Piccolo tasted sweet, but I didn't get a chance to taste the sweetness of love. I felt like I was a bitter black coffee, while Ariel was a sweet piccolo I often gazed at her, counting down the days until she met Damon. The city Summit would start at 10:30 am, and Ariel, working as a part-time usher, would wait at the entrance. When Damon walked in, he would see her and get hit by Cupid's arrow "Ariel, are you interested in other part-time jobs? I can introduce you to a tutoring job. It starts tomorrow, and the pay is decent, I casually asked while she was cleaning the table next to me. Ariel gave me a grateful smile but declined, "Eliana, I appreciate your concern, but school term is starting soon and I have this usher job to finish. Then I need to return to school for registration." I was taken aback. I forgot she was about to go to school. I was too late. Maybe if I had asked earlier, I could have prevented her from meeting Damon. But maybe it was fate, and I couldn't stop it from happening again and again… "No problem, it just crossed my mind," I said, taking another sip of my coffee. "So, you're quitting this job too?" "Yes, I won't have time once school term starts." Ariel looked around, seemingly reluctant to leave. Then she gave me a bright smile, "Eliaña, I'll miss you." I felt awkward. Ariel would probably avoid me if she knew everything. When more customers came in, Ariel went to serve them. I breathed out a sigh of relief, paid my bill, and left. I wouldn't have to come back to this budget coffee shop ever again. The wheels of fate were turning. Watching everything unfold again wasn't easier than reliving my past life. I realized from Jones's incident how powerful the butterfly effect was. I knew changes were coming, and I had to face them.
These days, with our parents at home, Damon came home every day for lunch and dinner, and we slept together. Unlike his calm demeanor, I was increasingly restless.
"What time are you going to the summit tomorrow?" I asked. "Eight o'clock." Damon had his eyes closed and responded faintly. "Can you bring family members?" I wanted to see the legendary scene for myself because Damon and Ariel's love story had been circulating online for a long time during my past life. Damon glanced at me, his eyes filled with mockery. "Family? You?" I blinked. "Legally, yes." Of course, business summits could be attended with partners or assistants. Many entrepreneurs attended with their spouses. Moreover, given my father's status, it wouldn't be odd if I attended. But Damon didn't think so. He scoffed, "You're over thinking." I turned to face him, staring at his side profile. His profile was very defined and exquisite, especially where his nose bridge and brow bone met. It was perfect. It was funny how such a handsome and wealthy man ended up being attracted to an ordinary girl. It was like the story of Cinderella and the Prince. "If you won't take me, I'll ask your dad to. He'll wonder why you're not taking me and might think you're not treating me well," I threatened. As expected, this worked. But Damon's gaze had turned cold. "Get up at eight tomorrow. I won't wait for you if you're even a minute late." "Okay, I'll get up at 7:30. I need to put on some makeup." I grinned at him. I had even thought about learning more about Damon and Ariel's story. If I ever divorced him, I could write a book about their love story as his ex-wife. I bet a lot of people would be interested. I'd make a pretty penny out of it. Totally worth it. The next day, I got up on time, put on light makeup, wore a more formal outfit, and headed out with Damon. When we arrived at the Conference Hall, I could see several beautiful ushers standing on both sides of the open doorway. Ariel was one of them, standing out in her dress. Damon unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car, seemingly not noticing Ariel yet. "You go ahead, I need to touch up my makeup," I suddenly said. In my past life, Ariel knew Damon was married but had never met me or had any interaction. I decided not to reveal my relationship with Damon yet in this life. Damon ignored me and walked away. I watched him through the car window as he walked towards the entrance. Finally, he reached Ariel. I couldn't see his face as his back was towards me, but I could clearly see him pause, seemingly taking in the sight of the pretty young girl. My heart dropped at that moment. It hurt, but I accepted reality. Even if Damon was attracted to Ariel, he wouldn't act on it in front of so many people. It wasn't the right place or time, so he quickly entered the venue. After he disappeared, I got out of the car and walked into the hall.. Seeing me, Ariel looked surprised but quickly recovered and greeted me softly, "Eliana." I gave her a smile but didn't say much before finding my seat. Damon was already seated in the front row, talking to the person in charge of the summit. My seat was next to Damon's. As I approached, I overheard the last sentence the man said, "Alright, I'll give you her phone number." He then glanced at me awkwardly before quickly getting up and leaving. "He's got better taste than Jade," I remarked. Damon glanced at me, looking more annoyed than ever. He probably had Ariel on his mind and didn't want to hear me talking He didn't want to hear it, but I had to say it anyway, "Last time, Jade sat next to me for ages without recognizing me, like I was a freaking ghost or something* "That's pretty usual," Damon replied casually. "You mean it's usual for her not to recognize me, or for me to be like a ghost?" I asked, curious. Damon didn't say anything else, just watching Ariel walk towards us from afar, with a gleam in his eyes that I'd never seen before. I knew that look well, because that's how he looked the first time I saw him. However, Ariel's eyes were all on me, totally ignoring Damon, and that made me content
I'm starting to believe that Ariel is really into Joshua. She refused Damon in my past life out of her true feelings. Otherwise, how could she not notice the guy beside me, who is cold.