Elara’s lips twitched a little as her eyes locked with Adrian’s.

He was dressed in an expensive tailored suit. Well, everything he wore always looked expensive. Beside him stood Relanie who was still answering questions and posing for photos gracefully.

Elara pressed her lips together as Adrian continued staring at her with that unreadable expression. He didn’t look away. He didn’t even seem to notice that the man beside him, who had been speaking for a while now, had realized his attention was somewhere else entirely.

Her brows furrowed faintly in displeasure.

What was wrong with him? Why was he staring at her like that?

"Miss Veyne, you haven’t answered our question yet."

Elara had almost forgotten she and Carris were still surrounded by reporters. She pulled her gaze away from Adrian and looked back at them.

Carris’ expression remained calm as his eyes briefly shifted from Elara to Adrian. His gaze lingered on him for one second longer before he turned back to the journalists again.

"No, you’re all getting this wrong. We’re not dating," Carris said politely, a small respectful smile appearing on his face. "Elara and I are just really close friends. We love making music together, and we’re glad everyone enjoyed the song and the music video, but there’s nothing romantic happening behind the scenes."

Elara said nothing. Her expression remained calm while Carris handled the questions. Out of curiosity, her gaze drifted back toward Adrian again.

He still hadn’t looked away.

When their eyes met once more, he quietly turned his attention back to the man beside him as though nothing had happened.

Not long after that, several people started asking Carris and Elara for pictures together.

They posed for photos one after another while Carris did not seem to give a damn at all. Some poses had him holding her casually by the shoulders like close buddies while in others, he stared at her with a smile on his face.

Soon after, Elara was also asked to take photos with Relanie.

Relanie stood close beside her as though nothing unpleasant had ever happened between them.

Elara snorted inwardly.

To her, it was obviously just media work. She is doing this carefully so as to give the internet more things to talk about later.

"I see you’ve been enjoying the spotlight these past few days. Try not to get too comfortable in it."

Relanie’s soft whisper brushed against her ear as they posed for another close photo.

Elara smiled too and turned toward her. To outsiders, it looked almost friendly. "Don’t worry," she whispered back smoothly. "Unlike you, I don’t need a fake relationship and internet drama to stay relevant."

Relanie’s smile did not crack for even a secon but her body became completely stiff beside Elara. She tilted her head backwards pretending to laugh together with her for the cameras while her voice came out cold and poisonous.

"Fake?" She let out a delicate laugh that looked beautiful on camera. "Keep telling yourself that sweetie. You’re just a temporary distraction. Adrian only fucks you for fun, but I’m the one who gets the ring in the end, the title, and the billions. At the end of the night, you will be just the help he plays with before coming home to his real life."

The crude words only made amusement flash through Elara’s eyes. She did not deny anything. "Bragging about a man who treats you like that is quite embarrassing, you know." She muttered quietly.

Relanie let out a soft snort before turning back toward the cameras elegantly. Before Elara could fully step away from her, another voice suddenly rang out. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Mr Vale! Can we please get a picture with you and Miss Veyne together?"

Elara’s steps paused immediately. She slowly turned back toward Adrian who was still standing beside the man talking to him. A few photographers surrounded him, though the intimidating distance they kept from him was very noticeable.

When the request was made, Adrian’s silver grey eyes slowly moved toward Elara. He still did not answer.

The photographers waited patiently. When they realized he had no intention of replying, they followed his gaze until their eyes landed on Elara too.

The meaning was obvious enough.

It was her choice.

Elara pressed her lips together tightly.

Well... it was only a photo.

She walked toward him slowly before stopping beside him, purposely leaving a respectable amount of space between them.

A cold, almost silent snort escaped Adrian. "You seemed a lot less concerned about space a minute ago," he muttered quietly.

Elara did not even blink. She immediately understood he was referring to the photos she had taken with Carris earlier. "And why exactly do you care?" she scoffed under her breath.

Right then, a loud voice cut through the endless camera flashes. "Miss Veyne, could you move a little closer to Mr Vale please? There’s too much space between you two. We can’t get the framing right."

Realizing the photographers would only continue causing a scene if she refused, Elara finally stepped a little closer. At almost the same moment, Adrian shifted slightly too, closing the remaining distance naturally as his tall figure settled beside hers.

Elara kept a calm expression while the photos continued. Adrian remained completely still while she handled most of the posing herself.

It honestly sucked.

She could not ignore the heat radiating from him every time their shoulders brushed together.

After what felt like a hundred years, the photographers finally thanked them and moved away reluctantly.

Elara quietly released a breath. Without sparing Adrian another glance, she turned to start walking away. But she had barely taken two steps before someone slammed harshly into her shoulder from behind.

The sudden force immediately threw her off balance. At the same time, the heavy layers of her gown tangled around her legs, trapping her movements completely as she stumbled forward helplessly.

Before she could even process the drop, Adrian moved.

He grabbed her wrist instantly with enough force to stop the fall midway before sharply pulling her back toward him. In the same smooth motion, his other arm wrapped tightly around her waist to anchor her.