"What are you doing?" Elara asked Carla, her expression neutral.
"I am apologizing. Please forgive for my past sins. I know you probably hate with everything, but..." Carla’s lips trembled as she felt a loss of words.
It was funny how she had so many things to say when she used to insult people and belittle them, but when it ca to apologizing, she found herself at the short end.
All she could do was cry, join her hands, and bow in apology, and that was enough for everyone to know how she was at her wits’ end.
People around them whispered in hushed voices.
’I can’t believe it’s the sa Carla,’
’Yeah, she used to be so proud.’
’This is what you reap when you let money get to your head. Look where it brought her.’
’I heard all their assets got sold and she has resorted to singing in clubs for cheap money.’
The whispers started getting louder.
"Elara, why are you wasting your ti on her? I don’t want you to ruin your big celebration with daunting mories of the past by bringing scum in here," Elara heard her friend Candice speak from the other side.
But her mother? She kept looking at her daughter, recognizing the expression in her daughter’s eyes all too well.
Elara wasn’t acting cold. She was imagining herself in the sa position.
She was rembering all the tis her mother-in-law had made her kneel before Carla because she needed to apologize for taking up too much space, for not working hard enough, or for not preparing sothing.
And despite that, Elara held sympathy for the girl of the family who was destroyed by her own hands.
"How can I believe you?" Elara asked after so ti.
"Hmm?" Carla asked, looking up with tearful eyes.
"How can I believe you won’t spoil my event and make a scene?" Elara asked.
Carla shook her head vigorously before she raised herself and held Elara’s hand.
"Please believe , Elara. I know I have been a bitch in the past, but trust on this one, please. I’ll sing from my heart. If you want, I will sing all night without a break. You might need more entertainers, right? You know I can dance too. I will sing and dance the entire night as I did in those concerts. You know I might not sing too well, but I can engage the audience," Carla started blabbering about everything she could do for her.
And Elara? She kept looking at the girl who had once held her head high and proud, declaring she would never apologize to her.
She saw how this girl had changed after the incident and what had happened to her family, and, despite harboring deep hatred for them, the humanity inside her just couldn’t be so harsh to her anymore.
"You’ll get an equal chance like everyone else," Elara said before she walked away.
Carla stood there, frozen in the spot.
She was shocked. Not because Elara said she would have to compete for the spot, but because Elara even allowed her to compete in the first place.
Anyone in her place would’ve thrown her out, just like how Candice said, but she gave her a chance, and it ant everything.
The girl broke down, covering her face with her hands, as she cried while muttering "sorry" repetitively.
Elara, who had left the area and gone to the first floor where the auditions were supposed to be held, looked at the crying girl from the window, her heart heavy with complicated emotions.
Why was her heart so soft? She sighed at her own stupidity before shaking her head.
Daniel wanted to hold a small party to celebrate their collaboration, but her mother wanted it to be a big one since they were already keeping their marriage a secret.
And thus, they decided to invite many big families and celebrities from around the nation. After all, she wasn’t just a debuting actress or an infamous singer. She was the Frost’s heiress.
The auditions began shortly, and Elara liked the performance of a couple of artists who assured her a good chorus.
It wasn’t long before it was Carla’s chance, and everyone sat straight, ready to criticize her—everyone but Elara, who just stayed relaxed.
"I... can I sing while reading the lyrics? I wasn’t too prepared for the audition, but I assure you—" before Carla could explain, Elara signaled for her to go ahead, and the girl nodded gratefully.
She grabbed the mic with trembling hands before taking a deep breath.
If she secured this deal, she would be earning 20 tis more than what she would get at a normal club, along with the tips. She needed this money to help her family.
Carla nodded to herself before she took a deep breath and started singing.
Things fall apart, and tis break your soul.
Life has a peculiar way of putting you down and showing you your place.
I want to cry on your shoulders.
Tell you love ; tell you can hold
That I can handle it. I know you will.
But I see my reflection in the mirror, and I know I can’t be saved, not from the demons under my bed.
They whisper sweet nothings in my head. Bringing naked reality.
They—
Carla sang, and Elara wouldn’t lie, but she had never heard her sing so beautifully, despite her being a famous idol for three long years.
Candice, who wanted to criticize the girl, scowled.
"She is good. Why did she feel the need to steal your songs? I an, yours are on another level, but she could survive herself," Candice said.
Elara kept looking at the girl before sighing.
"Because despite her pride, she never really believed in herself," she said.
As Carla continued to sing, her voice suddenly faltered, and her fingers trembled.
"Huh, she could pretend to be a good singer only for so ti. No wonder she needed your help," Candice comnted, but Elara just looked at Carla’s eyes.
Sothing was wrong. She wasn’t trembling from fear or nervousness but...
The mic fell from Carla’s hands, making a loud sound as she looked at the pop-up notification from the ssaging app, color draining from her face.
She looked up at Elara as a tear rolled down her cheeks.
"I... My grandfather passed away," Carla said, and Elara, who had been sitting relaxed, froze in her place.
What did she say? Who passed away? Her pupils dilated, and she stood.
At the sa ti, inside the interrogation room, the two cops who had been studying Beatrice’s case closely and had gotten all the information ready looked at the girl.
"I can’t believe this pretty face hides such a manipulative monster." One of the lady cops said, and Beatrice just looked up, a soft smile lingering on her lips.
"They say everything is fair in love and war," she comnted.
"You!" The lady wanted to smack her head, but she held herself back.
"There’s nothing to talk about. We can submit this to the court and get her the punishnt," the male officer walked inside the room and said.
Beatrice furrowed her brows.
"I might not have much knowledge about laws and legal procedures, but I am sure you can’t do it without getting my confession. I do not agree to any statent. You guys are framing . I need a lawyer to fight my case," Beatrice said.
The male officer looked at Beatrice with a smile.
"I didn’t expect anything less from a cunning mind like yours. We knew you would co up with sothing like this, but here’s the truth—" the officer paused.
"No one is ready to take your case. Your uncle pushed the bla on you for each and every cri that happened under your maiden na. You want to see what’s on the news?" The officer asked before he pulled out his phone and showed her the articles that had all her dirty past and ssed-up work.
The articles about how many n she slept with, how she was using her seduction to get things done, and bullying her co-workers were spread online. She had already proven to be the murderer in Sean’s case. His father’s murder was also placed on her since she had the best motive.
Even many articles about her mother were going around, and people said sleeping with other husbands ran in their blood. People were cursing her for marrying Andrew. Many videos of people throwing eggs at her posters were also running side by side.
Beatrice looked at the news and videos in utter shock. Her head beca a ss.
Her uncle said he would handle everything if anything went south. Where was he now?
"What about my uncle?" Beatrice asked.
"He is free of all the charges. All the illegal businesses were running under your na. He said he had no idea about what you were doing," the officer said.
Beatrice sat there processing the news, her head buzzing with all the information.
Was everything on her? Why? How could he do this to her? Wasn’t he supposed to protect her? His sister’s daughter? Beatrice’s lips trembled.
"Where does that leave ?" She asked in a trembling voice.
"In jail. Probably for the rest of your life," the lady officer opened her mouth, and Beatrice shook her head in denial.
"No. No. I don’t want to stay in jail forever. There has to be a way for to prove my innocence," Beatrice finally started to panic, and the officers laughed and shook their heads.
"Innocence? I think we might need to consult a psychiatrist for this one." The two talked as they walked out of the room, leaving Beatrice with her own complicated emotions.
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