Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Euphoria

When Chloe got the news of Ariella and Denise’s dismissal from the F&K fashion company through Silvia, she was thrilled. They both rekindled their relationship. She even invited Silvia to the mansion for a celebration dinner.

Chloe tried getting in touch with Leon again but she couldn’t connect with him. Feeling disheartened, she decided to place a call to Mrs. Treshvire. She informed Mrs. Treshvire of all that had transpired between herself and Leon. She even went as far as exaggerating her car accident scene and falsified stories to buy sympathy from Mrs. Treshvire.

Mrs. Treshvire soothed her and promised to address Leon on her behalf before ending the phone conversation.

Ivory, who had been eavesdropping on her mum’s conversation with Chloe, quickly sent a message to her big brother, stating everything discussed.

—

When Leon got back to his house after dropping Ella off, he rounded up his work activities and took a cold shower.

After bathing and dressing up in his silk navy blue pajamas, he settled in a relaxed position on his king-size bed. He went through some of the messages he got earlier on his phone, and let out an evil chuckle when he read Ivory’s message.

.....

So that was the reason behind his mum’s call, he thought. He was unable to receive his mum’s calls due to a very tight business schedule. He had simply sent her a short text that he would call her later or the next day.

Leon’s eyes glinted with fury. After Chloe had ruined the reputation of his beautiful Ella, she had the temerity to call his mum. Leon’s jaw tightened. It was obvious Chloe was digging her grave slowly with a pitchfork. The only luck she had was her family affiliation with his.

Before going to sleep, Leon sent a message to Lily. He instructed her to cancel and reschedule his appointment for the next day, stating that he would be working from home. He also sent Ella an apology message for upsetting her with the kiss and promised it wouldn’t repeat itself.

—

Ariella woke up late the next morning with a mild headache. Although she had slept in late, she was feeling all fatigued and her muscles ached. She tried to remember how she had gotten into bed but nothing came to her head at the moment. Grimacing, she lazily came down from her bed and found her last night’s party dress on the floor. She picked it up and put it away properly before going to the kitchen to drink a glass of water. She was about to go to her bedroom when the doorbell rang. She peeped through her window and scowled when saw Denise’s smiling face.

When Denise stepped into Ariella’s house, she winced slightly when she saw Ella’s appearance.

“Ella! Have you checked yourself in the mirror this morning, you look awful!” She scanned Ella from head to toe with a questioning look. “What if Mr. Rich and handsome show up at your door as we speak? You will end up being embarrassed.”

“I just woke up, mummy,” Ella pouted and rolled her eyes at her. “And by the way, it is partly your fault that I look this way. You know I live on a schedule and my morning routine is always planned. But you convinced me to go partying last night.”

“Yeah right! Like you were not having so much fun,” Denise sneered. “Did you know you finished three glasses of cocktail drinks,” Denise half smiled? “So? How did your night go with Mr. Leon?”

“I have to go clean up now, we will talk later about that,” Ella’s face flushed and she felt uneasy as she remembered the previous night’s kiss.

“Hmm... alright, if you say so,” Denise gave her a suspicious look and went straight to Ella’s kitchen after returning Ella’s car keys.

“What do you have for breakfast, I’m starving.” Denise opened the fridge and raided it for any quick edible food.

Oh, I have some frozen food in the freezer. Pick your choice and microwave it. I have to go tidy up,” Ella said and went back to her room.

She entered her bathroom, looked into the mirror, and flinched at her reflection. The lady in the mirror looked nothing like her. Her hair was looking unkept, and the makeup on her face especially has eyes were messy.

Ella quickly brushed, took a warm shower, and dried up her hair and body, before returning to her bedroom to dress up. Then she wore neutral color leggings, a white light sweater, and fur slippers after brushing and packing her hair.

She quickly put her room in order before picking up her phone and wasn’t surprised to see lots of missed calls and messages. She scrolled through the messages and saw two messages from Leon.

The first message was an apology for the kiss and the second was informing her his driver would be picking her up by 10:00 AM.

She quickly checked the time on her phone and saw she had 20 minutes left before the driver arrived. She let out a high-pitched wince and hurriedly changed her clothes. She wore sky blue fitted denim trousers, a white lace inner top, and a blush pink jacket. She completed her captivating look with a pair of white sneakers.

When she came into her sitting room, Denise had already made herself comfortable and was eating spaghetti and drinking some juice.

“Wow!, Ella, you look so gorgeous and smart in your attire,” Denise dropped what she was eating and came over to her friend, smiling and scrutinizing her. “You also smell incredible, are you going somewhere?”

“Yes, I am,” Ella tried hiding her excitement.

“Where?” Denise lifted an eyebrow.

“I don’t know yet, Mr. Leon is sending his driver to pick me up. He wants to discuss some important stuff with me,” Ella half smiled.

“W...ow! That’s interesting! Hmm! What a lucky gal you are!” Denise beamed with joy and enthusiasm.

At that moment, the doorbell rang and both ladies scurried to the window to check who it was.

A matured looking man professionally and elegantly dressed in a classic two-piece black suit, white inner shirt, and black tie stood in front of Ella’s door. Also behind him, on the driveway, an exotic black limousine was parked.

“E..l...la!” Denise screamed in a hushed voice, overly excited.

“Shhhh...!” Ella scolded, then she went over to the door and opened it.

“Good morning Miss Ariella, my name is John and I was sent over by Mr. Leon.” John smiled politely and respectfully. “I’ll be your chauffeur for today.”

“Good morning John,” Ella extended the same courtesy, “Can you give me a few minutes to lock up? I’ll be out shortly.”

“Certainly, Miss Ariella,” John smiled and walked back to the limo.

Ella, stealing furtive glances at her ride, carefully shut the door. When she turned around, she almost jumped out of her skin. Denise was standing very close to her and beaming with excitement like a child who was about to get a gift from Santa.

“I have to ride that limo with you, Ella! Please! Please! Please! Please! P...lease!” Denise batted her eyes like a Barbie doll.

“Denise! Stop!” Ella started laughing. “Okay! Alright! I will plead with Mr. John to drop you off at your place.” Ella couldn’t stop herself from giggling due to Denise’s behavior.

“Just hurry up with your food” Ella left to get her bag.

“What food? I’m full! Let’s get out of here!” Denise called after her as she quickly tidied up and picked up her things.

Both ladies walked out of Ella’s house and walked toward the limo. When Mr. John opened the back seat, Ella pleaded that he drop Denise off at her place which he willingly agreed to.

Denise could not contain her enthusiasm. This was her first time riding in a limo. Mr. John informed them to help themselves with the assorted cookies and drinks that had been arranged for Ella’s relaxation. Without wasting time, Denise dived into the snacks.

On their way, Ella told Denise about her last night’s encounter with Leon, but she left out the kissing part.

“Uh...uh!” Denise’s eyes sparkled. “He is such a passionate and caring man. I never doubted for a second when he authoritatively said he was going to take you home yesterday.”

Ella smiled and blushed.

Then Denise started advising her on how to act like a lady in Leon’s presence and much more.

“So you think I wouldn’t be able to comport myself in Leon’s presence? Huh, mama bear?” Ella snickered at her friend.

“I never said that,” Denise looked serious. All I’m trying to say is, that I know how you treat men who show interest in you. Don’t give him the red flag when he does. You are an extremely beautiful lady and any man wouldn’t think twice before asking you out.” Denise concluded and lay back to enjoy the ride.

“I’ll try,” Ella rolled her eyes playfully and smiled.

When Denise had alighted at her place, Ella suddenly felt alone and a bit nervous. Even though she was hungry she didn’t seem to have an appetite for the snacks in front of her. She tried to clear her head and her mind by looking out the window to enjoy the fascinating scenery. But, she couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss.

Whenever she thought about the kiss, she had a burning desire within to be kissed again by Leon. She had never felt this way for a long time, not even when Richard kissed her.

Richard was Ella’s high school sweetheart, whom she dated for two years. Richard, being a football captain of Klanwood junior high school in Springchad, – which was Ella’s hometown and place of birth, – was thrilled the day Ella accepted to be his girlfriend.

Ella was the most beautiful red hair girl in the town. She was also the most popular and brilliant girl in school. She was always getting into trouble, due to her adventurous and curious lifestyle.

They started the relationship on a platonic level and as time went by, Richard wanted more.

They both had big dreams of becoming career individuals with Ella planning to become a lawyer and Richard, a football superstar.

Both families were aware of their relationship and encourage them, as they saw them as the perfect couple from Springchad.

Towards the end of their high school year, Ella’s dream of becoming a lawyer started dwindling. She had picked up an interest in fashion and seemed to be pursuing it which greatly pissed off Richard.

Not only was she pursuing her fashion design dreams, but she also paid little or no interest in Richard’s desire to take the relationship to the next level.

Richard had been secretly bragging to his close friends that he had formalized his relationship with Ella on intimate levels. Hence, he started pressurizing her which made Ella more distant from him

Finally, after prom night, he broke up his relationship with Ella after giving her an ultimatum to choose between him and her fashion design dreams. Ella’s mind was made up. She chose the latter without any hint of apology and they went their separate ways.