Sophia, who was all dolled up, was already at the venue welcoming guests. She tried forcing a smile although she was tensed and looked scared. She couldn’t put what she had done the night before behind her. She felt like something was going to go wrong at the event, which made her all worked up and worried. She checked the time and there was still an hour left before the event started. She wanted everything to be done as soon as possible and she felt like an hour was still a long time to wait. She began to bite her fingers just like she usually did whenever she was worried and frustrated. Just then, her nightmare walked through the door into the hall with her fiance beside her. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the duo. If not for Daniel who had allowed them to attend the event, she wouldn’t have granted the chance to walk through the door. The sight of Ellie made her more anxious and angry and to relieve herself of her anxiousness, she hurriedly headed to the restroom but what she didn’t know was that, the nightmare she was trying to escape from, had trailed her from behind.
She got to the restroom, ran the tap and washed her face with some water. Looking at herself in the mirror, she breathed in and out, letting out her uneasiness and fear.
“Sophie, nothing is going to go wrong. The collaboration will go on smoothly, you do not have to panic. Trust yourself” Sophia said aloud, admonishing herself. Just then, she heard a voice from behind her, which made her freak out.
“Do you think so?” Ellie, who had snuck up on her asked, raising her eyebrow and putting on a devilish smile. Sophia was scared as hell as she never expected Ellie to had snuck up on her.
“Why the hell did you sneak up on me?!!!” Sophia yelled, holding her chest in fear.
“Snuck up on you?” Ellie asked smirking, before she continued.
“This is a restroom which is meant for public use. I have every right to be here as you do. This isn’t your personal restroom. So, I do not understand where the word snuck up on you is coming from. It’s high time you stop believing the world revolves around you” Ellie spit out, hissed before she carefully placed her bag on the slab and washed her hands under the running tap.
“You know what? You are just jealous of my success and your plan is to spoil my mood but there is no way you will be achieving your aim. I want no negativity around me. Excuse me” Sophia said with confidence just to spite Ellie, before turning around, ready to make her way out of the restroom. Ellie burst out into laughter and which made Sophia halt in her steps. She looked puzzled and astonished as to why Ellie was laughing.
“Jealous of you? Why will I be jealous of a murderer?” Ellie asked as her laughter slowly vanished, replaced with a dark and cold gaze, which was staring intently at Sophia. Hearing this, Sophia began to shiver and she became engulfed with fear. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth was wide agape, unable to close it.
“What …….. do you mean by that?” Sophia asked stammering, trying to compose herself so Ellie wouldn’t see through her fears.
“Yes, you are a murderer like I had just said. You think I do not know you killed Kevin last night?” Ellie asked, with a wicked smile on her face, which tormented Sophia the more.
“Cut the crap!!!! You do not know what you are talking about!!!! When did I? Do you have the evidence that I did?” Sophia yelled, trying to play dumb and deny Ellie’s accusation.
“Really? You wanna play dumb?” Ellie asked laughing, surprised by Sophia’s pretense.
“We will know soon whether I have the evidence or not. Tick tock, tick tock” Ellie said, looking at her watch while laughing hysterically, with her laughter echoing in the room. Sophia just stood still, frightened. Her face had become pale. She tried forcing some words out of her mouths but no matter how hard she tried, the words wouldn’t come out. She just stood motionless and watched as Ellie mocked her right in the face. Ellie carried her bag, gave Sophia once last look, before walking majestically out of the restroom, humming a tune under her breath. As soon as Ellie vanished from her sight, Sophia removed her facade and let her fear and worries consumed her. Her hands and legs began to tremble in fear and to prevent herself from falling, she held onto the washing hand basin for support.
“No, it can’t be true. She is just trying to intimidate me. She doesn’t have any evidence. She doesn’t know anything” Sophia thought, trying to reassure herself that Ellie was just bluffing, although her instinct was telling her she wasn’t.
“But what if she does? Was she there last night? Did she witness everything?” Sophia thought again and this time around, she had begun to pace up and down in the restroom, biting her fingers. She did this for quite some minutes and just when she was still trying to figure out whether Ellie was bluffing or not, her cellphone rang and it was Claire who had called.
“Hello, Claire. Are you here already?” Sophia asked, as soon as she picked the call.
“Yes, I am here in the hall already but you are nowhere to be found” Claire responded.
“Sorry about that. I had to use the restroom. I am on my way out already. You will see me soon” Sophia responded, before hanging up.
“Sophie, you will be fine. Trust me. Just focus on what you are about achieving today and leave other irrelevant matters. You will just be fine” Sophia assured herself, before making her way out of the restroom to the hall. Upon entering the hall, she sighted Claire and they both exchanged pleasantries.
“You are alone? Where is the CEO?” Sophia had queried, looking puzzled as she saw no one with Claire.
“Yes, I am. I came alone as the CEO is already here. She got here quite early before me. She even informed me that you two have met” Claire explained, smiling.
“She is here? We have met?” confused Sophia asked, looking around to see if she could figure out who the CEO was. She had welcomed in a lot of guests today, so she had thought she was one of them.
“Yes, you have” Claire confirmed.
“Where is she? Can I meet with her now?” Sophia asked, wanting to satisfy her curiosity.
“You do not have to be so impatient. You will meet her soon. We just have 5 minutes left before the event commences. Let’s wait till then” Claire said, putting on a warm smile as she checked her watch.
“What’s with this suspense?” Sophia had silently thought, feeling that something was off. She kept on checking the time every second and it was as if the time dragged the more she checked. Eventually, the time came and the event commenced. Sophia anchored the event. She appreciated everyone and when it was time to sign the agreement and call their incoming partner on stage, she motioned for Claire to come onto the stage and call the CEO. Taking the mic upon getting on stage, Claire said:
“It’s a great honor to have you all seated here today, to witness our group’s collaboration with that of the Lion’s Fashion Group. We will like to proceed to the signing of the agreement between the two companies as we do not want to take much of your time. In light of this, I would like to call onto the CEO of Annie Fashion Group, to commensurate the collaboration. Please, let’s rise to our feet as we welcome Miss Lily Porous onto the stage” Claire said, with the audience rising, giving a standing ovation to the aforementioned person. Sophia stood in shock, her eyes widened in disbelief. At first, she had thought she heard the name wrongly but when she saw Ellie (Lily), walking elegantly towards the stage, she knew she had heard right and at the moment, reality hit her so hard.