Elmara glanced up from the work on her table, and she nearly fainted when she saw who stood there.

"You." The voice she had craved to hear every night now called out to her in an almost accusatory manner.
Thoughts swarmed her, and her mind nearly spiralled out of control.
  It was only now that Elmara realized how little she knew about the man she had been spending her nights with.

But enough of that for now, she had a job to do.

"Please have a seat Mr Drozdov." Elmara said, with a saccharine sweet smile. She didn't get this far by not being able to keep her emotions in check.

Alex did just that, and sat in one of the leather bound chairs in front of Elmara's office desk. His mind wondered to how sexy Elmara looked in her crisp black blazer, but he reprimanded himself almost immediately.

"Did you know?" Alex couldn't help but ask. Did she already know who he was?

Still with her fake smile Elmara replied; "I can assure you I wasn't aware of your identity until now Mr Drozdov."

With this, Alex eased into his seat, she had no cause to lie.

"Now Mr. Drozdov I know you're a busy man, so I'd like to thank you for your time."

Alex inwardly chuckled at her seriousness. The switch was impeccable.

"Of course Moya zvezda."Alex replied with that stupidly delicious smirk of his that never failed to do Elmara's head in.

"It's Miss Zaoui." Elmara cut him off still smiling.

Alex balled his fists inorder to keep his composure at the mention of that name. Adopting a smile just as fake as the one Elmara had on, he continued;
"Ah yes, Miss Zaoui. Like you mentioned earlier, I am a busy man, so what can I do for you?" He asked her briefly.

Elmara handed him a piece of paper with all the names of the 35 missing heroes.

"Are these names familiar?" She asked with a business like demeanor.

"I recognize quite a few." Alex answered, his smirk growing.

"All these people have worked under you in the duration of the last three months. And now, they are suddenly missing. Do you have any idea as what could have happened to them?" Elmara asked, leaning slightly over the table.

"Miss Zaoui. I own a chain of businesses. You don't possibly expect me to keep tabs on all my employees, now do you?" He asked, cocking his pretty little head to the side.

Elmara squinted her eyes at this. His response was reasonable, but she couldn't ignore the niggling feeling she had at the back of her mind.

"So you have no idea?" She asked again. She knew she was going to have to deep digger into Alex Drozdov.

"No, I don't." Alex said, lying flatly.
He knew exactly where each one of the missing heroes' carcass lay. But Elmara would come to know that eventually.

"Okay Mr Drozdov. That will be all. You will be contacted if there are any more inquiries to be made." Elmara said, arranging the files on her table.

Alex smiled, almost sadly. Elmara didn't know just how tangled their lives were about to get.

∘˚˳°∘˚˳°

"Who was that piece of cake that just walked out of your office."

Elmara groaned, when she heard the voice of her cousin and best friend.

"Xirsi, what are you doing here?" Elmara asked the tall, model-looking, lean person in front of her.

"Don't you know? I'm here to personally measure you for your dress!" Xirsi overdramatically exclaimed.

Elmara's eyes squinted in confusion. She didn't remember asking Xirsi for a dress.

"Uncle T called me up to tell me you needed to be measured for a dress for some fancy gala." Xirsi said, sitting in a wheelie chair.

Elmara cringed trying to think of what that phone call would've been like, because as far as she knew, Xirsi and her father absolutely despised each other.
But she knew what gala Xirsi was talking about.

The annual Hopechild's Gala.

It was a masquerade for rich people to pretend like they cared about what orphans go through, but it was really just an avenue for them to show off how much money they make.
Elmara hated those types of events. They were filled with toxic, stuffy people that didn't give an actual damn about anyone other than themselves and their bank accounts.

"So what kind of dress did Papa choose for me to wear this year?" Elmara asked, sighing in defeat. She knew she didn't have a choice, she'd have to attend.

"Funny enough, Uncle T didn't give a particular style this time, but he did mention it should be a shade of green."

Elmara breathed out at this. She was glad that she'd have control over something– even if that something was as small as the style of her dress.

'But wait' she thought.
Elmara had never had to think about something like this. What would she wear?

"I know this is the first time Uncle T is letting you pick your own dress, but would you mind if I picked this one? It's a new style that's yet to be released to the public. I want you to debut it."

Elmara bit her her lip at this. She knew that Xirsi was offering a solution to her internal quandrum, but she wasn't sure.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Xirsi. They owned one of the most successful luxury clothing brands in the country, but Xirsi had always tried to make Elmara dress more flamboyantly than she preferred.

"I know what you're thinking El, and trust me, I promise that you'll look kick ass in this dress." Xirsi said, reading Elmara's mind.

"Fine, let me at least see the style." Elmara said giving up.

"No can do sweets. It isn't out yet, and  even though you'll debut it, you have to wait just like everybody else." Xirsi said grinning, their perfect set of teeth showing.

"Fine." Elmara sighed. She didn't have it in her to protest.

Xirsi grinned at this and got to work, taking several measurements from Elmara.

'Ring'

Elmara picked up her office phone.

"Hello Amaya."

"Good morning Miss Zaoui. Your father is on his way to your office."

Elmara froze at this. She suddenly remembered last night when Alex had made her out her phone on silent. She had ignored her father's call.

"Hello... Miss Zaoui, are you there?" The secretary's voice called out.

"Oh yes. Thank you very much Amaya." Elmara quickly said before she hung up the call.

"Are you okay Sweets?" Xirsi asked, a mask of worry plastered on their face.

"Yeah, I'm fine... Papa is here" Elmara answered, whispering the last part.

Xirsi's confused face changed from  of worry to fury in a matter of seconds.

"El, you can't keep on letting your father bully you. You're 25 for crying out loud!"

"He- he doesn't bully me Xirsi. He just wants me to do well." Elmara replied defending her father. He might be a little hard on her, but she knew his heart was in the right place.

Xirsi's rage softened seeing Elmara's resolve. Their baby cousin had always been the sweetest person they knew. Xirsi could only wonder how Elmara thrived in the Hero industry with that heart of hers.

"I'll be here two hours before the Gala to deliver your dress, as well as help you get ready." Xirsi sighed, kissing the side of their cousin's forehead. They loved Elmara like a sister.

They picked up their bag, and headed for the door when it suddenly opened.
In came Mr. Zaoui in all his 6'3 glory.
  Xirsi and Mr Zaoui sent venomous glances each other's way, leaving Elmara to stare with a lump in her throat.
 
  "Xirsi."

"Uncle T."

That was all they shared before walking the way the other was coming from.
Elmara however believed they said a lot more with their eyes.
Probably something resembling:
"I hate you so much. I'd kill you if you weren't family."

"The feeling is mutual. Why don't you stick your head in a boiling pot of soup."

Mr. Zaoui walked towards his daughter with a passive look on his face, but Elmara wasn't fooled. She knew he was only concealing his rage.

"Good afternoon Papa." She greeted, looking towards the floor.

"Where were you last night? I called you three times and you didn't pick it up." He asked, raising a perfect eyebrow.

"I'm sorry sir, I was so busy with work I put my phone on silent, and I haven't had the time to check on it ever since." Elmara said, skillfully lying.

"I see." Mr Zaoui commented.
He didn't look like he believed it, but he was letting it go for now.

"Don't put it on silent again. I want to be able to contact you whenever I feel the need."

"Yes sir." Elmara responded meekly.

"I see Xirsi has already been here to measure you for your dress. Although they have quite a few behavioural issues, I cannot dispute their talent.
Your fiance will be at the gala. So you must look your best for him."

Elmara audibly gasped at this. She had been so busy that she forgot she was to be engaged. She knew her father was serious when he told her about it. He always was.

"What? Do you have any objections?" Mr Zaoui asked, laying a trap that Elmara knew all too well.

"No-No, it's–"

"Good. Mr Zaou replied, cutting Elmara off.

"You do like men don't you?" Mr Zaoui asked

"Yes I do." Elmara said mumbled, avoiding eye contact with her father.

"Then that is enough. I have put you into consideration by choosing not only someone that appeals to your sexuality, but will also benefit the family."

"Yes Papa. Thank you, I'm grateful." Elmara replied, bowing her head.

She was to be engaged whether she wanted to be or not.

𝐀/𝐍

Hello! I know I've owed y'all this chapter since the beginning of time, but I've had a lot on my plate. I'm on my way to France right now because of a competition, and I'm running a project for all the victims of the recent floods, so there's that.

Anyways it's a double update so slide up or left for more!

𝚙.𝚜( 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝, 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝙲𝚊𝚖𝚒._.𝙲𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝙸𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚖.