"Shikera was not picking her call. Where is she?"

It was Ethan who had called her.

"Asleep. She slept just now," Ruthlyn answered, and the call was disconnected before she could say anything else.

"He could have at least wished us a good night," she murmured. Bending over Shikera, she adjusted her until her legs were properly positioned on the bed before pulling the sheets up to her chest.

When she was done with that, Ruthlyn picked up the papers strewn all over her bed and bedside table, arranging them all into the folder with which Shikera had brought with her.

She then picked up the cup of coffee she had brought earlier, and brought it to her lips.

"Hits the point..."

She was about to sit on her bed when a knock came on her room’s door.

"Go back, Enoch. I won’t be talking tonight," she called out loud, and was surprised when she heard the voice she least expected.

"Unlock the door and let me pick up my wife, you can go to Enoch if you miss him."

She rushed to the door and opened it, giving a wide space enough for Ethan to pass through.

"I told you she was asleep," Ruthlyn whispered.

"And will you be able to keep yourself awake until she wakes up for her angelic walk?" Ethan asked immediately, throwing her a blank glare.

He walked to the bed and threw the duvet aside, before carrying Shikera up in bridal style.

"No, I thought she doesn’t sleepwalk again. How did she manage when she went on the work trip then?"

"Main reason I asked Ezekias to watch over her, and it turned out her brother was also there."

Ruthlyn frowned, "How about when she slept with Miss Leigh then? Does she know?"

"It was after midnight then. She doesn’t sleepwalk after midnight," Ethan explained. He walked back to the door and waited for Ruthlyn to open the door, before stepping out of the room.

★★★

[Hey! I know my request will sound completely absurd to you but I will be happy if you consider it. Watch me today, Ethan, and tell me if I did well or not when I get home.]

Clicking on the send button, Shikera acknowledged inwardly that it was stupid and imposing of her to ask Ethan to watch the first airing of the show, not after she knew how much he hated the TV, but she still asked him anyway. She had tried to call Noah earlier today but the line was disconnected, which meant he was probably on another mission.

She could not contact her father, and Cyprian was the only one who was available to watch her.

"Shikera, where is Miss Stone?" she turned when she heard Maxwell’s voice, and her jaws dropped when she saw that Team leader Zuresh was also there. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

She quickly answered Maxwell, before walking over to her frowning Team leader.

"Miss Stone went out of the studio now, I think to take a call," she said.

"I will go check her. We should assess her on screen image and see if she wants any adjustment," Maxwell stated, walking away from them.

Amidst the busy studio, Shikera had to guide Team leader Zuresh aside so the two would be able to hear each other.

"Did you need something, Team leader?" she asked, a careful smile on her face. Even though she was delighted that the woman came to watch her, Shikera was partly scared that she would be scolded again today.

"What would I need? Your other teammates are currently busy and won’t be able to come watch you live, so I decided to come instead. Will you ask me to return?" the older woman asked nonchalantly, but anyone who studied her well would be able to notice the proud gaze in her eyes.

"Of course not! I just thought you needed me to do something," Shikera chuckled nervously.

"Did you prepare well?"

Smiling at the sudden change of topic, Shikera nodded. Silent, the two women looked around the studio, observing the various activities until Team leader Zuresh noticed Andrew and Lady Preston walking into the studio.

"I will go see them. You just wait here and calm yourself down," she instructed before walking away.

"Hey, Shikera!"

"The always late Skyler is here?" Shikera teased, before adopting a serious expression."Why are you always late though? It’s not that hard to wake up a few hours earlier, right?"

"It’s not that easy too," Skyler protested, before asking,"Are you done with your make up?"

"I don’t need one. It’s only going to make me look like a corpse on screen," Shikera laughed.

"I guess so. You have the perfect skin anyway so it shouldn’t be a problem."

"More like I have the sensitive skin anyways, which can actually pose a problem for me anytime and anywhere without warning," Shikera corrected her.

"Miss Anderson, you should take your seat now and test the mic. We also have to assess the light reflection on your face," one of the technicians called out.

"Coming!"

A few metres away from where Shikera was standing with Skyler, Team leader Zuresh bowed slightly in front of Lady Preston.

"It’s alright, Ashley. I told you I didn’t come here for any official reasons but simply to watch Miss Anderson," Lady Preston stated. She turned to share a quick glance with her son before adding,"It’s not just for nothing though. I have a private reason to watch out for her."

Team leader Zuresh smiled softly, even though her insides were in disarray. She was wondering what personal reason Lady Preston had to come watch Shikera by herself, and hoping that the woman had not found out about Shikera’s identity as Liam Anderson’s daughter.

"Private reason, Lady Preston?" she asked jokingly, and the other woman didn’t hesitate in letting her in.

"Shikera Anderson my prospective daughter-in-law, if Noah does his job well of course. But everything seems to be going well for now. Why do you think I accepted your request to give her permission to host a show of her own? Of course, it’s because it would benefit my family too if we have a celebrity with us."

Team leader Zuresh was about to sigh in relief when Lady Preston continued,

"But I have not regretted agreeing ever since then. I have received calls from media stations superior to ours, requesting a collaboration with our new Anchor. Can you believe that? Not even one of her shows have aired yet."

"Media stations superior to ours?"

"Correct. I can’t even begin to list their names out yet..."