually. "The Vale Group is burning and this is what you’re spending your time on." He scoffed and lowered his gaze to the file on the table between them. "This is starting to piss me off, you know."

Adrian remained completely silent. He only stared back at him. The glass of wine in front of him sat untouched, exactly where it had been placed from the beginning. "Tell me everything," he repeated. His tone was calm, but it left no room for refusal.

"You’ll need to be more specific than that," Carris replied, locking eyes with him.

Adrian studied his expression for a long moment without speaking. Then he finally let out a cold snort. "Stop wasting my time." He said. "Unlike you, I don’t have time for unnecessary performances."

Carris shook his head. His gaze dropped to the file again and a mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Sorry. I don’t know anything about what’s in this paper."

"Then perhaps you should just go through it again."

Carris’s smile stiffened for a second before his expression recovered. "Looking into people’s lives seems to be a hobby of yours," he said calmly. "But I’m telling you, you can’t just investigate anyone you like. Especially this one." His gaze sharpened. "Stop. It’s none of your business."

Adrian’s expression hardened immediately. "You’re wrong," he muttered. "It is more important to me than my business."

Carris’s eyes lifted instantly to look at him again. "More important to you than yours." he repeated in disbelief. "You don’t even know what you’re talking about."

Adrian leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly against the table. "I see," he said.

"See what?" Carris asked, his eyes narrowing.

The corner of Adrian’s mouth twitched faintly. "Now I finally understand why you’ve been standing in my way all this time."

"Standing in your way?" Carris asked, raising his brows.

"Protecting her from me."

The room fell silent.

Carris pursed his lips and his expression turned noticeably colder. "It’s because I don’t like you," he corrected.

Adrian’s face remained unchanged. He didn’t even blink. "I noticed," he said with a small nod. Then his gaze settled on Carris again. "But I only care about one person’s opinion... And it isn’t yours."

Carris went quiet. For the first time since entering the room, he seemed to be swallowing back whatever he wanted to say.

After a long silence, Adrian closed the file and pushed it aside. "You really don’t want to be helpful," he muttered dismissively. "But I’ve gotten the answer I wanted."

Carris stood up immediately, his chair scraping against the floor. "You see, all this digging you’re doing is none of your business," he said sharply. "I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with this matter anyway."

His gaze darkened. "You don’t know what you’re walking into."

"Then tell me." Adrian asked, looking up at him calmly.

Carris took a deep breath, as though he was trying to control his breathing, then he stepped away from the table. Before he could leave, Adrian’s voice stopped him again.

"So I was right."

Carris froze, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"She’s–"

"You don’t know anything," Carris cut in smoothly. "I’m not warning you again." He stared directly at Adrian. "Stop looking into things that isn’t your concern... And stay away from her."

With that, he turned and walked out of the room, the door jamming shut behind him.

The room fell silent once more.

Adrian remained seated where he was. His fingers tapped lightly against the table. Then, after a long moment, he pursed his lips and lowered his gaze to the file again.

–

"My daughter is a huge fan of yours, Miss Veyne," the woman on the laptop said with a smile.

Even through the screen, it was obvious she was someone from the upper class. From the way she spoke, the way she carried herself, and the elegant office visible behind her, everything about her radiated wealth and status.

"Thank you," Elara replied with a polite smile. She was sitting on the couch with the laptop placed on the table in front of her.

"We’ll send the contract tomorrow," the woman continued. "And I sincerely hope everything goes according to plan. The fee isn’t a problem. We originally intended to invite three performers, but my daughter refused. She said if you’re unavailable, she’d rather cancel the party altogether."

Elara paused for a moment before giving a small nod. "I’ll be there," she replied calmly.

The woman’s smile widened immediately. "Wonderful. Then I’ll be looking forward to it."

A few more words were exchanged before the call finally ended. Elara closed the laptop and leaned back against the couch. A tired sigh escaped her lips.

The apartment was unusually quiet. Ziva was in her room, probably working or already asleep because Elara hadn’t heard a sound from her for a long time. As for Zia, she had been taken out by Harris shortly after they returned from the hospital. The man had somehow appeared at their doorstep as if he had been waiting there all along.

After taking another long breath, Elara turned her head slightly. Her gaze landed on the photograph resting on the cushion beside her. She picked it up for what felt like the hundredth time and stared at it again.

She had been looking at it ever since she returned from the hospital. The picture gave her a strange feeling she couldn’t explain. It was only an old photograph of a baby, yet the more she looked at it, the harder it became to ignore.

After a long while, she dropped it back onto the cushion. Just then, the doorbell rang.

Already assuming it was Harris bringing Zia back home, Elara stood up and walked toward the entrance. She opened the door calmly and stepped aside to let them in. But the moment her eyes landed on the figures standing outside, she froze.

Standing at the door wasn’t Harris at all. It was Adrian.

He looked exactly the same as always. Dressed neatly, expression calm, posture straight.

Beside him stood Zia. The little girl was dressed in a sparkling princess gown. A silver crown sat on her head, and she was holding what looked like a magical wand almost as long as her arm.

It would have been ridiculous enough already. But then Elara’s gaze lowered and landed on the several shopping bags hanging from Adrian’s hands.

Her eyelid twitched.

There were so many bags that she couldn’t even see what was inside all of them...