A week passed by in a blur and gone with it was Shikera’s gloomy mood over her encounter with the woman supposed to be her mother. Having gone over the scene over and over in her mind, she had come to the conclusion that her mother probably wanted to approach her tactically.

’She is probably scared thinking I won’t accept her, right? So she just approached me then to at least know what I think about her. That should be it,’ she had concluded inwardly, reverting back to her former cheerful self. She just had to proceed with her plan now.

Presently, she was sitting before Cyprian at the employees cafeteria in Preston TV. Though Elovien’s Spotlight first airing had received a massive amount of views and reviews the previous week, she had to prepare for the next show and had visited the entertainment department for any latest interesting news which them might allow her to air. Cyprian had asked her out for lunch then and she agreed.

"What’s the problem and why are you staring at me like that?" Shikera asked, raising her brows at the frown on her friend’s face.

"I should ask you what is the problem, Kera? I have been busy since last week or we would have had this conversation earlier," Cyprian stated.

"And what is all this about?"

"You of course," Cyprian muttered, rolling her eyes. She questioned,"Why did you sign a one year contract with Preston Media House? And without telling me!"

"One year—" Shikera was about to deny it but the sharp glare Cyprian shot at her, caused her to think twice. There was no way out of this as Cyprian already knew the truth, therefore she rephrased her question,"How did you know that?"

"How?!" Cyprian scoffed,"Is that the important thing right now, Kera?"

"I didn’t say that. It’s just...I just want to know..." she trailed off, as she was already short of words. She had tried to divert Cyprian’s attention from the topic but her friend was not willing.

"That’s not the point. Just answer my question, why did you sign a one year contract instead of four years at least? Wasn’t this your dream?"

Shikera shook her head.

"That is..."

"Or did it change?" Cyprian interrupted."Is there something else you are interested in?"

"That’s not it, Cyprian. I just want to rest after this one year. I will be contented if I live my dream for just one year so it’s alright. I will go on trips after that," Shikera lied.

"And why didn’t you tell me? You don’t want me going on trips with you?" Cyprian pressed.

"No! But how do you expect me to ask you to take a four years leave from work? You are at the peak of your career, Rian so how can I be selfish?"

"And you? Are you at the bottom of your career? You are my friend, Kera and I would like to spend my last moments on this earth with you and I know you wish for the same too. I can start all over again and who knows, I might get interested in something else or just be a housewife."

Shikera sighed loudly, "It’s—"

"It’s nothing, Shikera. And you have to apologize now," Cyprian cut her off.

"I’m sorry."

"Just like that? You think I will accept that bland apology?" Cyprian scoffed.

"I am very sorry, my very dear friend, Cyprian..." Shikera smiled brightly, even though her insides were in a turmoil. She could not bear to let Cyprian take a 4 years leave in advance, when she was already sure she would not live up to that. But her friend was right after all, she would also like to spend her last moment with her loved ones.

"It’s alright. About your question earlier on how I knew, it’s from this," Cyprian said, taking out the folder which contained Shikera’s job contract. She pushed it across the table to Shikera, who took it with a confused look on her face.

"What is this?" Shikera asked.

"Your job contract. You forgot it and Maxwell asked me to bring it to you," Cyprian replied.

"Oh... I totally forgot I signed it," Shikera stated. She stood up from the chair, holding the folder in one hand. "How about I wait for you after work?"

"That’s great! But...won’t you read the contract first?" Cyprian asked, hoping against hope that Shikera would open the folder and discover what she saw that day. Cyprian had mentioned it to Raymond the very night she saw it, and he had in turn told Ethan about it. The two men had asked her not to worry as they were already making researches, so Cyprian didn’t want to tell Shikera about it as she knew that her friend would worry.

"It’s alright. You didn’t find any unreasonable clauses there, right?" Shikera asked.

"I did not, but..."

"No buts, Rian. Get back to work and finish early enough so we can go home," Shikera interjected, walking away from the table.

Cyprian could only sigh as she watched her retreating back.

★★★

"I confirmed it, Sir. There really is a Natalia Anderson among the major shareholders of Preston TV, but the thing is...none of the other shareholders have ever seen her in their meeting. In fact, her votes are always sent it by someone else whenever it is required," Raymond informed Ethan who was standing a few distance away from him, and staring out of the window of DL Corporation.

A rare sight, as Ethan never neared the window not to talk of staring out of it. Even though he was currently wearing a mask, Raymond still found it strange.

"And who is that someone else?" Ethan asked.

"I am still trying to find that out. The person seems to be among the employees, but she has never shown herself in any public place in that company. In short, she is just like you, faceless but your efforts are still evident."

Ethan nodded, not bothered one bit that he had been called faceless. That was his aim after all, to have no exact face in the mind eye of his enemies.

"And what about the issue with Grandfather?" he asked again.

"That has been settled too. Actually, he looked even more curious than we are so I think we are going to be getting our answers sooner than we expect," Raymond replied.

"Alright. You can leave."

Three seconds later, Ethan turned on realizing that Raymond was still standing there.

"What?"

"Ruth got the CCTV footage of the parking lot that night Miss Anderson went shopping with them, and I watched it already. It seems like Miss Anderson’s mother approached her, but they didn’t talk for long before the woman left again. We can only ask Miss Anderson if we want to know what they talked about," Raymond stated.

"She wouldn’t talk, I know that. Plus it always feels like she’s planning something whenever she’s around me these days. Like every thing she does, is just a step towards her main goal and a strategy in her big plan."

Raymond could not understand Ethan’s word one bit, but he nodded anyways.

"Is this because of the one year contract she signed with Preston Media House? Or something else?" he asked.

"Everything. From the contract to everything she has been doing these days, but I can sense it’s not something harmful to anybody. She’s more like someone planning a surprise birthday party who invites the celebrant to take part in the preparations," Ethan explained.

A knock sounded on the door just then, and it was pushed open immediately.

"Uhg, Ethan! Who helped you and Raymond resolve your relationship issues?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I will go find out what’s happening with the men I put on your grandfather’s trail then," Raymond said, walking out of the office while ignoring Enoch’s question.

Ethan did the same, walking back to assume his seat without even sparing Enoch a glance.

"I am talking to you, Big brother," Enoch pressed.

"Why does Google exist?" was the simple answer he received from his brother.

When he realized he would not be getting any answer from Ethan, Enoch resorted to threats, using the only card he had in her s hand at that moment.

"Then I guess you will be relying on Google to get the information you asked me to find out, on Shikera’s friend," he said, smiling confidently. Enoch knew this kind of thing would usually not work on his brother, but he was also aware that Ethan had been extra agitative on every single thing concerning his wife this past few days.

And he was right.

"Was there something suspicious with her friend?" Ethan asked immediately.

"Maybe...maybe not. Why don’t we trade information?"

"If I would trade any information with you, it would be after getting yours! Tell me what you found out now, or consider losing your job and your fiancee at once!"

The smile on Enoch’s face fell instantly and he didn’t waste any more time in answering.

"There is nothing wrong with the Skyler McCallum but her father was imprisoned on a charge of murder, four years ago..."