Carris went quiet, a strange light flashing through his eyes. "That question never leads anywhere good," he muttered not sounding very interested.

"It’s Julian," the woman said.

A long silence followed. Carris pursed his lips, his fingers tightening faintly around the steering wheel. "Why are you telling me anyway?" he asked, his voice lowering a bit.

The voice on the other end laughed softly before speaking again. "Well, I’m just telling you. Your brother said he ran into him at the dance gala."

Carris remained silent.

"He even asked about you. I told him you were currently in Aurelia and he said he’ll be coming there soon for some business. Apparently, he plans to notify you when he arrives."

Carris let out a loud snort. "Doesn’t he have other people he can contact?"

An amused laugh sounded from the other end again. "Whatever. I’m trying to go freshen up and sleep now. Bye. And I can tell you’re driving so don’t forget your road manners. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Carris replied quietly before the call disconnected.

As he took a turn on the road again, another snort escaped his throat when a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

–

As planned. Two days after getting the tattoos, in the evening, Elara went with Carris and Ziva for the music video shoot.

Carris had already suggested Lunaris Harbor in Starfall and personally arranged everything needed for the filming. Elara did not refuse either. After all, the harbor was a place she had always liked.

And apart from that, the view of the grey harbor stirred up a memory she did not want to linger on for too long.

The filming was not as difficult as Elara had expected it to be. In fact, it was much easier than the movie they had filmed on set.

Tonio came again despite all of Ziva’s efforts to mislead him. She had even gone as far as sending him an address in a district so fake it probably didn’t exist on any map in Aurelia.

"Frostiebun, I knew the stars would lead me to you!" he shouted dramatically while waving his arms in the air, only to trip over a thick power cable the next second.

He spent the next twenty minutes insisting that the video lacked "main character energy" and that he needed to appear in it too, even if it was only a blurry glimpse of him in the background.

When Carris finally could not take his endless bickering anymore, he pointed toward a flickering light far away near the docks and lied with a completely straight face.

"The director needs a lonely figure in the distance for balance."

Tonio immediately accepted the role with deadly seriousness. He stood there for almost thirty minutes striking dramatic poses for a camera that was not even pointed in his direction.

As the evening deepened and the harbor lights began shimmering against the dark water, it was mostly Tonio’s ridiculous behavior that stopped Elara from losing herself in the cold beauty of the grey view before her...

The video itself turned out beautifully just like the song, even though Elara had felt it looked rather simple.

But in reality, it was not the artistic fog, the harbor lights, or even the cinematography that made the video explode online.

It was them. More specifically, the chemistry between them.

Within hours of the release, the internet especially the shipping community, had completely lost their minds.

@Blue_Brain: "The way Carris looks at her... if a man doesn’t look at me like I’m a rare artifact he’s trying to steal from a museum, I don’t want him."

User123: "Can we talk about the way Carris held her hand? I’m already sobbing. Is this a music video or a wedding announcement??"

@Detective_Valmont: "Did anyone else notice they have the same expression whenever they’re annoyed? That’s not acting. That’s soulmate behavior. Period."

But that was not even the worst part. The most ridiculous thing was a viral post from an infamous gossip account with the headline:

Carris and Elara - #ElRis : The Secret Is Out!!!

The post was filled with what they proudly called ’evidence’ which was enough to leave Elara staring at her screen in disbelief.

Most of it was painfully photoshopped. Pictures of them ’shopping together’. Pictures of them ’wearing matching brands’. There was even one terribly edited image of them supposedly eating together at a restaurant neither of them had ever visited.

Honestly, Elara found the entire thing more funny than annoying.

What if they found out about the matching tattoos too? That one would be far worse. Thankfully, nobody seemed to connect it yet. Probably because Carris had been wearing high collars lately.

* * * *

Meanwhile, inside a luxurious office in Veston...

A man stood upright beside the desk, his suit so perfectly neat it looked as though he ironed it emotionally every morning before wearing it.

"Boss..." he muttered carefully while staring at the large screen in front of him. "Why are you watching it like it owes you money?"

The man seated behind the desk ignored him completely. His expression remained cold and unreadable as the music video continued playing.

Then finally he spoke, his voice carrying obvious distaste. "Who approved those close contact scenes?"

The man standing by the desk slowly raised a brow in understanding.

Ah. The city might actually burn soon.

–

Everything really went well against Elara’s expectations. Especially the reactions from the public. There were no hateful posts or scandals spreading across the internet anymore. It was almost as if the videos from the wrap up party had vanished into thin air.

But Elara did not let herself rely too much on that peace. Because in her own world, good things never lasted for long.

As if everything had already been planned... Just a few days after the music video became popular, the movie they had filmed in Solmere was finally released.

The movie turned into a massive commercial success for the production team. It quickly became one of the highest grossing epic Aurelian movies of all time despite the fact that most of the cast were singers instead of actors.

Soon, discussions about the movie began replacing the music video conversations online, though not completely. Most of the attention revolved around the main characters: Relanie, Carris, and Elara herself.

In the movie, Relanie’s character and Carris were the main couple while Elara played something closer to an antihero. But funny enough, most of the audience still ended up shipping Elara and Carris together instead.

Several days later, when Elara finally thought everything had calmed down and she could at last get some proper rest, she suddenly heard Ziva’s annoyed cry from the living room.

Not long after, the door to Elara’s room burst open and Ziva stormed inside. "Elara, can you believe the movie premiere is in three days? No one even informed us!"

Elara slowly raised her head from the pillow. "Movie premiere?" she repeated, her eyes filled with confusion. "Which movie premiere is that?"

Ziva froze instantly after hearing that question. Then guilt slowly crept onto her face.

"Ah..." she muttered awkwardly. "I actually forgot to tell you. The production team really is hosting a movie premiere. I just didn’t know it was happening this soon."

Elara’s lips pressed tightly together.

A movie premiere.

Wouldn’t that mean Relanie and everyone else from the cast would be there too? But truth be told, that was not what really bothered her the most.

She simply disliked public gatherings like that. Most of them never ended well. Especially the ones she remembered from her past life.

Since no one had informed her properly and she had not even received an invitation, she looked back at Ziva calmly. "I’m not going."

Ziva became quiet immediately. But to Elara’s surprise, she did not argue. Instead, she simply shrugged and turned toward the door.

"Anything that feels right to you. You’re free to make your own decisions here." she said calmly.

Elara narrowed her eyes in amusement after hearing that.

She knew the game. If Ziva actually wanted her at that premiere, she would have argued until the sun went down. This ’freedom’ she is talking about was just her way of saying she wasn’t interested.

After Ziva went out, Elara had barely settled back into bed when the doorbell suddenly rang. She ignored it completely since Ziva was already in the living room and would obviously get it anyway.

About ten minutes later, the door to Elara’s room opened and Ziva stepped inside again, a luxurious black and silver card resting between her fingers.

Elara frowned a little as she took it from her.

The moment her eyes landed on the card, her brows furrowed.

It is an invitation to the movie premiere.

Three days from now.

Before she could say anything, Ziva suddenly sighed. "And that’s not even all," she muttered.

Elara looked up at her.

"There’s a lady downstairs waiting for you." she said rubbing her head tiredly.

"...Waiting for me?" Elara repeated, her voice sounding confused while Ziva nodded slowly in reply.

"She said she came from a fashion house in Veston." Then her lips twitched strangely. "It seems... you already have a fitting appointment."