"I’m not staying at Starfall anymore. I’m going to Solmere," Elara whispered, her eyes still fixed on Ziva.

Ziva’s brows drew together instantly. "Leaving Starfall?" she repeated, her voice filled with shock. She bit her lip hard, then spoke again. "Solmere? Elara, that’s hours away. How are you going to manage going to Voice regularly? This could become a problem for you. You can just stay at my condo. It’s secure and nobody will find you."

A short, muffled sound left Elara’s throat, something close to a laugh. She glanced down at the phone in her hands, then looked back at Ziva.

"I’m not going back to Voice," she said calmly. "I’m terminating the sponsorship."

The room fell into complete silence.

Ziva stared at her as if she had suddenly started to speak a language she could not understand.

"You’re leaving Voice..." she muttered, her voice dropping to a whisper. She stayed quiet for a while, clearly at a loss for words, before finally speaking again. "Elara, do you know the legal penalties for breaking a contract with the Vales? And Adrian Vale... if this doesn’t sit right with him, he will surely make things difficult for you. He’ll make sure you don’t get into any music company, not just in the capital, but in the whole of Aurelia."

She paused, her expression tightening from worry. "And even if Voice sides with Relanie... how are you going to fight her story without any support from a powerful agency?"

"I’m not fighting anything," Elara replied smoothly. "I’m admitting to the push before I leave for Solmere. And I’m not giving any explanation to anyone."

"Admit it?" Ziva repeated, staring at her in disbelief. "If you do that, the public will tear you apart. They’ll call you all kinds of names."

"Let them," Elara said, lifting her chin slightly, her expression calm. "By admitting it and walking away, I leave Relanie with nothing else to say. I end the story by giving them exactly what they want, but on my terms. Then I go to Solmere. I’ll rent a small place there and start over again, without Voice or the Vales’ shadow over me."

Ziva watched her for a long moment, her eyes searching her face. Then she gave a small shrug and stood up.

"Then I’ll submit my resignation at Voice today," she said simply. "I’m coming with you to Solmere."

Elara froze, her head snapping up. For the first few seconds, she just stared at her, her lips parting and closing.

She had thought this was where their paths would separate.

"Ziva, no," she said quickly, her voice lowering firmly as she stood up to face her. "I won’t let you ruin your career because of me. You’ve worked at Voice for years, even before I came. You’ve assisted so many artists. You built your life there. I’m not going to let you throw all that away out of pity."

Ziva raised her brows, staring at her in disbelief. "Pity?" she repeated, letting out a short strained laugh. But her eyes never left Elara’s face.

"It’s true," she continued. "I was at Voice long before you came. Back then, it was just a job. I moved from one artist to another, doing whatever the agency told me to do."

She paused, her lips pressing together tightly. "But it’s different with you."

Her voice softened.

"If you’re leaving Starfall, then there’s nothing left for me to do at Voice. I’m not throwing my career away. I’m just choosing the only part of it that ever mattered."

She took a small step closer.

"As long as you sing, I’m your assistant. Whether it’s in a big hall or a small house in Solmere... I’m coming with you."

Elara sat still, left speechless at Ziva’s words. She stared at her, completely caught off guard.

THUD.

The door suddenly swung inward and a small figure lost her balance and tumbled straight onto the bedroom rug.

Zia lay there for a second, her messy red hair spilling over her face like a startled little bird’s nest.

Both Elara and Ziva froze, their gazes dropping to the floor.

Slowly, Zia pushed herself up on her hands. She peeked up at them through her tangled bangs, her wide eyes moving from Elara’s stunned face to Ziva’s pale one. The moment she realized she had been caught listening, she let out a small, awkward giggle and flashed them a bright, innocent smile.

"The door... it just opened by itself," she whispered, testing her luck.

Elara’s heart gave a small uneasy flip. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the little girl.

Zia was far too sharp for her age. If she had heard even half of what they said, Grandpa would surely know before the sun sets.

"How long have you been standing there, Zia?" Elara asked, her voice dropping into a warning tone.

Zia quickly scrambled to her feet, brushing off invisible dust from her knees.

"I heard everything," she whispered dramatically, pointing a small finger at Elara. "I know your secret plan. But my silence isn’t free."

Elara’s jaw tightened. She couldn’t risk Zia running off to tell Grandpa.

"What do you want, Zia?" she muttered quietly.

Zia raised three small fingers, a tiny smile playing on her lips. "First, you have to find my missing shoe. Second, you have to comb my hair because my mom does it too hard and it hurts. And third..." her eyes wandered around the room until they landed on the vintage music box by the window, "...you have to give me that little box that sings when you twist the tail."

Elara followed her gaze to the old music box. "What do you need that for?"

Zia lifted her chin, her face suddenly serious and proud. "Because I’m going to keep it in my room and use it to train my voice. Though... I’m already very advanced."

"Advanced?" Ziva repeated quietly.

Zia turned to her at once.

"Yes," she said firmly, crossing her arms with full confidence. "Grandpa says when I sing, the neighbor’s dogs start crying because they’re so moved by my talent."

Elara let out a soft breath, but she didn’t argue. She stepped out of the room and searched until she found the missing shoe tucked under a chair. She came back, slipped it onto Zia’s foot, then sat her down on the edge of the bed.

Taking a comb from the dresser, she carefully worked through the tangled strands of her hair. When she was done, she reached for the music box and placed it gently into Zia’s waiting hands.

After a long minute, Elara finally stepped back.

"Don’t worry, Elara," Zia whispered with a very serious expression. "I won’t tell Grandpa about your singing mirror."

Elara blinked, confused. "My what?"

"Your Soul Mirror," Zia said, clearly pleased with herself. "I heard you telling Ziva you’re leaving Starfall to go and find a magical mirror that sings. And Ziva is going to be your mirror assistant." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Ziva let out a quiet sigh from where she stood.

Elara stared at the child, completely still. She had just spent all that time crawling around and fixing her hair... for this.

"A magical mirror," Elara repeated flatly.

"Yes," Zia nodded, completely serious. "I won’t tell anyone. Grandpa doesn’t believe in magic anyway."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room, her two shoes tapping against the floor as she left.

Elara remained where she was, staring at the doorway in silence...