Reminisce.
Allicia got into the taxi and waved at her baby as the taxi zoomed off. She glanced at the time and she saw that there was still about an hour to the dinner. There was also about a twenty-minute drive from the apartment to the venue where the dinner was going to hold. She looked at her phone and screened through the pictures of her that Ava took before she left the house.
She saw a few pretty ones and decided to upload them on her social media account. She did not have many friends in her social circle but after she uploaded her pictures, it garner likes from her friends and a few comments. She quickly responded to some of the comments and closed the app. Before she knew it, the car stopped in front of the venue for the event.
Allicia mouthed a word of thanks, paid her fare and stepped out of the car. She pinched her dress and walked on the stairs that led into the event hall. When she stepped inside, she found that the hall was already filled with people, both familiar and unfamiliar faces. She looked around and tried to search for her group members or anyone that she knew when she heard someone call her.
"Miss Allicia!"
She immediately looked in the direction of the voice only to see Annie walking towards her. The lady was also dressed in a bright-coloured red short halter top gown. She looked prettier than when she was in formal outfits.
"Hello, leader. Everyone has been waiting for you! We have somewhere that everyone is sitting already, I will bring you there" Annie voiced.
"Ah, thank you" Allicia quickly responded. She liked the arrangement that way. After all, she was still new in the company and if she were to hang around all by herself, she might end up being bored to death.
"We all are meant to sit together actually" Annie quickly informed.
Allicia nodded and looked around, only then did she realise that the seats were actually arranged according to each department and group. Another thing was that every department also had its outfit colour themes. It was easy to recognise what department a person belonged to as long as you know the colour theme of the department.
"By the way, you look very pretty, leader! You look like you are going to steal the spotlight tonight. Well, that is if the big boss does not come with his rumoured fiancee" Annie suddenly said causing Allicia to almost stumble on her footing.
"Thank you, you look good too" Allicia humbly said and Annie chuckled.
In her opinion, Allicia easily passed off as the prettiest lady in their company already even without putting any effort to look good. She had a perfect height and a nice figure, the red dress she wore gave her an imposing aura and a domineering spirit. The heels she wore only made her legs longer, as though they were the natural extension of her legs. She was young and beautiful, Annie thought.
It was not long before they reached the other group members. Allicia exchanged pleasantries with them and they sat down together chatting peacefully while waiting for the event to officially begin. While the ladies in their group wore red dresses, the men wore black tuxedos with red-coloured accessories.
"I think if we were to pick the prettiest person in our company, the position will naturally go to our group leader. I mean, look around, do you see anyone prettier than her?"
Allicia who was barely paying attention to what the people around the table were saying before suddenly lifted her head and looked at them, she was amused at how she could easily become a discussion topic for them.
"Yes, I agree with you, Marcus. I have seen pretty women but it is not so easy to come across one who is effortlessly pretty like our leader"
"That is a giving" one of the ladies inserted.
"I think our leader isn't just all about beauty, she is beautiful, and she is smart!" Annie also joined in the discussion.
Allicia blushed and cleared her throat, she did not understand how these people were talking about her as of she was not there. She really wanted to yell at them and say.
"Hey, I am here. Stop talking about me, okay?!" She shook her head and smiled while maintaining her demeanour and enjoying the peaceful moment with them. However, the peaceful atmosphere only lasted for a brief moment before it was disrupted.
"Aren't you all group A members always so full of yourselves? You are not afraid that if you praise a person too much, they become full of themselves and step on all of you?" A cold snort came behind them and everyone paused to look at who it was.
Of course, it was none other than Marie, she was dressed in a blue snowy long gown, and her makeup was perfectly fine that it made her appear younger than her actual age. One cannot ignore the fact that she was beautiful at that moment however, she still could not raise a candle to Allicia's natural beauty.
"Who are you?" Annie was the first to break the silence, she glared at Marie and snapped.
Marie was slightly taken aback but when she saw who attacked her, disdain filled her eyes.
"You are only a secretary but you don't know how to respect your senior? Does group A leader not know how to put a leash on their dog?" Marie spat out, she intentionally fixed her gaze on Allicia who didn't want to bother about her in the first place.
"You–!" Annie's face reddened with fury, she was about to retort when a warm hand tapped her wrist and pulled her back.
"Dog? I am sorry, we don't have dogs here but you must check yourself to know if you are one. After all your incessant barking irritates my ear" Allicia uttered.
"Did you just call me a dog?!" Marie snapped and pointed a finger at Allicia. If it were not to keep face in public, Allicia really felt the urge to smack the woman's finger off her face but, she remained calm.
"You brought it upon yourself. You better be careful and stay away from my group. Everyone is watching now, and the way your face changes from pretty to ugly is quite astonishing" Allicia said and Marie's face only grew uglier. It took her a while before she calmed down and could retort.
"I don't blame you," she said amidst gritted teeth. "With a pretty face like yours, who knew the things you do to be successful" Marie blurted out.
The people who heard her frowned as they could tell what she implied in her words. Was she saying that Allicia got to her position using her body? The members of group A became even more furious. They were about to attack Marie when Allicia simply shrugged.
"At least I am beautiful and smart, I can use what I have to get what I want. Tell me, what do you have? An ugly old face?" Allicia retorted.
Others heard what Allicia said and they laughed. Instantly, the tension was lifted. Marie angrily sauntered back to her group while the members of Allicia's group resumed their chatting. No one placed what Marie said to heart. They felt it was just bitterness taking over the woman's heart.
Although the tension had lifted, Allicia felt slight discomfort to be in the same space with the woman, she suddenly stood up and excused herself. Before she left, Annie reminded her to return quickly because the dinner would begin soon. Allicia nodded and left.
She asked around and went into the toilet. After taking a couple of deep breaths, she walked out of the toilet. Just then, her phone rang and she took it out of her purse. The name on the screen caused a smile to split on her face. She leaned against the wall and answered the call.
"Hello darling" she uttered sweetly in a voice dipped in honey.
However, before she got the chance to receive her daughter's response, a distinct smell reached her nose and a certain familiar presence clouded her sense for a moment. The atmosphere around her changed and an intense pressure mounted on her shoulders to the extent that it felt difficult to breathe. Every other thing seems to disappear at that moment, her fingers clenched around the phone and she subconsciously turned around.
She met with a pair of sharpened eyes. Those piercing gaze sent chills down her spine but she could not look away. She could not bring herself to look away from those eyes not because of the beauty in them but because those eyes uncovered a deeply buried memory that was hidden in the depth of her heart.
Allicia's lashes trembled, and her shoulders quivered she could no longer hear her baby's voice as it drifted into nothingness. Tears involuntarily grazed her deep orbs. She only came back to herself when she heard the man's familiar voice.
"It is you…"