ELARA~
Bags of takeout littered the kitchen island.
I opened a bag of fries, but the salt just felt like sand in my mouth.
My appetite had been the first casualty of the morning.
“And what exactly are you really thinking about now huh?
The scandal…
Or me?”
“You should stop thinking about me, Elara Jones.”
I squeezed the burger wrapper in my hand until the bun gave way.
I stared at the mess I had made, then tossed the whole mess in the trash.
“Do you need help miss?” Sandre asked as he walked in on me half way to cleaning.
My composure was slipping and I knew if I stayed here longer, I’d probably transfer my aggression to him.
I retreated to my room without responding.
I wasn’t even sure which part pissed me off more.
The signal jammer still being there or the fact that she had the audacity to disappear again after everything she’d said the next day.
“Coward” I muttered falling onto the bed.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
The house had never felt this quiet before.
And the silence wasn’t pleasant at all.
Then they were the guards, who avoided eye contact with me like I was some unstable bomb waiting to explode.
I was no longer the star they were protecting, what was I even considered as now?.
And come to think of it, I never really had time for myself.
Like Isla said,all I ever did was work.
Where as now I couldn’t even make out a song.
A loud engine broke the silence outside, then another and another.
I sat up slowly, walked to the window and pulled the curtain aside.
Three black FENs rolled through the gates one after the other, polished enough to reflect the grey morning sky.
Men stepped out almost immediately, dressed in dark suits with earpieces tucked against their necks.
A knock came seconds later, I opened it to see Ben with two outfits in his hand.
“Ms.
Isla said to put on either one, we leave in an hour.”
“Leave?” I frowned “For what?”
“The hearing” he answered
“Give it to me.”
That voice.
Isla came into sight, took the clothes from Ben, walked into my room like she owned it and shut it closed.
“I don’t remember saying come in” I said, my voice tight.
She ignored me, walking past me to the bed.
She placed one of the outfits on it then turned towards me.
“This will look better on you” she said holding up a light brown suit.
I looked at her, then at the red suit she had laid on the bed.
“I don’t wear suits, Isla” I picked up the red suit.
“…or isn’t it part of your job to remember what I actually wear?”
“You’re still one of the brand ambassador of Xeens, and this is their way of supporting you” she turned to leave “If you want, a make up artist is downstairs” she opened the door.
“Shouldn’t I look convincing that I’m grieving”
“I’m not here to argue with you”
“Right you’re here to dress me up and parade me in court like I’m still in control?”
“You know, anger doesn’t suit you” she was out the door before I could respond to her.
I stared at the closed door for a while longer and heaved a sigh.
“Fuck!” I groaned, dragging a hand down my face.
Did she always have to look so painfully put together?
Even the haircut annoyed me.
I threw the suit to the bed, then looked at the one she had picked for me.
“Calm down Elara, calm the hell down”
When I got downstairs, I saw men in blue jumpsuits cleaning up, two of them walked past me up the stairs with cleaning materials.
I found Isla outside.
She stood leaning by her car and eating as always.
“You look…” I had worn the brown suit and she seemed pleased.
I didn’t wear it for her though, I just loved the design.
“Save it” I cut in before she said another disturbing thing.
She pushed away from the car.
“I thought the hearing wasn’t until two days”
“Chris filed for an early civil hearing this morning, the press already knows.
We need to leave before they swarm the place”
We didn’t ride together, and somehow that made everything worse…
The drive felt suffocating.
Even through the tinted windows, I could see cameras trailing the convoy whenever traffic slowed.
People pointed, some recorded.
Others simply stared like they were witnessing a public execution in real time.
I kept checking my phone even though there was nothing new to see.
Messages from unknown accounts flooded in faster than I could clear them.
Murderer.
Attention seeker.
Poor Elara.
Fake victim.
I locked the phone and tossed it beside me.
Funny how I hadn’t once thought anything about this court case or the possible outcomes if things didn’t go in my favour until now.
We got to the court house, outside the tinted window I could already see camera flashes, dozens of reporters and people.
I blew air out of my mouth and closed my eyes.
you’ve had lights flash at you Elara only difference now was you had to ignore them, the people and keep a straight face.
The door opened before I could fully prepare myself mentally.
I got down and suddenly remembered what Isla had told me back in my hotel room the morning after the concert at Granvil.
“NEVER SHOW WEAKNESS MS.
JONES, NO MATTER THE PROBLEM WALK LIKE YOU OWN THE WORLD”
“Elara!
Over here!”
“Did you betray Chris?”
“Are you responsible for Angela’s death”
“Why did you break your contract?”
Security had them at a safe distance from me.
I kept walking head straight, my face void of any emotion.
I hated I recalled her words but was also glad I did.
The court room was cold and filled with mummers.
It wasn’t long till I saw Chris already seated on the opposite side.
He looked calm and that annoyed me more than anything.
The judge entered minutes later and the room stood.
“Be seated”
The case began.
Chris lawyer stood first.
He greeted the court and called me into the witness box.
After swearing to say only the truth he began throwing questions at me.
“Ms.
Jones, you fired Mr.
Maxwell the day the footage was leaked.
A man who built your career from nothing.
Why?
Because he knew the truth about that night?”
I looked over at Micheal who was staring at his notepad.
He had dropped a bombshell on me few minutes ago.
My contract couldn’t be used as evidence as it will affect the label’s image and as so was stripped from the evidence list.
Just great, that was all the confidence I needed to stand here.
Micheal wasn’t going to help me and I couldn’t get a change of lawyer now.
I scanned the room and saw Isla who looked away the moment I met her eyes.
Did she know about this?.
I wouldn’t even be surprised if she did at this point.
The woman did whatever she wanted.
This may even be her doing with claims that she has everything under control.
“I did not fire Mr.
Maxwell and I didn’t know about the leak till after my concert at Granvil”
“So you’re saying your label controls everything you do up to decision making”
Micheal stood immediately “Objection”
“Sustained,” the judge replied calmly “Proceed with facts” Chris’s lawyer nodded then turned toward me.
“Ms.
Jones, is it true you publicly implied that Mr.
Chris Maxwell leaked footage of you and Angela David?”
“If there’s any proof that I, Elara Jones, publicly—” I emphasized on the last word “—made claims of that, I’ll like to see it”
“Please answer me with a yes or no” his tone changed sending shivers down my spine, and my sudden courage melted.
“No”
“Did you know that was one of the reasons he was told off”
“Yes” I answered quietly, my hands getting all sweaty now.
“And you allowed this narrative with no proof, why?”
“Objection my lord” Micheal got up “If I may” I scanned the courtroom again until my eyes landed on Isla.
She stood near the back beside security, one hand tucked into her coat pocket, the other holding her phone.
For one stupid second, I expected reassurance.
Instead, she looked away, again.
And two rows from the back, my father sat like a stone statue, I met his eyes and suddenly got weak in the knees.
He wasn’t here to support me that I could tell.
He was here to watch the ‘shame’ he always predicted finally take me down.
“Proceed” the judge said.
Micheal began to speak but was barely audible to me now, the pressure was too much.
The betrayal from Chris, the label, the cold stare from my father, and the possibility that Isla might have known.
My chest tightened.
A familiar, terrifying restriction took hold of my lungs.
Shit.
Not now.
Please, not here.