My Boss Is Secretly A Softie - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Stars
“We’re here!” Terrence exclaimed, recalling the well-behaved lady on his shoulder from her solemnness.

Elara was startled awake and, even before he could say a word, easily slipped out of his hands onto the floor—so sneaky!

He smiled at the dazzled female who couldn’t be bothered to look at him; she was too busy admiring the beauty of where they were.

The sparkling grains of sand scattered beneath her shimmered dimly under the soft lights of its surroundings, adding to the vast majority of twinkling lights that covered the sky—there was so much that the night sky seemed to be under siege.

Cold air brushed past her, reminding her of the presence she had briefly forgotten, for it was so majestic only a fellow presence with just the right majesty could knock it off the throne of attention for a few seconds.

The ocean, in its wide expanse, lay quietly before the duo, its calm waters reflecting the sparkles of the stars, creating a true image worthy of eternal remembrance.

The night sky had been cast twice, one above and one below, and even the sands couldn’t escape the invasion of the brilliant cosmic lights.

Elara blinked before a deep chuckle escaped her lips, followed by resounding laughter that sent her crumbling to the floor.

Terrence knelt down anxiously, trying to pull up the lady, but then their eyes met, and the warmth within her dazzled him so much he found himself on the grains with Elara on top of him.

She let loose her braids, causing them to fall over her, prescribing her a very… demure look that left his heart more stifled than ever before.

He remembered. This was it, the position they had ended up in the day he confessed because he had been too elated, and his Ela wanted to suppress him without hurting him.

He was laughing so loudly back then, enough to leave her worried despite the excellent soundproof system in the room.

That night, she… became his, and the very next day, he lost her. How cruel was life?

But looking now at the heart-warming female before him, staring around with twinkling eyes even more fiery than the stars, a wave of sweetness washed over him.

Did it matter? Yes. But was she still his? Yes. Till the end of time, he would never let her go.

A sharp clap close to his face snapped him out of his daze.

“Mr. CEO,” Elara sneered, “Is the sight from there interesting?”

The lady was dressed in a lovely grey turtleneck sweater with long sleeves. There was nothing much to see… except her impressive jugglers that blocked his line of sight.

He wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t mentioned it, and how glad was he that she did…

He coughed. “What sight?”

Elara humped, “Keep pretending!”

Before he could get another word in, the lady rolled away from him and onto the cool sands.

“How close were we?” she suddenly asked. “Why does it feel like our relationship is still quite vanilla? At least your reactions say so.”

Terrence blinked. It did?

“How did you know that?”

“Just answer the damn question, mister.”

He pouted, but he still wanted to know how…

“Yes. You had finally accepted my proposal, and everything happened.” His expression was forlorn, as if he had accepted everything yet held some reluctance that couldn’t be fully wiped off.

He sighed. “I could have…”

“Done nothing,” Elara casually connected the dots in her head to form various interesting constellations. “I know what happened. You’d have to be a fool to think you could have done anything.”

She faced the male who wore a look of desolation. “Everything happens for a reason.”

She grinned. “Just hope this didn’t happen to break us up, because it sure is looking like it.”

“Don’t joke like that!” Terrence frowned but was met with the gloating gaze of the wild lady. This side of Elara continuously evoked his sadism.

Too bad it was also the most innocent side, and the one he had to be careful with.

There was silence for a while until Elara kicked up a puff of sand before muttering, “Wanna know why I left?”

Terrence shrugged. “I know.”

Elara groaned. “Damn stalker.”

“For your safety.”

“That’s literally their motto.”

“….”

“Well, I’ll tell you why anyway,” she huffed. “I got angry, overreacted, destroyed a bunch of Star’s stuff, and ran away with my tail tucked in. I’m scared of blue-eyed people, you see.”

Terrence was curious. “Why?”

“Bad memories.”

He frowned. She didn’t seem to want to say anything, but one day he’d have her tell him every little thing. Patience was the key, a god-awful amount of it.

“So?”

Elara chuckled. “I keep doing this, you see.

“I can’t… I never trained myself to control my shittiness when it’s not my family. Which explains you and them. And then they kept talking about how sweet Elara was and shit, and I just got pissed. Sweet this. Kind that. Ugh, I got corny, so I got friends? Yuck!”

She stood up fiercely. “Teen angst? Stupid teen rebellion? Crazy? I don’t know which one of them to blame, but I will not pretend that I don’t know what I’m doing. Am I misguided, Mr. CEO?”

Terrence was stunned for a while and then let out a laugh from the hilarity of it all. He couldn’t help it! Despite the female’s displeased look, he still couldn’t contain himself.

It was just too funny—seeing his much-matured darling like this tickled his funny bone even though it shouldn’t.

He met the teen’s sharp glare. So what if he wanted to pay her back for all her jabs?! He was petty, so what?!

But she was still his baby, so he had to be nice.

He curled a single braid in his hand, earning a slap that made him chuckle. “Wanna stick with me instead and ditch them? I can tolerate whatever you dish out to me, you know?”

Elara was stunned, and if the duo, Star and John, were here, they would have howled.

See! We told you so! Such a bad-bellied adult! Bad influence for a teen—take him away!

“R-really?” Elara seemed to be genuinely considering it.

He was right. He WAS the perfect person for her, the only one who didn’t just want her sweet—yuck—side but her everything. The… Wait, but why did she conclude in the first place that the others just wanted her sweet side?

Did they ever show this? The duo, Star and John, had faced her indiscriminate silence and isolation in favor of Terra without complaint, and Terra… That one tolerated whatever she did.

Not to mention, from the way she talked, it seemed she knew more sides to her than the sweet side.

Why did she even conclude they only cared for her sweet side? Considering all they had done… Holy shit, she really was dumb as rocks.

Terrence watched as realization dawned on the lady’s face, which became as pale as paper.

He realized without much contemplation. Elara was skeptical of her friends, rightfully so. He wasn’t sure of the type of life she lived as a teen, but he understood why she couldn’t trust these people who suddenly cared so much, especially when she believed deep down they weren’t there for her but for what she represented to them.

“Elara,” he muttered, reaching out to the pondering lady, “don’t think too much. Just tell me what you want with your friends.”

She scoffed, turning her back to him. “So you can laugh at me?”

“So I can help you with it.”

Elara was quiet for a while, and then she replied with a voice so soft the quiet sploshing of the ocean nearly drowned it.

“Company. I want them to enjoy my company. Not Elara’s sweetness. Not her kindness. Just her company, even if I’m just a piece of shit.”

“Which you’re not.”

“But still…”

“Then make your company enjoyable,” he responded bluntly.

The lady faced him in astonishment. His eyes were as loving as ever, but his words couldn’t be more ruthless. Elara pouted, ready to defend herself.

“Or forget them and stick with me instead.”

Clear, truthful eyes… This…

“Not so bad,” she muttered. “Maybe I should.”

“You shoul—!”

“After discussing with them first!”

That’s right! She… had mistakenly equivocated them to her friends of the past. She believed they had only ever seen the sweet Elara without any evidence or confirmation, and her first reaction was to lash out, to ‘test’ them. Maybe she should have trusted her adult self more… no, maybe subconsciously she knew all this but was just… unconvinced.

Even secretly, was she jealous of herself? So many thoughts yet no answer. She watched the glistening stars and suddenly wished she was them. Then maybe she wouldn’t be so confused right now. Everything happened for a reason. Then could it be, despite her adult self’s perfect life, even she was troubled?

And it seemed to stem from her. Maybe avoiding her adult self wasn’t the best course of action. She needed answers, and she’d find them!

Elara chuckled before glancing toward the unconvinced look of the male and, with a sudden leap, stood up.

She reached toward him, holding his palms, and easily pulled him up. Terrence was let go and stumbled dizzily but was stabilized by the smirking Elara.

Without saying another word, she ran toward the waters, kicking off her shoes, leaving behind footprints, which were easily erased by the light tussle of the sand by the wind.

The brilliant night captured her brilliance perfectly. The stars shone harder and brighter in a bid to surpass her but were effortlessly defeated.

Her voice rang out to him, clear of all previous grievances and with a daunting tone.

“Hey, old man! Wanna chase after me or what? I might just get kidnapped by a mermaid with how beautiful I look tonight.”

He giggled sweetly. She wasn’t wrong. He had better protect his dearest.

He kicked off his shoes and ran faster than the lady could react. He picked her up with a shout, and under her weary shrieks and his awfully loud laughter, they stumbled into the ocean. They played happily till the night got sick of them and handed them over to the waking morn.

Tonight, the stars shone brighter than day, yet not as bright as you!

***

Darkness, with a depth so deep it buried the faint figure within, except for the sparkling items on them that made a stubborn show of their presence. The figure stirred lightly, and then their eyes parted underneath the chair before they raised their head to reveal… nothing. The room was so dark it was impossible to make out who the figure was.

Despite the bleak surroundings, the figure managed to maneuver its way to something, which, from its light grunts and the brief murmur of a zipper, seemed to be a backpack. Reaching inside to take out something, they immediately froze.

Their panic was palpable as they fumbled with the object and, after confirming the worst possible situation, cursed sharply.

“Shit! It’s dead!”

It was the voice of a girl. Her brows, although invisible in the night, furrowed. She had been locked inside the damn classroom, and none of her fucking classmates or so-called ‘friends’ came to help her! Even if no one knew, she was sure… her friends knew she was here! They knew!

How come, even now?! It’s still the fucking same! Elara was invisible to them. They… they only saw her status.

She let out an awful groan before smashing the object—her phone—onto the wall, leaving it in pieces.

Her head hung low once more. She wanted to disappear. Maybe then they’d notice her… for a while, and just like before, she’d fade away from their memories.

“What did I do wrong?” she gasped amidst tears. “I was so nice… I made so many friends…. We were close and then… I even went along with their wants when they expressed dissatisfaction with mine, and still, they… ignored me.”

She cried for a long while until her eyes swelled up like acorns. Finally, she raised her tortured eyes with a cold glint.

Fine, they didn’t want to remember her even till the end? There was something even more lasting than kindness.

Trauma. She wanted to know. She truly wanted to know if her curse of stealth was so high it’d still keep her invisible after traumatizing them. One way or another, she’d embed her existence into their very souls, so that, unlike THAT day, they’d never be able to ignore her in whatever situation.

Even if it was being loathed. She was fine with it. However, they must never ignore her.