The next morning
Little Abode
Sara woke up early and bright. She sat up and let out a tired yawn. Last night was a dreamless one. As a result, she slept well. She looked at her lap but found that her lion was missing.
"Tawny!" she grumbled under her breath and flipped the blanket. It was not under her blanket!
Sara felt a bit flabbergasted. She almost turned everything upside down on the cozy bed, only to find Tawny rolling under her bed. She bent over and picked it up with a sigh.
She heard a soft chuckle and squinted at Tawny, "Do you chuckle?"
The chuckle turned into a bout of laughter. Sara shifted her gaze from Tawny and shot a disdainful glance to Allen, who was chortling by her open door. He was holding a tray of food in his right hand. She frowned.
"Anyone will suffer a heart attack if they saw the almighty Empress hugging a stuffed to sleep", Allen spoke as he tightly clutched his stomach with his left hand, "What's so extraordinary about that toy, huh?"
"You won't understand", Sara said grumpily, "Isn't it rude of you to burst into my room without my permission?!"
"Well..." Allen ran his hand through his chestnut hair.
The next moment, he just knew that the tray in his hand was gone and the door had been rudely slammed in his face. What's more, he was rudely shoved out of a room in his OWN penthouse!!
"Hey!" Allen yelled into nothing. He frowned and ran his hand through his hair. He was about to walk away when he heard Sara say, "Call your Dad and ask me to get a formal dress. I have a press conference to attend."
"Fine", Allen responded grumpily, "I understand that you don't see me as your friend."
"Isn't that obvious?" Sara retorted back.
Inside, Sara chuckled as she enjoyed her bowl of salads with a sunny side up. She was sitting on her bed such that the mirror was right in front of her. She looked at her reflection, "Badass!"
...
An hour later
"Are you serious?" Allen was practically running beside Sara, who was walking gracefully and elegantly with her formal gown swaying gently with every move.
"You have an injured forehead and you still wanna attend that press conference?" Allen asked disbelievingly, "Can't you ask Ruby to go instead?"
Sara was wearing a one-shoulder gown that had a midnight black color and ended in a blood-red hem. It hung at her body in the right places. With the addition, she had let her hair loose swaying gently with air, she looked like an angel straight out an oil painting.
Hearing Allen's words, she turned around, making the gown sway like a spray of fountains, "This press conference matters to me The collaboration has been launched in the international market, bringing us huge profits. So, it is important. Moreover, I have my bangs to cover my injured forehead. So, don't worry."
"You just let them put your exclusive gem collection as their perfume caps. The ones that you made using the cross-chemical process. That's it."
"That's what makes it an all exclusive collection from both the Xi perfumes and Tiara Jewels. Only ten..."
Sara was interrupted by a phone call. She frowned and saw who it was.
"Hello? Ruby?" she answered it immediately.
Allen's face lit up, but it was crushed when the Blue Bentley stopped in front of his condo. The chauffeur was already here with it. Damn it!
"Sorry, Sara. I can't attend the conference with you", Ruby sounded downcast over the phone.
"It's okay. I will be attending anyway", Sara consoled.
"Won't you ask why?" Ruby spoke with her lips pursed.
"It's fine. You sound urgent."
"Thanks. You should hurry", Ruby said.
"En."
Without a word, Sara walked up to the Bentley that was parked right in front. Allen followed behind her, "I will go with you."
Sara shot him a lazy look and then entered the car. Allen rolled his eyes and got in after her. That was when he saw his father pressing glares through the front mirror. Steward Leo was sitting on the passenger seat and glaring at him intensely. His glare was so intense that it could drill holes in his head. Allen pursed his lips and looked outside the window. He understood that his father wanted him to know who he was and what was his position.
---
Hotel Sea Conch
Reporters swarmed the entrance in the broad daylight, trying to catch the latest breaking news. The partnership of the Xi perfumes with Tiara Jewels was a huge explosion in the business and economy section. C Country's delegates were accompanied by various important political figures, were entering the venue one by one. The reporters and cameramen were in a frenzy to capture the guests as well as support the live broadcasts on their respective channels. But, the fact was that only a few important national news channels were granted permission to enter the venue for the live broadcasts. The puny channels were instead, hovering outside the venue to capture the guests coming one by one.
Just then, a silver Mercedes Benz appeared on the scene. Everybody expected a very familiar person to appear. Excited gasps ranted the air as a pair of slender legs wearing exited the car, followed by a slender waist. A handsome face came into view as he waved to the swelling crowd. The crowd burst into excited cries and gasps. He was wearing a white undershirt, blue waistcoat, and a blue overcoat, coupled with a pair of blue pants, making him look dashing and extremely handsome.
"As we can see", the lady reporter from X Media started rambling on her mic in front of the camera, "Riley, the nation's Prince has already arrived. He holds a major share over the Xi Groups and will be attending the press conference as one of the shareholders..."
Everyone was so focused on Riley and his bright and charming smile, that they didn't see the appearance of a certain Blue Bentley in the distance.