When The World Stops.

The gallery hall was filled with guests from all walks of life; there were also art workers, pop stars, prominent businessmen and even a few young politicians. The opening of the exhibition was an official event, to attend which, you had to go through face control and have the appropriate dress code.

Elena was moving gracefully among the guests, smiling and greeting everyone, until her gaze fell on the one she was waiting for.

"Armand!" She waved at the man to attract his attention. He smiled back, went towards her, and hugged her tight when he came closer. "Hello, little birdie! Good to see you." Armand kissed Elena on the cheek and patted her head.

"Hey, stop treating me like a little girl! Sometimes it seems to me that you behave with me as you do with Ashley," Elena pretended to have pouted her lips, but in fact, the way Armand behaved with her always evoked warm feelings in the girl.

But what was really strange was that even David accepted this behavior the way it was, and never showed discontent. Because he would have killed any other man with a jealous gaze, Armand was the only exception. Maybe it was because he knew them from his past life and looked after Elena when she was a little girl. Or maybe because David knew for sure that this man's heart was closed to any temptations and that he could entrust his beloved woman to him in times when needed.

"Come on, don't be so upset," Armand smiled and put his hand on the girl's shoulder, "Let the old grandpa pamper you with his attention."

"Ahahaha, yeah, grandpa, you don't say! If others could look like you their nineties. By the way, how old are you?"

The man shrugged, "Hmm, honestly, I didn't even count. A hundred years or so, I guess. But let's get down to business. Why did you need my sign language knowledge?"

Elena clapped her hands, during the conversation she almost forgot why she invited him here, "That's right! Look, I noticed something. I need you to confirm my assumptions." She grabbed Armand's sleeve and dragged him to one of the pictures, "See, the girl in the picture has her arms folded in a certain way. I know that this gesture is like a sigh for the word 'look'. I'm right?"

Armand narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the picture. And how could Elena have noticed this? He was not a big fan of art, and if the woman hadn't pointed at this detail, he wouldn't even see it. Now, on closer examination, he was sure that it really was a sign language symbol.

"Yes, you are right. This is exactly what you thought," Armand confirmed Elena's assumptions.

"Really?! Then what about the other paintings? Can you check?" Armand nodded his head, and he and Elena began to move from one canvas to another, carefully studying each of them. From the outside, it seemed that they were simply enjoying the look of these masterpieces of art, but in reality, with each picture they studied, their tension grew more and more.

Elena was right. Dance poses, in which the girl froze in portraits, were just a disguise for the message hidden in this collection. And if these pictures were not all gathered under the same roof, this message would not have remained unraveled.

"What you are looking for is right before your eyes."

"What you are looking for is right before your eyes. And what does that mean?" Elena asked Armand, who was as surprised as she was.

"I have no idea. To be honest, I am not a master at solving puzzles, unlike Mar... well, it doesn't matter," Armand waved his hand, but it was clear to Elena that he was talking about his brother.

An awkward pause hung in the air, and the girl decided to change the subject, "By the way, how do you know sign language?"

Armand thought for a moment, thinking about whether to talk about it or not. But then he sighed and replied, "When we were little kids, Marcus and I loved playing spies and often made up our secret ciphers. My father was already very strict with us, and so in order for our childish games to have at least some sense, he assigned a teacher to us, and he taught us this. Therefore, by the age of ten, we could freely communicate with each other without using words." The man smiled, but this smile was more a reflection of pain than joy.

In those distant days, which had sunk in the time of the last century, he and his brother used to be close and friendly, they used to go together like salt and pepper. They shared their secrets and desires with each other. When did the moment come when it all stopped? Even after so many years, he did not know the answer to this question.

An incomprehensible noise aside distracted Armand from his own thoughts. He and Elena turned around; a displeased expression was on her face.

"Marie, come on for a second!" Elena called her assistant. The woman approached her, she was visibly confused and worried. "Marie, what's going on? Can you explain to me what this person is doing there?!" Elena pointed to a small stage, which was created to make a solemn speech at the opening of the exhibition.

But the speech was long over, so why did this Carter climb on the stage again?

"Mrs. Anderson, please forgive me, I didn't know what to do. Mr. Carter came up to me and said that he wanted to make a surprise for our guests. I asked him if you gave your approval to this, to which he replied that you would not mind, as this would only raise more interest in this event. I did not suppose that he would arrange such a stir." Marie quickly began to apologize to Elena.

"Okay, I get it, don't worry. It is not your fault at all, so you can continue to enjoy the exhibition," Elena smiled delicately, and Marie became noticeably calmer. She drew attention to the man standing next to Elena. His noble features, elegant style and eyes, blue as the sky, made the image of Armand incredibly attractive.

'Mrs. Anderson was lucky, she is surrounded by such hot men. Eh, where can I find such a yummy thing for myself,' the woman thought to herself. She wanted to ask Elena to introduce her to her companion, but he didn't even pay attention to Marie when she approached them. Therefore, to avoid possible embarrassment, the woman decided not to think about this venture.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking your time and coming to this wonderful exhibition!" Philip Carter climbed onto the stage and began his speech. "Let's raise glasses of champagne and thank the amazing and charming woman who made this event possible - Elena Anderson!" The man raised his glass of champagne and looked in the direction of Elena. Although today she was dressed quite restrained and elegant, even in this outfit she aroused him no less. Carter narrowed his eyes, his gaze full of lust.

The waiters were carrying champagne trays around the room, and each guest picked up a glass. Elena mentally rolled her eyes, but there was a restrained smile on her face. It is good that David had many important meetings today, and he could not attend the event, otherwise, there would have been a scandal. Her husband would certainly not have left such a glance in the direction of his wife unanswered.

"You all know that I am a famous collector and I have a lot of masterpieces of world art, and today, I would like to donate one of my precious treasures to this gallery." Carter waved his hand and brought the picture into the hall.

It was a little larger than the rest of the paintings and was closed from the viewer's eyes with a thick cloth. The gallery staff hung the canvass on one of the walls and, given its size, it immediately attracted attention.

Everyone was wondering what was depicted in this picture. Knowing Carter's selective taste, it had to be something unusual.

Elena looked at the whole show with displeasure, she waited for it to end quickly. Incomprehensible anxiety began to grow in her chest when she looked at this closed canvas, as if inwardly not wanting to see what was hidden behind it.

"Today I invited a special guest, an amazing singer, whose voice is now fascinating the whole world. She has already conquered all the famous stages of the globe and now you have the opportunity to hear her live. Meet Miss Lina Jones!"

The people in the hall subsided for a moment, not believing their ears, and in the next second, an ocean of applause rang through the room.

"Oh God, Lina Jones?! It can't be!" Marie screamed, her eyes shining like two bright spotlights.

"Do you know her? Is she so famous?" Elena asked the woman. She herself had heard the name of this artist for the first time and did not understand all the hype that had suddenly arisen.

"Or, Mrs. Anderson, do you really mean that?! This is Lina Jones! It cannot be that you did not hear about her! Her voice comes from all radio stations, television companies are fighting for the opportunity to invite her to participate in their programs. She is considered to be a phenomenon of the year, that captured the whole world in just a few months!" Marie reported and looked at Elena with surprise. Was there really another person in this world who had never heard the voice of Lina Jones? This simply could not be!

"But you know, everyone says," Marie went almost to a whisper, "She's just a disgusting lady. She is a very arrogant, rude, acrimonious and unprincipled woman. She can easily tell a person to go to hell even in spite of his status if she doesn't like this person at all. But all this is forgiven for the sake of being able to hear her voice."

Elena raised her eyebrows in amazement, this Lina Jones seemed quite a bitch.

The crowd fell silent and a woman entered the hall accompanied by several bodyguards. Her head was raised proudly, her gaze was even and unresponsive. Long black hair as smooth silk fell to the line of her thighs. Her hazel eyes swept over the crowd, stopped for a second on one of the men, and then she turned away and continued on her way to the stage.

Armand felt goosebumps running down his back as his eyes met the gaze of this unfamiliar woman. Strange feelings that he had not experienced for a very long time made him worry.

"Um, Elena, I just remembered that I still have some things to do, so I'll probably go," he turned to her. For some reason, he wanted to leave this room as quickly as possible.

Elena nodded her head, and Armand took a step forward. The girl brought the microphone to her mouth, and a melody flowed through the hall, the melody of incredible beauty. At that moment, the man felt his world stop. He did not hear or see anything, only her voice.

Armand turned around and his gaze was focused on the girl standing on the stage and captivating everyone with her voice. She was completely different, completely different from the one whose image he had kept in his heart for many years, even decades. Neither her appearance, nor her eyes, nor the aura she radiated, she had absolutely nothing in common with THAT woman.

But the feelings she provoked in him every second, as he heard her voice, were well known to him. The man closed his eyes, 'Damn.'

Elena noticed the strange behavior of her friend and tugged on his hand, "Arman, did something happen?" But the man didn't answer and just kept staring at the stage. She did not ask him anymore, and like all the spectators continued to listen to the song that captured the attention of everyone around.

Lina raised her hand up, her high notes made the listeners open their mouths in amazement, then she abruptly lowered her hand, and together with her gesture the cloth flew away from the picture behind the girl.

While everyone was listening to the end of the song, Elena's heart skipped a beat. She did not understand what was happening. Fear, confusion, sadness, amazement, joy, pain. A wave of all kinds of feelings covered her in the blink of an eye.

In the picture, hanging on the wall, a woman was depicted. And right above her in the sky, there was a big red sun.