Rise of the Billionaire actress

Karen and Esther arrived just in time. Elvis saw them first, handing over slices of cake to the waiters who took them round to interested persons.

“I hope they like it..” Esther wrapped her arms around her body, “There’s enough desert to last a lifetime.” she observed, looking around.

“There you are! Esther I presume.” Elvis said when he got to earshot.

“Yeah…?” she answered, unsure of what was going on.

“Good to see you, come along now, we’ve been waiting for quite a long time.”

Elvis dragged her towards the VIP area with a smug on his face. He couldn’t wait to see the look on his friend’s face after seeing them together. Daniel and his family were seated together, waiting for him to get the ‘drink’ he needed.

“We’re here.” He announced to them, then to Esther, he urged, “Don’t be shy, have a seat.”

Daniel’s eyes connected with Esther and he couldn’t make out words to describe what he saw. His eyes roamed through her form, looking for signs of imperfection to no avail. She was effortlessly beautiful.

Esther on the other hand didn’t expect to see Daniel. At least not this soon. She grew red under his gaze and tried her best to appear unaffected.

“Don’t be a stranger, have your seat.” Elvis drew out a chair beside Daniel. “We’ve been waiting for you the whole time.”

She pushed a loft of hair behind her ear, “No problem.” She turned to Daniel and said, “Didn’t think you’d be here.”

Daniel couldn’t tell whether she was angry or happy to see him. Did he hide the little piece of information that he was going to be here? Yes. Was it geared at getting her farther from the fact he may have been the one behind the scenes? Maybe.

Was he going to admit to it? Never.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you this entire time.” Karen announced upon sighting Esther at the table, “Where-” she stilled at the sight of Elvis.

“Karen..”

“You know each other?” Daniel asked, looking between them.

“Y-yes?”

“No.”

They chorused, earning suspicious glances from the rest.

“Which is it?” Daniel studied them with a calculative gaze.

“I knew him, but that was in time past, so not really.” Karen finally said,

“If you knew each other, why the animosity? Was he an ex?” Elvis’ wife jokes, sporting a smile.

“Of course not!” Elvis was quick to react, “You can have a seat,” he offered with a smile.

Karen took a vacant seat and they all got talking. Deloise couldn’t help but notice the quietness of her friend. Daniel also, but he spoke nothing of it. With his hands full, he wasn’t looking to unearth whatever drama that lurked between them.

“Where are the twins? They sound so lovely.” Deloise asked after hearing all about Elvis’s children.

“They are in the children’s section.” Elvis said with a smile.

Karen’s eyes widened at the sight of her daughter. Anna could barely walk straight, as she made way to their table.

“Excuse me,” she tried to stop her but was a second too late.

“Daddy?” Anna drawled upon getting to the table.

Silence engulfed the table, and Daniel swallowed.

“It’s you! My dad! I’ve been searching for you this whole time.” She pointed at Elvis, and said in a drunken slur, “Why? You don’t like me? Am I not what you expected? Are you going to reject us?”

The smell of alcohol was heavy on her breath, “Anna! Let’s go!” Karen caught her by the arm, beclouded with shame. “She’s drunk. Just ignore her.”

“Don’t touch me! Don’t you dare touch me, you liar!” Anna screamed, making a scene. “You may be my mother but you aren’t my father. Let me speak to him, I promise I’ll be of good behaviour. Just let me speak to him.”

Elvis watched in horror as Karen dragged her daughter out the room with a sorry look on her face. He caught his wife’s face and her silence was scary.

“I can explain,” he implored, “It isn’t what it looks like, I swear I don’t know who that girl is! Trust me!”

Daniel didn’t know what to think, and Esther was abnormally still.

“I have to go.” his wife finally spoke, getting up on her feet. “Don’t. Just.. don’t.” she said when he touched her. “I’ll see you soon. I need a little space.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Esther watched Elvis break as his wife walked away from the table. Everything suddenly made sense; their knowing each other, Karen’s unusual silence, Anna’s appearance.

Just how many things did Karen keep from her?

“Excuse me,” she picked up her purse, and Daniel regarded her with a concerned look. “I need to use the restroom.” She lied and went on her way.

Esther felt cold. The thought of how Karen and Elvis got caught in the middle of a secret she knew nothing about brought a sense of foreboding as regards her secret.

No matter how she tried, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of getting caught by her daughter in the middle of it all.

How long did she have before things blew up in her face too?

*****

Aaron ended his call and made his way back inside the hall. He found his way to the table but met Stella and his father. “Where is she?” he hissed,

“On a restroom break.” Stella answered, then looked at her watch. “It’s been a while.” she added, but he was already gone.

Aaron searched the area leading up to the female restroom. He knew he made a mistake leaving her in the arms of his father, and wondered what other cruel thing was said in his absence.

He owed her an apology.

By the entrance of the hallway, he caught sight of her standing by a door with her face buried in her phone. “Loise?”

She raised her head at the mention of her name. “There you are! I was just about calling you.”

He approached her with a seriousness that felt foreign. Did she do something wrong?

“I’m sorry I left you to the wolves.” He took her into his arms and her senses were eroded by him. She was convinced her heart could give up at the rate it went.

“It’ll take a lot more than that to take me out.” She murmured, “Besides, I left before they could get at me.”

“That’s good.” He pinched her cheeks, “Next time, just follow me when I say so.”

That brought a smile to her face. “Easy there, I’m almost convinced you might care about me.” she joked.

“Is that so wrong?” he stood straight, playing with her hair loft, “Is it so wrong to care about you?” he asked with a sincerity that choked her.

She didn’t have a reply for him, so she left things at that. Sometimes, silence was the best answer. The duo maintained a comfortable silence as they walked through the hallways.

“Can I ask you a question?” Deloise said after a while.

“Will you not if I refuse?” he retorted, earning an eyeroll.

“What is your relationship with them?”

Aaron stilled, knowing fully well who she referred to as ‘them’.

He asked anyway, “Which of them?”

“Both?” she answered, unsure if she crossed over a line.

Aaron sighed, and palmed his face. “Might as well get it over with.” he murmured, “long answer or short one?”

“Both?” she shrugged and he held back a smile.

“Short form, my half brother and Father. Long story- people I don’t give a fuck about but can’t seem to rid myself of them.” he smirked, “Is that answer clear enough?”

“Crystal.” She said with a playful tone that took the edge off the conversation. “Just so you know, I think they are both terrible and you’re better off without them.”

Aaron held his chest in mock surprise, “Did we just agree on something?” He gasped, “Who are you and what have you done to her?”

Before Deloise could come up with something crafty, she saw her mother come through the hallway.

Her eyes widened, and the next second, she took a step forward and caught his lips in a hiding kiss.