Chapter 286 - 286: Their Paths Crossed Again

After a few seconds, the door was opened and a slender figure of a woman came into their view. The moment she entered that room everyone was stupefied.

"Holy Sh!t"

"Am I seeing a ghost!"

"[email protected]!"

"Catseye?!"

"Hello. We meet again!" Elle said as her eyes fell on Erick's face.

Among the people inside that room, Erick was the one who was greatly affected by the sudden appearance of this unexpected visitor.

It was just a few days ago when Erick had planned in mind to search for her in all the corners of City Z.

'I will find my way back to you!' 

Those words coming from Elle lingered on his mind.

That face!

That smile!

That voice!

He had waited for long just to see her face and hear her voice once again. This was the second time around this week. Their paths crossed again.

Though they were not alone in that room Erick's eyes could only see her. He felt that familiar feeling, everything in their surroundings had stopped moving but his world started revolving again as it had seen its source of light. 

His numb heart started to beat once again. Not just a normal pounding, it was running wild inside his chest. His empty and dull eyes found their color back. They were sparkling with warmth as he looked at her.

"You're back. You're finally back!" Erick mumbled to himself.

Erick's feet moved on its own accord as he traced his steps towards her. The corner of his lips stretched out forming a soft and gentle smile.

When he reached her, his hand reached out as he touched her face, gently caressing her cheeks using his thumbs. His penetrating gaze lingered on her face for several minutes.

It seemed like two years didn't happen. She still looked the same, very beautiful in his eyes. 

And finally, Erick engulfed her into his strong arms, pulling her against his body and hugging her tightly.

June: "..."

Bryan: "..."

April: "..."

Rose: "..."

The four of them froze in their spots, utterly shocked and tongue-tied as of this moment. Someone who looked exactly the same as Elle just appeared in front of them.

And one more surprising thing was that they saw Erick smile once again. His warm and gentle smile that they missed so much. And his empty eyes which were void of any emotions suddenly changed into those eyes full of life.

They were now on the edge of their wits. A lot of questions running in their mind as of now.

What was happening here? 

Is she really Elle? 

How is that possible?

If she's Elle then she's Casteye then how come she has the guts to come here at the headquarters?

Is she not afraid to go into prison?

Is she surrendering herself?

Or maybe she is not Elle.

They had not yet recovered from the shock when the girl whom Erick wrapping in his arms tightly also hugged him back. They gasped in surprise.

Then suddenly they heard a loud voice coming from the door.

"ALIYAH ROSS! You are doing this again! Does hugging strangers become your hobby now!"

Sandy came inside in a hurried manner. Dang! She came in time and ruined the moment once again. Her voice served as a wake-up call again for Elle who had forgotten her true reason why she came here.

'I didn't know whether I should be grateful or be annoyed with her.'

Then Sandy quickly yanked her friend out of Erick's arms, trying her best to separate the two of them.

When she saw Erick's face, Sandy's eyes widened in surprise. 

"You Again! HANDSOME PERVERT!" She exclaimed. The disbelief and shock were written all over her face.

June: "Handsome Pervert?!"

Bryan: "Handsome Pervert?!

April: "Handsome Pervert?!"

Rose: "Handsome Pervert?!"

The four of them repeated Sandy's last two words. They couldn't believe it. Someone just called their Chief a handsome pervert.

Elle on the other hand gritted her teeth and clenched her fists after hearing again those words from Sandy. She told her to stop calling Erick 'pervert' but she did it once again. And this time she blurted it out in front of Erick's colleagues.

'Oh, God! Please help me control myself for not burying this girl alive.'

Meanwhile, Erick was also at a loss for words. He also heard it very clear. This girl called him a pervert once again. 

Then the room was engulfed with an awkward silence. Then another person entered the room. He was carrying a video camera.

"Ali? Are we shooting today or you will just conduct an off-cam interview with them?" Josh asked her. He was the one who broke the silence.

"Ali? Who's Ali?" June voiced out his confusion.

Then Josh pointed his finger to Elle as his answer to that question.

Sandy butted in once again as she introduced herself as well as Aliyah and Josh to Erick's team.

"Hello everyone. I am Sandy and this girl with me is Aliyah or Ali for short. We are reporters from Morning Star Media Network. And he is Josh, our cameraman."

June turned to Elle and asked her. "So you are not Elle?" 

"I-"

Elle was not able to respond since Sandy cut her off immediately.

"Hahaha. Of course, she's not! Her name is Aliyah Ross. By the way, who is Elle?"

Everyone fell into silence once again. No one among them had dared to answer her question, afraid that they might say something that would awaken hurtful memories for Erick.

"She's my woman." 

Erick said firmly as his eyes were fixed on Elle.

"Oh! Then why are you all asking Ali if she is Elle?" Sandy had a followed-up question.

"Because she is Elle," Erick replied with certainty in his voice.

"Ehhhhhh!!! Hey Aliyah Ross… explain! Are you two- uhmm"

Before Sandy could finish her sentence Elle immediately covered her mouth with her bare hands and gave her a warning look. Then she turned to Erick and his team as she apologized.

"I am sorry everyone! This is just a big misunderstanding! Please don't mind her. Actually, we are here for work-related activity assigned to us by our office. And…"

Elle was not able to finish her explanation when she saw Erick's intense gaze. He was obviously assessing her behavior and action. He was giving her a kind of stare that says 'I can see through you. You will not be able to hide from me, Elle.'

'[email protected] Elle! You are not someone who will blow your cover on your first day. Get a grip of your self. Do your best and conceal your identity. You have done that before. You could also do it again.' Elle reminded herself.

Cough! Cough!

Elle cleared her throat and calmed down. She picked up something from the back pocket of her jeans.

"This is my I.D. We really came from Morning Star Media Network. I already talked to your Unit Head and asked his permission to conduct an interview with you."

"Interview for what?" Erick asked her.

But his eyes were asking her a different thing. 'Are you not really admitting that you are Elle?'

Elle could somehow understand what's on his mind. But Elle tried her best to ignore it. She concealed her emotions and faced him professionally like a true reporter.

'I won't admit it. Not today nor tomorrow… nor even in the future.' She thought to herself.