Chapter Twenty two.

Elena's Pov.

My lips were numb, and I had a sweet taste in mouth, I was currently sipping a tropical flavoured smoothie, that was a mix of different fruits, though it was a healthy drink, something I had to get used to.

The feeling did not seem unfamiliar, I touched my hand to my lips on reflex, last night had been one of a kind, mostly because of I and Lorenzo's escapade. I had gotten to the west wing of the building and suffice to say, I had a delightful experience.

Katie was constantly hammering me to know the details, but I refused to speak. This morning, I had woken up to see myself in the headlines. I found things like;

MOST RECENT SIGNEE OF LSC ENTERTAINMENT  ELENA YOUNG PULLS UP FOR THE WELCOME PARTY IN SIZZLING HOT DRESS, AND SWEEPS THE CROWD AWAY.

LATEST MEMBER OF LSC ENTERTAINMENT ELENA YOUNG PULLS UP LIKE A TRUE DIVA.

SUPER HOT MODELS HAVE COMPETITION WITH THE ARRIVAL OF  LATEST LSC MEMBER ELENA YOUNG.

These were the headlines that were on the internet and in the newspapers and some more cryptic ones.

I was beyond glad that I had received recognition but it seemed as if the media was focusing all their attention on me, which I found hard to understand. I had asked Lorenzo if it was his doing or purely coincidence that he had pulled out  the card which held my name from the box. He replied that he  had never and would not be starting anytime soon to depend on coincidence, he had also relayed to me  that the box was filled with cards which had my name on it and so there was no way another person's name could have been called.

I had asked him if the organizers were in on it and he had replied that they did not know a single thing about the manipulation, he had maneuvered his plans into action.

Now I sat wondering whether the unusual attention I was receiving from the media was his doing or it was from my diva attributes.

I looked out the window to see the  almost foggy atmosphere, it was dreary and depressing, I had always hated the cold weather, but that was exactly what he was,cold, but ironically I did not hate him.

I took a long draw from my smoothie and released a satisfied sigh. Yesterday's event was still fresh in my memory, I would forget it in less than a hurry. The whole thing replayed in my mind and I smirked, I had definitely shown Amelie Banks that I was boss but I don't understand why her  friend, the second girl had looked so satisfied at seeing her so humiliated, she deserved it though, as Katie rightly said, she had definitely tried to bite off more than she could chew and had paid the penalty for it.

 Speaking about Katie, she had gone out some few houy ago and I had yet to hear from her. I was currently bored out of my mind, lazing around in  the living room.

My mind roamed and my idleness began to bother me, I thought about different phases of my life and finally decided to give Azalea a call.

After blocking my number so she will not see the name or ID of the caller, I sent the call, my heart hammering against my ribs. After a few tries she finally picked up.

"Hello, Azalea speaking, may I know who is on the line?" She asked, her voice ringing in my ears, it has been far too long since I heard her speak, I smiled from the memory.

"Hey girl, it's me Ellie, I'm surprised you don't have my number" I said, feigning innocence and ignorance.

"Who?" She asked.

"It's me Elena,  two weeks away and you have forgotten me already" I was perplexed.

"Elena?, Why is your number private, I thought this was one of those damned  annoying prank calls" she paused. "how are you doing and how is your aunt, is she getting better?" She asked.

"She is regaining her strength but I fear that she is only just pretending to be strong" I lied feeling bad about myself in the process.

"Oh, you won't believe what is going on in this part of the world". She started.

"What is happening I feel like I disconnected from the whole world you know, these parts are really secluded" I lied again.

"Oh, you were never really connected to the world before so it's no big deal, as I was sayy, there is this new woman that just joined LSC Entertainment, I'm sure you've heard if it, so she has a striking resemblance to you, just that she is richer and as such more beautiful, and the weird thing is, she goes by Elena, I am beyond confused at the happenings, at some point, I thought she was you and then I looked again and was convinced that she isn't and can never be you, we really miss you, he keeps blaming himself, saying that he us the reason you left, I tried explaining to him but he just doesn't want to listen, when are you coming back, your absence has affected us badly".

 The HE she was talking about was definitely none other than Caleb, I had definitely left him hanging, therefore he had every right to be guilty or even angry at me, I did not have a say in the matter,but they did not know this. 

"Hello... Hello.. darn." She spoke into the receiver.

Then I realized she needed an answer from me.

"Azalea" I started.

"Yes Elena." She replied.

"I may not come back, my aunt is hellbent on making me stay here  and I am not able to refuse her wish, I will try my best to come visit, but I'm not sure that I will come back permanently, I miss you just as much" Tears streamed down my face as I uttered those heart wrenching words, my sobs escaped as I tried to hold back an outburst.

"Elena baby, hush now, listen to me as I say this. You are making the right choice by obeying your aunt's wish, she is ailing and you have to listen to her, yes I miss you and so does everyone else, but that is not a good enough reason to regret your decision, yes we have been friends for years, but family comes above all, had it been me in your shoes, I would have made the exact same choice, so be strong and keep pushing, you are a strong girl and I know that you are up to the task, I'll be hanging up now, I have a lot of work to do, I love you bestie and I know that without you even telling me, you love me just as much." she said and hung up the phone hurriedly, but I knew that it was not to go and run her errands that she had hung up on me, but rather to let out the bile that had settled in her chest and throat, maybe I knew this because of her cracking voice or maybe I knew this because that was the exact same thing that was happening to me.

That phone call had meant goodbye, we both knew it, but what she did not know was that I had bluntly lied to her, at least she would be happy in ignorance and I would be content that she is happy.

I realized the irony of her words,my heart squeezed then pinched, then scattered into a billion shards, she had spoken as if she knew the whole truth or even part of the truth, a little part of me told me that she did not buy the aunt crap and that she had a rough idea of exactly what was going on.

I sat still for a couple of minutes and allowed the tears to flow, at least I had heard her voice, I did not know the next time I would hear it, but I would be waiting expectantly for that day to arrive. I took a sip of my smoothie that I had forgotten about and wiped my tears, she said it herself, family comes above all, she understood my helplessness even though it was indirect and she supports me like she always does, I was extremely lucky to have her, this I knew for sure.

"You will not believe this Elena" Katie said dramatically, pulling me from my reverie.

I turned to look at the second best thing that happened to me since I had started walking this new path.

Author's Note:

Hello everyone 🥰❣️❣️ thank you for reading🥺🥺🥺 I sincerely hope you enjoy the book, what do you think about Elena's persona, is she too soft, or too inconsiderate and hard, tell me  on  Twitter @cancerzodiac, your opinions matter a lot to me.

Till next time, Xoxo ♥️❣️💗