CHAPTER 73: A DECOY

Elara stood outside the Castle Mall, dressed in an elegant blue off-the-shoulder dress that reached her ankles, a slit to the thighs making her look elegant and classy.

"Miss Elara, are you sure you want to wait for him?" Antonio asked.

Elara looked at the vintage watch on her hand and shrugged at her bodyguard.

"It’s only right that I go with him to the party, or the elders might talk, and I don’t want anyone to find out about the divorce, not until it’s finalized. Once it’s done, I’ll be free of this drama that I continued for four years," Elara said.

Not wanting to waste her time, she unlocked her phone to review the details of the second round, which had been sent to every qualified contestant. She was about to call Noah to let him know she had received the message when her phone rang from an unknown number.

"Hello?" She said, knowing it would be Andrew.

"It’s me," he said.

"Are you here already? I am waiting near Gate no. 2 in a blue dress—" Elara started but stopped when she felt something was wrong.

She stopped before exhaling sharply, her eyes drooping into a glare aimed at no one in particular.

"You are not here," she stated flatly.

There was some rustling on the other side.

"I am sorry. The clients from the East showed up unannounced, and I had to attend to them. I’ll go straight there. Coming to the mall would be a complete rerouting for me," Andrew said.

Elara suppressed the urge to scoff at the call.

"In that case, I am sure Beatrice must be going too. Tell her to come out; I’ll take her," Elara said.

"That’s not the issue. She is with me and we will reach in half an hour—" Andrew started before realizing why Elara, who always hated Beatrice’s presence around herself, offered to take her.

"It’s not what you think. She was helping me with—" Andrew started to explain, but Elara ended the call without hearing anything before putting her phone on airplane mode.

Why she even bothered to trust that bastard was beyond her. She knew Beatrice would do anything and everything to stop him from taking her to the party.

Elara walked to the car and was about to open the gate when a vehicle behind her stopped and honked to get her attention.

She looked at the car, her brows arching when she saw Trevor stepping out.

"Would you like to give me the honor of taking you to the party?" He asked with a sly smile.

Elara looked at the man, then shook her head. He might think they were friends because they both knew each other’s secrets and were helping each other, but he wasn’t someone she wanted to be friends with.

Ignorance of a crime is equivalent to participating in it. Though he never openly mocked her, he was a silent observer who never intervened. No matter what kind of humiliation Sean and Beatrice threw her way, he used to stay quiet, probably enjoying it.

She would be a fool to try to become friends with a man like him.

"I am not going straight there. I have something to attend to," Elara cooked up a quick lie.

Trevor looked at the girl before smiling softly.

He understood her hesitance. Anyone in her shoes would act like that, probably even worse.

"You were waiting for Andrew here. But like always, he chose work and Beatrice over escorting you to his own grandpa’s birthday. I understand your wariness towards me," Trevor said.

Elara didn’t ask how the hell he knew all that. News travels fast in their circle. There was hardly anything that everyone in their group was unaware of if one of them knew it.

"Has anyone told you? You are a terrible liar." Trevor walked to her before extending his hand.

"Whatever I will do starting forward might not be enough as an apology for being a jerk these years, but I assure you, I only mean well now," he said.

Elara thinned her lips.

She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of thinking he persuaded her. Going there with Trevor may be more effective than going alone.

With a sigh, she nodded after much contemplation.

She signaled Antonio, who immediately nodded in understanding.

Once inside the car, Elara noticed a photo frame of Trevor standing beside a stallion horse.

"You have a knack for horse riding," Trevor said.

"And is that why you have a photo of a horse here?" Elara rolled her eyes.

Trevor, who was about to start the engine, paused before chuckling and shaking his head.

"I never knew you had such a sharp mouth until now. Just how much did you lower yourself for that man?" He asked as he started driving to their destination.

Elara looked away, out of the window.

"Enough to know never to do it again," she whispered, almost faintly.

It wasn’t long before they reached their destination, and Elara looked at the large mansion-like house that she hadn’t visited for quite some time.

It was decorated lavishly for a small party, and she furrowed her brows.

For most of the events she attended in the past, she stayed behind the scenes, helping with food or gifts.

At that time, she used to think her in-laws really trusted her, letting her decide on the food and everything. Now, looking back, she realized it was just a decoy to keep her away from the limelight so they wouldn’t have to announce her status to those who didn’t know who she was.

The thought alone made a mocking chuckle escape her mouth, her sudden laugh startling Trevor.

He was about to ask what it was about when he noticed the dark look in her eyes as soon as she looked ahead, more like, she saw someone.

Sophia Lloyd, who was outside inviting her friends inside the mansion, glared at Elara when she noticed how she was dressed.

She hurried over to her and grabbed Elara’s elbow in a steel-like grip, her fingers digging into Elara’s skin.

"Why did you arrive so late? Don’t you know how much work—" She stopped herself in time when she noticed Trevor, who cleared his throat.

"Oh, Trevor, you are here already. Andrew is yet to arrive. Why don’t you wait inside for him?" Sophia asked.

Elara grabbed Sophia’s hand before forcefully removing it from her elbow.

Sophia, shocked by her actions, stumbled back, merely composing herself when she saw Andrew’s car stopping at some distance.

She was about to rush to Andrew to start her drama about how Elara mistreated her when they heard the sound of a cane being hit on the pavement.

Everyone looked at the person who arrived, and Elara’s gaze softened a bit.

"My daughter," William spread his arms for Elara, and the girl smiled before walking to him.

He was about to hug her when he noticed something off about the situation he had neglected earlier.

Why was Elara standing beside Trevor’s car? Why was Andrew stepping out of another vehicle? And why the hell was that wretched girl in the shotgun seat?

William’s eyes narrowed.

"Did you come here with Trevor, Elara?" He asked.

Sophia, who didn’t want to lose an opportunity to throw dirt on Elara’s name before the elder who always favored her, immediately jumped at it.

"You came with Trevor? Are you trying to insult the family, Elara? Didn’t you know so many guests from prestigious families would be here today? How could you come with another man?" Sophia asked.

Elara arched her brows before turning to face her so-called mother-in-law.

If it had been previous times, she would’ve tried to find a way around the situation and taken all the blame so Andrew’s name wouldn’t be affected, but now? Now she didn’t give two fucks about his reputation.

"My husband preferred bringing his secretary to the party, leaving me stranded all by myself, but I can’t take a lift from his friend? Double standards much?" Elara asked.

Sophia’s face turned pale before it reddened with fury.

"You!" She started, but William hit his cane on the pavement, stopping her from saying anything.

"Is that true?" He asked Andrew instead.

"Grandpa, a client arrived unannounced. I had to attend it. I came straight from the company," Andrew said.

William looked at his grandson helplessly before shaking his head.

"Thank you, Trevor," he said before taking support of Elara’s hand as he walked inside.

Once the old man returned to his seat, Elara moved to the side, not wanting to be the center of attention.

She grabbed the glass of juice to have a sip when someone grabbed her hand.

"What was that all about?" Andrew asked her, his eyes furious.

Elara’s expression didn’t change.

She looked at him calmly before smiling.

"Don’t hold my hand in public like this, Mr. Lloyd. It will be hard to explain that I have been your wife for three years, yet your own employees didn’t know. Or how they think Beatrice is your woman. Or maybe how she is always in places I was supposed to be at," Elara said before she placed the glass on the counter.

"You have gotten into a habit of making empty promises. This makes me wonder about your liability as a man," Elara said before she turned to walk to the garden.

Since not all guests were present, the party had not officially started; thus, she thought solace would be a better option.

However, what she didn’t know was that walking to the garden would bring another drama her way.