REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight

Chapter 194: Standing too far away.

"What?" Elara exclaimed, her brows rising in confusion.

"Today," Adrian said simply, ignoring her question.

"And why would I come?" Elara asked immediately.

"You’ll find out when you get here." He muttered, his voice calm and brief. Then, without waiting for her response, he ended the call.

Elara slowly lowered the phone from her ear and stared at the screen for a long moment before placing it back on the locker.

Why would he tell her to come to the Vale Group? It wasn’t as though she was under any sponsorship anymore.

The more she thought about it, the more certain she became. It was definitely about what she had done last night.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. She had known there would be conqsequences the moment she started that livestream. The only thing she hadn’t expected was for Adrian to call her personally.

–

Mr Vale sat down on the chair in the garden. He swirled a glass of wine slowly in his hand while his other hand held the papers the butler had just given him.

His expression was calm at first, then he dropped the glass onto the table and focused more on the paper. Soon, his face started hardening bit by bit until it showed extreme annoyance.

"That boy is really going too far," he said through gritted teeth. "Isn’t he satisfied with the news everywhere? How dare he terminate the contract. That..." He stopped abruptly, his jaw tightening as his breathing turned heavy. At one point, he suddenly squeezed the paper between his fingers and threw it onto the ground.

"Edin. Prepare the car. We’re going to the headquarters. That boy really needs to learn some things." he said, while the butler gave a small bow.

"Yes, sir,"

–

Elara finally went to the Vale Group later that afternoon. She had made up her mind not to go unless Adrian called back and explained himself properly. But only a small part of her had actually expected that. She knew someone like Adrian would never repeat himself.

She remembered being here once before, shortly after she arrived in Starfall when Adrian had requested that she come. Now she was here because of him again.

The Vale Group looked exactly as she had imagined it would– not because she remembered it though. She had no memory of this place left before now.

What stood before her now was simply the image she had built in her mind whenever she heard people speak about one of the most powerful companies in the country.

Everything was spotless. The floors shone under the lights. The walls were clean. Employees moved through the building quickly, each one focused on their work. Even the atmosphere felt orderly.

Most of the employees recognized her immediately. Some, as the singer once sponsored by the Vale Group. Others simply recognized her as a renown singer.

Elara couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable under their gazes. Some of them would have probably watched her livestream. She was sure countless assumptions were running through their minds now.

Even so, her face remained calm as she walked past the security personnel who immediately stepped aside to let her through.

Everything seemed too normal. The company didn’t look like what the recent news had described. The workers just kept doing their jobs and nothing showed that the company was going through any storm.

The moment she stepped into the reception area, a young woman quickly walked up to her.

"This way, Miss Veyne." She said politely.

Elara nodded and followed her. The woman led her to a private elevator. After several minutes, the elevator finally stopped on one of the upper floors.

"You can continue from here." The woman said, giving a small bow.

Elara nodded once more. "Thank you."

The woman smiled politely before turning and heading back. Elara walked farther down the corridor until she reached a familiar door.

She knocked on it gently but no one answered. She knocked again.

"Come in." Harris’s voice suddenly sounded from inside.

Elara pushed the door open and entered. She immediately spotted Harris leaning back in his chair. He looked exhausted and the dark circles under his eyes were impossible to miss. The moment he saw her, he straightened up and gave a small bow.

"He’s inside," he said quietly.

Elara nodded and walked toward the door she knew belonged to Adrian’s office.

"Good luck," Harris added. Then he rested his head against the chair again, looking fully prepared to continue whatever nap she had interrupted.

Elara reached the office door and pushed it open. The moment she stepped inside, she instantly felt the unwavering gaze targeted at her. Her eyes found the man behind the desk immediately.

He was sitting there calmly doing absolutely nothing, as if he had been patiently waiting for her to arrive. His sleeves were rolled halfway up to his elbow. A half smoked cigarette rested lazily between his fingers.

He looked exactly the same as always.

Several documents were spread across his desk and a laptop sat open beside them. Yet it was obvious he hadn’t been paying attention to any of it.

His gaze was fixed directly on her. And judging by the way he sat there, it looked very much as though he had been staring at that door for quite some time.

Elara remained near the entrance, waiting for him to speak first.

"You’re standing too far away." He said suddenly, his gaze never leaving her face.

Too far away.

Elara scoffed inwardly. What exactly was so secretive that she needed to stand closer before he could say it?

"I can hear you clearly from here," she muttered, crossing her arms under her chest.

Adrian went quiet for a long second. He lifted the cigarette to his lips and took a slow drag. Smoke curled upward in the air in front of him before he lowered his hand again and tapped the ash neatly into the tray on his desk. His eyes never left hers even as he did all that.

Elara’s lips pressed together.

"Come here." He said again, his expression remaining completely unchanged. "I’m not in the mood to shout across a room."