[7]
Although a bit tense, Giselle couldn’t back out of the event that she had to accompany Justin to attend. Apart from the special invitation, she also needed to socialize with people who were much different from the people she had met in the past. How could she not? Giselle never expected to set foot in such a luxurious place.
“Are you kidding me? This is… so amazing, Tu-oke, Justin.” Giselle smiled broadly but her eyes couldn’t contain her amazement and awe as she got out of Justin’s black Lexus. Right in front of the building were sparkling crystal chandeliers hanging from the main lobby.
“Stay close to me and hide your excitement.” Justin laughed. He wasn’t laughing at Giselle’s blatant overreaction. Giselle was just expressing what was in her heart. Her awe, and what she had never imagined in her life, could now happen easily.
Having managed to get the girl out of what he thought was a very bad place, as well as draining almost a quarter of his future savings, but Justin had no regrets. In fact, he regrets that he hesitated at the time. He spent two billion to get Giselle out of there. Actually, Justin was a bit surprised by the amount Jilly had proposed, complete with interest and a running loan calculation because Giselle had used the snake woman’s money to breathe life into her mother in the hospital.
What Jilly said was true, but the cost? It’s not that expensive! Jilly is too much! But no matter, Justin had faith in her determination. He was determined and sure that, in the future, Giselle’s name would dominate the glory years in SEO.
How could I not. White Bird, which Giselle performed on the main stage, successfully brought Justin’s name to the throne of the number one designer in his country. Not to mention the sales of the collection that season, which was sold out. There was even a waiting list of five hundred pieces with different types and models. It was a remarkable achievement for a young designer who had just entered the world of excitement.
At the very least, the money Justin spent was returned many times over and he got a long-term investment; Giselle as one of the main SEO models.
“But this is all completely unbelievable to me, Justin,” Giselle said in a half-whisper. “I didn’t expect to enter this building.”
“You’ll be coming to more events like this.” Justin chuckled. “Remember what Nico said; hide your true expression. Keep that sweet, thin, seductive smile. You’re the incarnation of the Goddess of Beauty who doesn’t want to go back to where she came from.”
“Are you daydreaming?” asked Justin, breaking the silence between them. When they were leaving the parking lot, Giselle was still talking. But as time went on, her voice was drowned out and only accompanied by the sound of music coming out of the audio of the car Justin was driving. “There’s no need for you to worry. Andrew and Jilly are no big deal.” Justin guessed that Giselle’s fussiness had disappeared because of those two names.
“I know,” Giselle said immediately, her smile returning, albeit faintly. “I’m sure you’ll fulfill your promise. But…”
“There’s nothing but fulfillment of promises, Giselle. That’s how I fulfill all my words to you.”
From the side, the man who focused on the steering wheel looked stunning. For Giselle, no man could have come into her life like this. I don’t know what made God be kind enough to give her the fate of meeting Justin, but she often wondered, was there any goodness in her that was so great that she was rewarded with meeting Justin? As long as she remembers what has happened in her life, whether she did it intentionally or not, there hasn’t been a single memory of a great favor done.
Except for taking loving care of her mother. occasionally she reads old stories that are her mother’s collection at home. Giselle never forgot the way her mother cared for her collection of old books, which turned out to be given to her by the man she loved the most. She said, “No matter how small a gift from the people we love, it will mean a lot in life, Nami.”
Remembering the figure of her mother made her heart suddenly ache. Suddenly, she also longed to meet the middle-aged woman even though she was blocked by glass.
“You just need to do your best tonight.” Justin spoke again, turning slightly to the silent passenger. But as soon as he saw that the other person was just silent with a deeply downcast face, Justin felt something was off. “Are you… okay?”
Giselle quickly wiped the corners of her eyes that were suddenly wet. “It’s okay, Justin. I just thought of my mom.”
Justin’s brow furrowed. “How can you think of your mom when we’re talking about Jilly and Andrew?” He really didn’t expect Giselle’s thoughts to branch out so quickly and go to a place he didn’t expect.
The girl chuckled at last. “You said it yourself, right, I don’t need to worry about those two. You can handle them easily. Right?”
“That’s right,” Justin said immediately. “Then why are you moody?”
“I thought of my mother.” Giselle smiled sadly. “When all I wanted to do was show her, she left me forever.”
Justin was silent.
“I only got to show off how the news about me after the show was successful. Not about the results I started to enjoy little by little.” Giselle endured the tightness in her chest that was becoming increasingly painful. She gripped her handbag tightly. “The doctor said the cure rate was sixty percent. But… but why?”
Giselle received a gentle rub on the top of her head.
“I hope you can hold back your tears, Giselle. We’re almost there. And if you keep questioning why and wherefore, then you don’t believe that if God takes away an important part of our lives, He’s preparing a much better replacement. We just need to wait to be reunited.”
Giselle’s eyes blinked excitedly.
“On vacation next week, I’ll accompany you to visit your mother’s grave. I also want to visit someone at the same place.”
Justin’s smile made Giselle realize what he had just said. A much better replacement? A Justin Stokcholm for life, right?
***
Jilly walked with the man she had been eyeing for a long time. Luckily, when he came to visit the club, she was able to get to know him. And their relationship blossomed until now, although it was limited to ending up in bed but at least, Jilly had the opportunity to attend a party as grand as tonight.
“Thank you for bringing me here, sir.” Jilly smiled as sweet as honey.
While Andrew only gave her a quick glance and grinned meaningfully. “Sickening party for me actually.”
“But everything that comes in isn’t related to your business? I know exactly how you’re doing in business, which I think is fun.”
Andrew chuckled. “You think so?”
Jilly nodded without hesitation. “Especially to the point of being able to uncover facts about some of the most famous names in this country, right?”
The man glanced at the woman in the dark purple dress. From the side of her face, Andrew admitted that Jilly Adams was a beautiful woman with a perfect dose of sexy. Although the owner of the club was on the edge of town, the club was well known to many people especially since there were special performances as a place to feast the eyes.
Unfortunately… the star is no longer in the show. Although replaced with a new girl who was equally skilled and popular, for Andrew the show’s appeal was the masked girl. Who he had enjoyed performing with several times. And he wanted to have a long talk with the masked girl but time was tight.
And now there was no chance for Andrew to meet the masked girl. Jilly says the star has left the stage. Choosing a sunlit world over the equally beautiful moon.
“You seem to be good at igniting favorable conditions.”
Jilly smiled widely. “You know the right person.” She moved closer to Andrew who was now the center of attention. Certainly of the many women in the room where the event was taking place. Most of them were also watching Jilly.
Perhaps for all of them, Jilly was lucky to be with a man who was coveted not only for his good looks, but also for what Andrew had; popularity.
“I just found out the owner of Collage Media is that handsome!”
“Oh my God! She’s glancing at me.”
“lucky woman who can get close to Mr. Andrew.”
And there were many more whispers that Jilly could clearly hear. Which were voiced as their feet stepped through several crowds of women. Occasionally, Jilly stopped to accompany Andrew who was greeting his business partner in a friendly manner. At least this was an advantage for Jilly. She had to find a new foothold before being dumped for boredom by Andrew.
“Ah… it’s Giselle!”
“Where?”
“Over there!”
“Wow… she really came! I thought there was still a photo shoot scheduled in Yazeran. I met her at the airport.”
“Really?”
Andrew ignored all the noise around him. He chooses to focus on talking to one of his business partners but…
“Are you looking for the masked girl?” asked Jilly in a half-whisper.
From the tail of Andrew’s eyes, you can see that Jilly is flashing a smile that has a certain meaning. It made Andrew’s eyebrows seem to come together. “Meaning?”
“Nami. You’re looking for Nami, right?”
Obviously that remark made Andrew straighten his back. “Where is she?”
“The new center of attention is coming.”
At the same time, Andrew met the gaze of the girl who had just entered the room. Her smile was still the same as he remembered even though… she wasn’t wearing a black mask. Although it was camouflaged by the dim club lights every time Andrew enjoyed the girl’s performance, his instinct as a man was sure; she was the girl he was looking for.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
But all the fun suddenly vanished. “Don’t tell me that Giselle is…”
“You’re right.” Jilly giggled. “We were all fooled, weren’t we?”