Because everyone was listening to the speech of the President of iTech who just won himself an award, Eve used this distraction and leaned close to Xander.
"Did you verify whether the news of her return was true?" She whispered in a barely audible tone.
To avoid any suspicious eyes falling on them, Eve picked up a wine bottle and pretended to pour him a glass of wine while waiting for his reply.
"It was all mere rumours," He spoke in between his teeth, making sure no one other than Eve heard his reply as he leaned forward to pick the glass of wine from the table in front of him.
"She no longer exists in this world so you can feel at ease now," He smiled and shifted his gaze to the stage.
The speech of the President of iTech was short, and before they knew it he was off the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the next winner on our list is none other than, the man who has proved that he can overcome all storms that may come his way and soar to the top, and our winner is..." The MC trailed off in suspense.
The low groans that emerged from the crowd proved that his plans to keep them on edge had worked, and he finally proceeded.
"So our winner is none other than the CEO of the No. 1 leading Company in the country, and I'm sure we all know who that famous young man is...Mr Xander Simon." He announced and smiled in Xander's direction.
Happy cheers and congratulatory applause erupted the instant his name was mentioned, and all eyes turned in his direction.
By this time, Xander had arranged his necktie and adjusted his suit. He stood up with ease and was ready to be ushered to the stage when he heard the MC say.
"A round of applause as he climbs on stage to receive the award of the most Outstanding CEO of the Year." The MC beckoned Xander to come join him on stage.
Eve stuck to the young man like glue and this caused people to start murmuring.
However, Eve was too shameless to pay heed to their mockery.
Besides, this wasn't the first time they had done this. She will be the bigger loser if she lets their words get to her every time.
This was her conclusion, and she stuck to it.
At the big stage, the MC stepped aside and left the spotlight for Xander and the organiser of the event who was gonna hand out the award to him.
"Mr Xander, congratulations." Mr Hermon, the organiser, wished him well and reached out his hand for a handshake.
"Thank you, Sir." Xander smiled proudly and took the elderly man's outstretched hand.
After they had finished with the handshake and it was time for the presentation of the award, Xander leaned closer to the grey-haired man in glasses and whispered softly.
"Sir, there is a woman who was beside me through these turbulent moments. She was there for me when every other person was absent. I don't think standing here on stage to collect this award would have been possible without her endless support..." His voice trailed off.
He tilted his head and glanced at Eve who stood at a corner, and she looked at him with a broad smile on her face.
"I would love it for her to hand over the award to me, I hope you don't mind Sir?"
Xander finally nailed the bull on the horn.
"That's..." The grey-haired man paused midway after he saw that Xander's attention was on something else other than him.
After he turned to see what had stolen Xander's attention, he understood what was happening without asking for further explanation.
"So my position has been momentarily stolen by a special woman. Instead of me, she will be the one to present the award to you, Mr Xander Simon." Mr Hermon announced and stole a glance at where Eve stood, unaware of the surprise Xander had prepared for her.
"Let's welcome Miss….." Suddenly, all the lights in the room went off in an instant.
The once glimmering hall turned pitch black, and that earned different confused murmurs from the crowd who wanted answers as to what was going on.
The unexpected dreadful song that soon played sent shivers down everyone's spine, making them fear for their lives as the confusion within the crowd escalated.
Instead of an award event, it felt like they were at the graveyard scene inside a horror movie.
"We have prepared a special surprise for everyone here tonight." A gentle deep voice finally spoke up with good audibility, gaining the guests' attention as silence finally reigned in the hall, and the gentle voice continued.
"For the surprise to be perfectly delivered, no lights, please…. Not even your phone's flashlight." The gentle voice instructed, making the minds of all the guests a bit settled, and more curious to know what would happen next.
It wasn't up to a minute that the man's voice informed them about the surprise that they heard the sound of heels stepping into the hall.
CLICK-CLACK!
CLICK-CLACK!
CLICK-CLACK!
A woman's high heels against the tiled floor echoed throughout the entire hall.
Everyone turned their attention to where the sound came from, wondering who on Earth would be so special to have earned such a dramatic entrance.