Unedited~
• • •
It took a few minutes before the gazes of mostly everyone attending were focused in one place.
Some were scrutinizing, some were in adoration, some in curiosity, etcetera. There were many mixed emotions in the eyes that were drawn to the stage. A good amount of these people settled into seats which gave many others standing far back a chance to see. Some even slowly started making their way closer to the podium and had to stop moments later to keep irritated eyes off them.
Elijah, who faced the brunt of these stares, stood unbothered. It was as if this were minor to him and for reference, he'd once chaired a conference in a building that accommodated thousands, an event like this paled in comparison.
Elijah was unphased and most couldn't tell or recall when he'd appeared on the wide raised podium. Not even Sophia who kept alternating her gazes between that area and her own, had seen where he walked out from.
Sophia stared around, observing the scene around her then back at the man who effortlessly commanded this much respect without even lifting a finger yet.
It was...hot.
And Sophia had to admit to that. She never saw him anywhere like this and it was fascinating to witness. She swallowed thickly. Looking down at her habd which was being held under the table. Kayla gave her a supporting squeeze then winked and Seong, he kept his eyes on his drink as if he didn't even want to have any chance of making eye contact with Elijah.
Elijah's eyes seemed to be searching the crowd. His features were hardened and it looked as if he hadn't smiled in years. It was funny but...right now he looked like that man from the elevator she had ignored. Cold and mad at the world for reasons unknown.
Sophia thought back, to the Elijah she was used to...It was like they were two different people. Somehow...
Not long after, Elijah paused and seemed to be satisfied with something then he began speaking. He did small welcomes which then turned into a speech to officially open the event.
Sophia watched him in silence, and the longer she did...the more she liked what she saw. If Elijah looked at her like that, and used that tone on her...she didn't know what she would do. Maybe she'd melt into a puddle.
Or something...
Sophia fount it hard to put a name to it but a very airy feeling was swimming around inside her chest. As if she could float up from the chair into the ceiling at any given second. Kayla, who was also looking towards Mr Osoro, frowned and looked down. Sophia's grip on her hand was a bit...tight. Kayla immediately exchanged a quick glance with the man next to her.
'Is she nervous?' He mouthed, gesturing to Sophia with his head.
Kayla only shrugged.
Sophia's attention was riveted and it was only broken from someone waving a hand in front of her face. She nearly jumped and her gaze snapped to the culprit responsible immediately. The woman was pursing her lips to hide a smile.
"Seong dared me," she spoke in hush tones.
"Hey! I did not-!" Seong hissed back in that same tone.
Kayla only giggled, "But it was funny wasn't it, those eyes were the eyes of a love sick puppy. Quick Seong, check if she's drooling."
"I am not-"
Seong coughed but he did look, much to Sophia's mortification. "You two should get married already," he laughed under his breath, "I already know what I'm wearing to the wedding."
Sophia looked at both them sourly, "Keep going and you'll never get an invite."
"Ah! So there will be a wedding?"
"Just..shut up." Sophia brushed them off and tugged her hand from Kayla's. She then went back to watching Elijah.
He didn't yell nor did he raise his voice for any more than necessary but his voice still passed over the entire room, mostly with the help of the speakers that had music streaming through them before. His voice and words washed over the room and made a lot of women, including Sophia, swoon.
Even more so for Sophia because that same voice had been whispering sweet things into her ear as he held her impossibly tight only hours before.
Sophia continued to watch him while having her own revelations.
She was...down bad for this man. It was bad. Could she even call it 'like' anymore?
No...not when it felt like so much more.
And as she looked around at the many other eyes of women that watched him, Sophia started frowning.
It was crazy.
They weren't even being that damn discreet about it either!
Sophia chewed on her bottom lip and held all the rising emotions back.
Both Seong and Kayla exchanged knowing glances as they watched her and giggled to themselves.
Tonight would most definitely be a very festive one. Sophia didn't know but both Kayla and Seong had already bet on who would go to the other first before the event ended.
•
Unbeknownst to Sophia's little group. Only some feet away sat a woman that watched Elijah on the raised podium similarly to that of an estranged lover.
Olivia gripped the glass of sparkling wine in her hand, so hard it seemed as if it'd crack with the pressure anytime soon now.
She stiffly took a sip, frowning at the weird taste then looked back towards Elijah seconds later.
She hated this.
Marcelo told her no alcohol until later and she begrudgingly had to agree to it which meant she was stuck with awful sparkling alternatives that wouldn't go over the threshold of her home doors. He also told her to not 'do anything stupid' tonight but Olivia was having quite the time figuring out what he meant by that.
The man of her dreams was going to leave the stage soon and go around doing obligatory greetings to high executives, then he'd quickly leave after that. She only had a small window of opportunity to see him before the Charity afterparty began in a few hours but Oliva didn't like waiting.
He hardly stayed longer than an hour in the event and left just as quickly as he appeared every time so Olivia assumed this night would be no different.
Her friends kept observing the situation and also kept eyes on Marcelo for her. It was just a precaution though because even if Marcelo left the company of those other Osoro siblings and came back to their table, she'd still up and leave when the opportunity presented itself.
For the past weeks, getting a hold of Elijah was next to impossible. She couldn't even drop by at random in his office and see him anymore. She could not contact him and his whereabouts were mostly unknown.
Olivia didn't get to stretch on her availability and for that reason, she knew he'd walk in empty handed, without a date as he always did. Without her by his side.
It was upsetting.
Olivia felt upset but to calm herself down she looked around and saw the many gazes that were focused on Elijah. She focused more specifically, on the women. Executives, some affiliated with other organizations, some random passerby who had money and simply wanted a glimpse of the main man, some wealthy and some with good backgrounds and influential families.
Like every Annual event, most just wanted to get a glimpse of the most eligible bachelor in the flesh. Some where even invited by Elijah's own mother. Olivia had long since found out that Mrs Osoro sometimes used these two events as a front to throw women at her son. It would explain why there was a higher percentage of females every year.
That was unimportant news though because Olivia was sure Elijah wasn't the type to take interest in random women.
The men mostly wanted to see Elijah for much different reasons though. And it was very simple, if a man like Osoro took a glimpse of any of their projects and was interested, that was akin to immediate profits and success.
Tonight was indeed a night for networking plus many more things under the scenes. Olivia suspected Elijah already knew about this (because few things could escape his notice) but maybe he simply did not care.
It was Osoro.co's Annual Event after all.
Olivia, after taking a good look around, felt comforted in herself.
At least...At least out of everyone here she could approach Elijah and speak with him.
Family ties were truly a blessing.
• •
"He can be...quite charismatic when needing to be." Seong breathed a sigh.
"True," Sophia muttered in reply.
"I swear...if he was speaking to me like that I'd be weak in the knees from the first day, I don't know how Sophia managed," Kayla continued.
"I was thinking with my brain, Kayla," Sophia rolled her eyes, "not my clit."
Kayla laughed and leaned over to get a bit closer, "You'd be fucking him a lot sooner if you did though," she spoke in barely a whisper.
Sophia almost started choking on air while Seong, he simply smiled and silently enjoyed the view that Kayla oh so generously exposed to him by leaning over.
He winced and bowed his head in pain later after she noticed him.
Sophia shushed them as she noticed Elijah starting to close his speech but then he mentioned something about a special guest. Sophia was confused at first only for her mouth to fall open as he made a gesture and another man came onto the raised podium.
Sophia stared at the two men. Then hand to blink to withhold the urge to rub her eyeballs.
Sophia wasn't the only one who appeared surprised. Gasps went through the crowd one by one.
"..Yo," Seong spoke after a few seconds of staring, "Am I seeing doubles or does that man look exactly like..."
"You're not seeing doubles. Oh hell, the other Mr Osoro is here too."
Sophia's head snapped to Kayla so fast she almost gave herself a whiplash, her mind was still unprepared, "That's his dad?"
Hushed murmurs rang throughout the crowd, both standing and sitting ones.
"It's been quite a while...I don't think he ever attended here after stepping down so this will probably be the first..." Kayla muttered.
Sophia was truly not prepared. Seong had said something about Osoro siblings and that was who she was expecting to see.
Not his God damn Dad.
"He's like a definitive older version of Elijah," Sophia muttered, "Kinda scary."
"There's striking similarities of course, I only ever saw the man in pictures."
Sophia only hummed in response. Elijah had already closed his speech and they were making their way off the podium down the little short steps.
The two didn't even get a second to breathe before an executive got up from his seat and went to offer his greetings, followed by some others.
Sophia noticed however, that only few could get close, the remaining simply hovered about, itching to get close but having no position to do so.
"Oh," Kayla suddenly gasped, "that's strange, two of the Osoro siblings are already here, I thought they would only appear at the afterparty."
Sophia was still slightly nervous but she wouldn't pass up on the opportunity to get a glimpse of more members of Elijah's family.
She almost missed them as they were nearly surrounded by some people but she saw them eventually...well...one of them?
It was a little short girl dressed in a white dress, flowy black hair going down her shoulders laughing cutely with her hand locked around another. Sophia recognized the person she held. Elijah's personal assistant.
Did he escort Elijah's little sister?
Sophia then looked hard and tried to spot the other young Osoro sibling but to no avail.
"...I only see one," she muttered in defeat after a few seconds passed.
"Me too," Seong joinined in, "Is it that little girl?"
Kayla looked at them weirdly, "There's two of them right there."
"Where's the other one?" Sophia muttered distractedly.
"..He's right there, in the black and white suit "
"Every man there is in that suit," Seong quickly pointed out, "So unoriginal by the way."
"Is he the one standing by himself?"
Kayla opened her mouth to reply, looking exasperated then immediately closed it with a heavy sigh, "He's holding the short girl's hand, the one in white," she continued in a much calmer tone.
Sophia almost coughed, "What? No, that guys a personal assistant for..."
"It is him," Kayla sounds resigned, "-how do you not know? Didn't you interact with him before?"
Sophia thought hard before finally answering, "Well...yeah but he just seemed like a very opinionated assistant, I had no idea they were brothers all along!"
"Well that's Jiho and Amelia Osoro, second and third youngest siblings of the Osoro family," Kayla explained with a smile, as if she was hosting a documentary.
Sophia stared at Amelia. Then at the height difference. Her gaze then moved until it landed on Elijah who although blocked by a small group in a circle, his head was still quite visible above the others.
Sophia then chuckled with a shake of her head. I guess thats where all the height went.
Sophia remained seated and continued to joke around with her friends, doing so while watching the scene around Elijah play out like a movie.
He was indeed a very busy man at this time. Even after half an hour, after one or two people left, someone else came to stand in their place.
Elijah didn't even have to walk around because they were kept rooted to that spot.
Sophia enjoyed watching him like this and also stole glances at the stoic man he called dad every now and then. The entire venue sunk into this cozy atmosphere, the music came back and everyone was encouraged to socialize amongst themselves.
Sophia was almost through two full glasses of non alcoholic champagne by the time something else caught her eye. The men had dispersed and Elijah was discussing something with his father. That however wasn't what caught Sophia's eyes.
It was a woman.
A woman, seemingly young and elegant, dressed in a formal red dress that sweeped the floor as she walked. Why did it suspiciously seem as if...she was heading in a straight line towards Elijah?
Was she that brave? So far, not one woman had approached Elijah. Sophia chalked it up to his Dad's presence because Kayla did say he was approached a lot more when alone.
Sophia watched the scene and every step that woman took felt even more suspenseful than the last.
Sophia was so focused on that woman that she hardly noticed when their table suddenly got silent. She only came back to the present after hearing someone call out her name.
Sophia hid her surprise well after seeing who it was. It was a man that seemed to have materialized out of thin air and take his seat at their table specifically.
It took everything for Sophia to keep her face expression from contorting into something horrid.
Where did he come from?
"I must say," Ethan began with a smile that showed a glimpse of his white teeth, "Everyone here looks lovely, especially you Miss Smith. And that necklace, it suits you."
As always, but even more so today Ethan looked dressed to impress, clean shaven, overgrown fade trimmed down and his hairline straight. His white suit looked ironed to perfection and it was a nice contrast to his darker skin tone. Sophia couldn't understand. He was the type of man who already had many swooning over him so why did he keep seeking her out specifically?
Even when she had gotten a place to sit closer to the executives than to the people of her department that were further away from the podium. Ethan, as a supervisor, should've still been with the others...far from where she sat. She didn't know when he arrived here or how he found her table in the throngs of people.
"Um..Mr Reid, you don't look too bad yourself," Sophia forced out.
Kayla looked between them and immediately smiled, "You must be Ethan Reid! I've heard so much about you."
"Nice things I hope," he replied with a smile of his own, taking a sip of his drink but at the same time missing the look that flashed through everyone's eyes.
"-And Seong, you're here too?" He turned to Seong.
Seong nodded but didn't even spare the man a glance. The atmosphere around their table was slowly dropping towards subzero temperatures.
Ethan continued speaking as if he was immune to cold, "I really hope everyone's having a good time, it's quite crowded compared to last year and it can get quite loud."
"I actually was having a good time," Sophia muttered under her breath, "How fleeting that moment was."
Kayla frowned and watched Ethan with a certain hardness in her eyes, "You're a supervisor in Osoro.co aren't you?"
Ethan nodded slowly and Kayla continued.
"-See there's this role I'm thinking of in my job and I could really use some tips, I'd actually love to hear about your journey up that ladder."
Seong, who had taken a sip of the champagne, immediately choked on it and covered his mouth to cough. Kayla looked apologetic, "Poor baby, sometimes even juice is too much for Seong, but anyway, seeing as my glass is done, I'd love to walk with you and hear a lot about your experiences."
Ethan looked surprised at her offer but for some reason he didn't reject her, he got up and Kayla followed, then he paused, turning towards Sophia. "Oh, Your class is already empty," he reached for it, "since I'm going I can most definitely get you more to drin-"
"No!" Sophia answered a lot more forcefully than intended then covered it with a cough, "Its okay, I think I've drank too much for now, any more and I'd have to visit the bathroom," she laughed.
Ethan stared at her for a few seconds then smiled and hummed in response. After doing so, he allowed himself to be led away by Kayla.
When they disappeared into the gaps between people, Seong looked solemn, "She took one for the team, I wont allow her sacrifice to be in vain, let's go Sophia."
He didn't need to call her twice. Sophia got up, took her purse and moved to the other side of the room with him. They settled in a comfortable spot beside a small group of people who were discussing deeply about nuclear versus fossil energy and their sustainability. Sophia had to breath a sigh of relief. She didn't mind standing for a little while until Kayla got back.
After that was done with, Sophia finally had an opportunity to fixate her gaze on Elijah once more then went still as a result.
Moving to this spot surely had its benefits. They were a lot closer to Elijah under the shadow of executives and associates that were too busy speaking to pay them any mind. Moving here also had its disadvantages.
Sophia could see, in full hd, the woman who had her back turned before and that same woman stood near Elijah. She talked with his dad comfortably and not only that, Elijah although he wasn't speaking with her at that moment, he made no effort to send her away as his eyes were elsewhere. He didn't look bothered by her being that close to him either.
It gave Sophia quite the shock.
Who is she...?
The sudden curiosity Sophia had was burning. Her curiosity was most likely fueled by something deeper but Sophia could care less. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him and her lips were pulling down into the tiniest frown.
"Sophia what are you...oh," Seong followed her gaze.
"What are your guesses?" Sophia mumered, her expression hardening. Even her voice sounded flat.
"...Uh..A close friend maybe?" Seong tried.
"If he had one he would've told me...I think," Sophia thought for a moment then it occured to her, would he have done so?
He most certainly hardly ever spoke about his life. Sophia knew very little, so little about him it was comical.
Sophia couldn't entirely blame him either because in those quiet nights while she was being bathed in aftercare...she made no effort to ask him about his family...although she wanted to.
She vowed to change this after today.
That however, was after she found out who that woman was. And why she stood so dangerously close to Elijah, why he didn't send her away with a look. She had a lot of questions, so very little time to get them answered. That woman didn't look like a relative either.
Seong must've felt her rising discontent. "Drinks, I'll get drinks and I'll be right back." He quickly excused himself.
Sophia waved him off distractedly and continued to stare at Elijah, she was already thinking up fun ways to bring this up later. And who cared if it meant nothing. He was the one who wanted her to wear a coat for no reason this morning.
"Young love...such a beauty to witness up close."
Sophia ignored the voice and didn't realize that the new person was speaking to her until she felt light touch on on her bare shoulder.
"Huh?" She quickly turned and caught the eyes of another man, only inches taller than her. Sophia was a bit taken aback. How many times were people going to sneak up on her today?
This man was only a few shades lighter than her, his suit in pristine condition and a glass held daintily in his hand, filled almost to the brim with red wine.
Sophia..after seeing that, was a bit concerned. Her eyes went back to his light brown ones and they reminded her of cats. Although he had sharp features, he looked calm and a bit soft around the edges. Sophia had to admit his voice was a bit soothing. Like the voice of a singer.
His English however, was accented, as if someone had plucked him out of France and let him loose here. Sophia almost didn't catch on to him at first. Like her he was black but his roots stemmed further it seemed.
"I'm speaking of the love, it's a beauty," he answered with a small smile, "-but 'one-sided' love? Not so much. Very hard for me to witness, I admit it gives me pain," he looked a bit solemn as he took another sip.
"Uh..uh, okay?" Sophia nodded along, even while not knowing what the heck he was talking about or why he was talking to her.
"You," he pointed to her with a finger from the hand that held the glass of wine, "Are in love and it's my duty to tell you, you can do much, much better."
Sophia only stared at him, doe eyed, like an animal caught in traffic. She was still not following.
"No no, don't be confused, your beauty...it drew me from across the room and I noticed you staring at that cold and unfeeling man," he sighed, using his head to gesture to Elijah's general direction, "You must cherish that heart of yours, protect it from pain."
"Pain?"
"Ah yes," he nodded, "Pain, that man you're staring at, Mr Osoro, He's the cousin of my friend and over the years, I've seen many like you who fell in love at first sight at these events only to collapse in pain after realizing that the love or like would never be returned."
Sophia stared at him for a few good seconds, finally getting what he was speaking about. She could only laugh incredulously afterwards, lifting a hand to gesture to herself. "Me?"
"Yes, love, After witnessing such heartache yearly, I made it my duty to go around, saving as many of you poor young ladies as I can," he kept sipping, until the glass that was almost to the brim before, got to the middle.
"And you're absolutely sure that I'm one of those poor young ladies...as you put it." Sophia couldn't drop her skepticism.
"-You're most definitely one of them," he sighed, "Ever the heartbreaker Osoro. Just now, when that woman went to stand with him, if you were listening closely you could hear the hearts of a thousand women splintering."
Sophia laughed, deciding to humor him, "And was I one of them?" She murmured pitifully, "Did you hear my poor little fragile heart cracking?"
"...I guess," he shrugged, before smiling, "-don't worry, I can be your shield for tonight, help you put the pieces back together."
"You're too kind," Sophia wanted to ruffle his hair, "But don't you worry, my heart is still firm in one piece, not a fracture or crack anywhere in sight."
"Aw," he sighed, "And here I was hoping to be your knight in shiny armor."
"You can be the horse," Sophia hid her smile and spoke seriously, "Or maybe a foot soldier for the time being."
"If it'll get you to mount me I'd be anything, love," he laughed.
Sophia eyebrows rose and somehow, she found herself laughing in spite of herself. Was it because of the comforting vibe he carried around with him? Or was it because she suspected he already downed two glasses filled with wine before this one.
"Your name? Or should I resign to calling you love this entire night," he smiled deviously, it reminded her of Seong in a way.
"Don't do that, It's Sophia."
"Ah," he sighed, "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl. You shine even brighter than those diamonds on your neck."
Sophia's hand immediately rose to her neck. This guy, he really had his way with words. He was a little corny but...not in a really bad way. "You're not the first to think so."
"Means there's at least some truth to it, does it not? And I'm Joshua, my name may sound basic but I'm everything but."
Sophia watched as he brought the glass to his lips again and had to comment on it, "It's not gonna evaporate you know, you can slow down."
"You lie through your teeth Sophia, you're as hot as the sun, I have to or it'll disappear right in front of my eyes."
This time, Sophia felt a bit speechless and struggled to quickly respond. In the end, Sophia gave up and his grin got wider.
"See, that's why I was saying, you're far too beautiful to be thinking of a man who dreams dollar signs and thinks in business reports, there's many fishes in the sea and most would be more than happy to return your love as if it's the best thing on Eart-"
"Joshua."
Joshua's mouth snapped shut as he was cut off by a cold voice that lacked humor and joy of any kind. It was familiar to both Sophia and Joshua. But the two in question both felt a range of contrasting emotions.
Sophia almost melted into a puddle, hearing him so close but Joshua immediately went rigid as stone.
He turned, to face the owner of that voice and came face to face with both Dad and Son staring at him with raised eyebrows, that and the eyes of many who hovered around looking for a chance to speak or even just looking for drama to go home and tell stories about.
Joshua couldn't understand.
Why did Elijah and Dominic Osoro come all the way over here.
• •
Moments before that scene, Elijah would hardly say he was having the best night of his life. One by one he was swarmed with men speaking about ideas and new investments he cared very little about. His annoyance was rising because they kept him away from what he really wanted to do, better yet, where he wanted to go.
His father had surprised him by attending that meeting but that's all there was to it.
Dominic Osoro always sat out these events ever since it got popularized so it was honestly a pleasant surprise. Not only that but fewer people approached him personally than last year. Some wanted to exchange pleasantries with his old man and went to his way instead.
Still, even with his father with him, Elijah still busy and engaging with others but at least there was light at the end of that tunnel. From where he stood he could effortlessly keep an eye on Sophia while also doing the obligatory greetings and showing his face. He wasn't planning on leaving the event any time soon either.
Leaving Sophia here alone? That was unthinkable.
His day was adequate, somehow but it then turned increasingly sour as he caught a glimpse of Olivia. A woman that gave him peace by not trying to contact him for the past few weeks. Where was she...?
His expression got significantly dimmer as he realized where she was heading and just when we was about to direct her away. His eyes briefly went back to Sophia's table only to see that she and practically everyone else that sat there was missing.
A sharp feeling, akin to panic shot though him and everything and everyone infront of him lost their purpose.
Still, he remained calm and continued to try and spot her but to no avail. It was as if she'd dissapear into thin air and there was a lot of people at the venue.
Seconds of discreet searching turned into minutes and then he spotted Jiho. Elijah was just about to call for Jiho and send him on a new errand but something spoke to him, as if there was a tiny whisper in his ear. He frowned and looked towards the other side of the grand room.
What he saw made him go numb, literally. The light left his eyes like someone blowing out candles and he cocked a single eyebrow. Soon after, his father stopped talking and followed his gaze.
"Is something wrong?" The man asked and trailed off silently.
Elijah didn't answer. He only stared at the scene without an expression on his face.
Sophia was laughing...a lot more than usual as a man spoke to her and...he didn't know if she realized but that man was closing the 'friendly' gap ever so slowly as the seconds ran by.
Just what on earth was so funny? Elijah thought, narrowing his eyes as the two continued their little chat.
It was only when he saw that look on her face, the clear indication of her being flustered, he decided he couldn't stand by and watch this anymore. That 'look' was reserved for him and him alone. Seeing her being like that with another man that wasn't him made something inside his chest stir uncomfortably.
It wasn't a very good feeling.
"Oh, that's Joshua," his father finally caught on to where he was looking, "...but why is he-"
Elijah didn't hear him finish. Elijah left his company and was already walking towards them.
Olivia, who was basking in the satisfaction at being able to stand and converse here so comfortably without disturbances from her brother, saw Elijah leaving and immediately jumped. Hurrying to follow him.
Elijah's father, after a heavy sigh, moved along with them too. He was confused, had many questions. He was also missing his wife that stood by his side at these events and did all the socializing for him.
As they walked the short distance, no one dared to stand in their way. It was almost comical how the people that hovered around them parted to the side like the Red Sea as Elijah made his way through.
When Elijah got close enough to hear he felt even more strange. Another man, flirting with Sophia...
He thought it would happen that's why he had her seated in a place where she'd remain unbothered. Even then, thinking that thought was absurd but to see it happening right infront of him...
Elijah itched to do something to that man that'd really stain his reputation. Either that or throw Sophia over his shoulder and take her away from here. Whichever came first.
Still, that was inappropriate and Sophia would probably curse him to the end of earth if he did so he resorted to simply calling out that man's name.
"Joshua."
He was satisfied, seeing Joshua go still as a sculpture.
Upon hearing his name being called, Joshua stopped talking and the slowly turned. And Sophia? She looked just as pretty as she did when he first met her, staring up at him with wide eyes, she looked surprised that he was here and it made Elijah smile softly.
He was planning to enjoy having her at his side the night night during the after party.
Elijah turned to Joshua afterwards, smoothly shifting everyone's attention off Sophia as he stepped in between them. "-The last time I checked, you were only moderately famous and now you're here, drawing paparazzi to my event." Elijah continued.
Joshua laughed sheepishly, "You don't have to flatter me, most of them would love to catch a glimpse of you instead."
"Me?" Elijah brushed him off, raising a single brow, "-how so? I'm not the one with platinum record sales and over ten million listeners across the globe."
"I'm...quite honored you've been paying such close attention."
Elijah didn't. In fact Elijah didn't even know what he looked like until now. He only had files on everyone his family were involved with. Hearing his name made Elijah recall Joshua's file.
"Don't be.." Joshua didn't even notice he was being whisked away. Sophia watched them go, almost in a daze.
"He's smooth," Sophia murmured to herself, realizing what Elijah did. "Real smooth."
"Who is?"
Sophia turned and saw that Seong had just gotten back with two drinks in hand. "What just happened?" He asked a second time.
Sophia stared at him in silence, "Did you go to a damn factory and make those yourself?"
Seong smiled sheepishly, handing her one and taking a sip of the next. Sophia took it after rolling her eyes. She took a sip and her eyes widened, "Hey this is pretty good."
"Really?" Seong looked down into his glass somberly, "Mine tastes like ass."
"You know what ass tastes lik-?"
"Ophelia's bride, 1908."
Sophia was cut off before she could finish. With her eyebrows drew tight at the middle, she turned towards the person that cut her off.
Another person sneaking up on me. Sophia huffed internally and after her gaze connected with the owner of the mystery voice, she had to pause.
Everyone who followed Elijah over already left with him. All except for one, a woman. No...the same woman from before, the one who stood with Elijah talking to his father.
She...stayed?
"Ophelia's bride?" Seong muttered in confusion. "Who's the bride?"
"There is no bride," The woman walked closer, "It's just a name of a set."
"A set?"
"That necklace you're wearing," The woman smiled, "Not something normal people could afford on a whim...was it a gift?"
Sophia silently sucked in a breath. Normal people? "What?"
"Sorry, it might sound confusing. I only recognized the set you're wearing," she smiled, "I used collect...things. And that set, it would've completed one of my collections."
Sophia didn't know how to respond to that. She had no idea that the jewellery she wore was appart of a set. Plus what did this woman gain by telling her this?
Both Seong and Sophia exchanged glances.
"I could explain more, you can sit with me if you like. Oh and my name is Olivia, by the way. Olivia Richardson."
• • •
Surprise early update!
Was supposed to post this yesterday but life happened and I had to get to it now.
Really hope everyone liked the chapter. Remember to vote, comment and share if and in any way you can♡♡
I'll see y'all next chap so happy waiting.
Nessa~