REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight

Chapter 193: Does he call your name?

"I think the person suffering most for her death is..." She stopped, her breath seeming to seize. "...himself," she added quietly.

The words left her mouth before she could think too deeply about them.

The comments were still moving across the screen faster than she could read them, but Elara no longer paid attention to any of them. Not knowing what else to say, she straightened up.

"If every mistake I made when I was younger was printed in newspapers..." she said calmly. "I’d probably never leave my house again."

Her fingers moved toward the end button.

This was enough. More than enough. She should have stopped several minutes ago.

But then, another thought crossed her mind and before she could stop herself, she spoke again. "You don’t have to like someone to admit that what is happening to them is wrong."

Elara froze. Her finger remained hovering above the screen. She almost wanted to bit her tongue right away.

Why would she say that? It doesn’t seem necessary anyway.

After she ended the Livestream, she leaned back against the couch and tapped her thigh with her fingers. A deep groan escaped her lips. For some reason, Adrian’s face appeared in her mind again.

I don’t need you feeling sorry for me.

She immediately shut the laptop hard.

–

The repeated knocks on the door jolted Elara awake. The first thing she noticed was that she can’t breathe properly. She couldn’t even move her head. Her heart clenched in alarm instantly.

The knocks became even more rapid and Ziva’s voice could now be heard outside. "Elara, open this door. Open it right now."

Elara finally opened her eyes. No wonder she couldn’t breathe or move her head. Zia’s butt was directly on her face. Not near her face or beside it. Right on her face.

Elara stared at the ceiling for several seconds before letting out a tired sigh. Thankfully, Zia had stopped wetting the bed years ago. Otherwise, this morning would have ended very differently for her.

But well, this position was still much better. At least nothing had exploded. Or maybe it had and she simply hadn’t noticed because she was fast asleep.

With Zia, nothing is completely impossible.

There had been times she woke up with Zia’s foot tangled in her hair. Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night and find the little girl sitting upright on the bed, staring directly at her. Every single time, Elara would nearly lose ten years of her lifespan before discovering that Zia was still asleep.

That was one of the things she feared most about the girl. Her sleepwalking abilities.

"Elara, open this door before I kick it down."

Elara sighed and tried to sit up, but Zia suddenly shifted in her sleep again, her butt slowly approaching Elara’s face. Before it could get any closer, Elara quickly shoved her away and climbed out of bed.

Zia immediately started crying.

Elara ignored her completely and walked to the door. The moment she opened it, something almost smacked her in the face if not that she had stepped back in time.

"Satisfied?" Ziva asked, staring at her with a displeased expression.

Elara blinked in confusion. "Good morning," she said calmly.

Ziva didn’t even glance at her, nor did she return the greeting. Instead, she pulled the tablet back and stared down at it.

"Look at her pretending to be righteous."

"She’s only eyeing Adrian Vale’s wealth."

"She’s obviously defending Adrian Vale because she’s sleeping with him."

Elara’s breathing stalled as Ziva read out those words.

Ziva started pacing around the room. "See? See? This is why normal people mind their business. You still have a hundred things you haven’t done. Yet somehow you found time to start a livestream that might get you into trouble."

She pointed at the tablet angrily. "You rarely stream. And when you finally do, it’s for another person. What’s wrong with you? Why didn’t you even tell me anything?"

Elara calmly took the device from her.

Truthfully, she had only done the livestream on impulse. The moment she returned to her room afterward, she had regretted everything.

The comments Ziva showed her made her eyes ache.

She really was careless. There had been no trouble in her life these past few months, now she had decided to create some for herself.

She scrolled through the comments calmly. Then her brows slowly lifted.

"Actually, Elara has a point."

"That bastard argument is stupid. Even if Adrian Vale is a vampire, that won’t stop me from loving him."

"The media is going too far."

"People should stop talking about my husband like that."

"Finally someone said it. Elara thumbs up."

Actually, most of the comments weren’t bad. Apart from the few examples Ziva had deliberately selected, the majority were simply arguing back and forth.

Ziva stretched her neck to peek at the screen. The moment she saw what Elara was reading, she immediately tried to grab the tablet back. "Don’t look at those. Those aren’t the important ones." She said.

Elara handed the device back to her, her worry easing a little. "Then which ones are important? The bad ones?" She asked with a curious expression.

Ziva blinked. Then she awkwardly cleared her throat. "Whatever. Elara, what you did was extremely..."

Not allowing her to finish, Elara reached out and slammed the door shut in her face. Then she turned around, almost running into Zia who was now awake and is standing directly behind her.

"Elara, are you sleeping with Scary Suit Uncle?" She asked quietly.

The corner of Elara’s lips twitched. She then walked past the little girl toward the shelf. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

But Zia followed right behind her. "Did you use to go to his house and sleep with him? Does he snore? Does he steal blankets?"

Elara shook her head tiredly. When she turned around, Zia was still standing there blinking.

"Uhm?... does he sleepwalk too?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "Does he talk in his sleep? Does he call your name? Does he hug people when he sleeps?"

Not able to take it anymore, Elara turned toward her and sighed. "Please just shut up." She said pointing toward the bathroom door. "You haven’t even brushed your teeth yet. Is this what they taught you in school?"

Zia blinked several times, looking completely speechless. Then she nodded obediently and walked toward the bathroom.

The moment she disappeared, Elara’s phone started ringing from the locker nearby. She sighed and walked over. The instant she saw the name on the screen, her lips pursed tightly. Several thoughts flashed through her mind.

He must have seen it. He would definitely be displeased.

Elara let the phone ring for a long time before finally answering it. "Hello," she muttered calmly.

"Come to the Vale Group." The voice on the other end spoke immediately, without even a second of hesitation.