Shikera’s eyes trailed up from the ground floor of Anderson corporation up to the top floor, as she took in a deep breath to ease the tension in her heart.

"It’s alright, Shikera. You just have to see her and then let everything flow on its own. Daddy is here too so he’s gonna handle any problem that pops up," she murmured, trying to compose herself before walking towards the entrance.

As soon as she got into the building, she fastened a nosemask across her face for two reasons. The first one was because she didn’t want anyone who recognized her from when she worked as a receptionist here for a month to see her, and the second owing to her face which was now a public asset.

Instead of going straight to the elevator leading to the Chairman’s office which she would take alone, she opted for the public one which was already half filled with employees. She needed to calm herself down before getting to the top floor and for that, she need to be around people.

However, as soon as the elevator doors closed, she began to regret her decision.

"I can’t imagine how I would have felt if I didn’t watch Elovien’s Spotlight first airing that day!" One of the employees in front of her said.

"It’s all thanks to the chairman’s office. You think it’s his secretary who suggested it to him?" Another one asked.

"I don’t think so. The chairman has always been considerate of us so it shouldn’t be a big deal if he was the one who—"

Ding!

The elevator doors opened again and Shikera rushed out even though they were only four floors above the ground floor. This time around, she headed to the presidential elevator without hesitation. It was better to have a sole space to yourself than to stay in an elevator with fans of Elovien’s Spotlight, another thing which was causing her great worry.

Ding!

Shikera stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the secretaries office, delighted to see Mrs Mason and surprised to see Enoch, the both of them sitting together in the coffee room.

She bowed slightly to great the other employees and hurried into the coffee room, before pulling down the facemask to reveal her face.

"Aunt Lu," she called, and Mrs Mason got up immediately to meet her.

"You are here, Shikera."

"I am," Shikera answered, turning to face Enoch, "Ethan is here too?"

"Instead of asking questions, I think you should get inside. It seems like a full house in there," Enoch replied her.

Shikera glanced at Mrs Mason to see the older woman give her a supportive nod before turning to walk to her father’s office door.

Standing before it, she inhaled deeply and raised her hand to knock.

"Come in," a voice which she recognized as her father’s, came from inside the room.

She pushed the door open and stepped inside, a bright smile though faked, on her face.

"Hi, Daddy!" she exclaimed, her eyes sweeping the office in one stare. The smile on her face fell when she saw it was only her father, Ethan and Ruthlyn in the room.

Although she tried to regain her composure, Liam noticed immediately. "You must have known the reason you are here," he stated.

Shikera cast a sidelong glance at Ethan, not knowing what answer to give to Liam’s question. Though she had known there was a chance that Ethan would be here, she had believed that her mother would have arrived too and the situation would not require for her to explain why she had not informed him that she saw the woman. Everyone would be caught up in surprise, right?

But now that everything had gone wrong, she didn’t know where to call the lie from. She opened her mouth, prepared to say anything that came to her mind when the door was swung open.

All four of them in the room turned swiftly to face the door with expectation evident in their eyes, but their eyes dulled when it wasn’t the person they were expecting.

"What? No one is happy to see me?" Noah asked, feigning a pitiful expression. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Take your seat, Noah. Your sister wanted to say something," Liam deadpanned, cutting of any chance of a joke.

However, Shikera who had been searching for that particular chance wasted no chance in utilizing it.

"Hey, Noah. It’s my birthday next week and I am hoping you didn’t forget," she said, going to sit beside him.

"Of course, why would I? How about a baby for a gift?"

"What are you saying?!" Shikera exclaimed, blushing furiously. She had no idea why but she felt like Noah’s word was directed at her.

"What are you thinking, Kera? I slept with my girlfriend without protection so I expect that she is pregnant already. You don’t want to be an aunt?"

"Why won’t I..."

The door opened just then and the woman they had all been expecting stepped in, her eyes sweeping across the room just like Shikera’s had done when she entered. The woman’s eyes widened when she saw Shikera sitting right beside Noah, and the look in her eyes was nothing less to horror.

"What—who is that woman over there?" she stuttered, pointing in Shikera’s direction.

Ruthlyn who happened to be sitting right beside Shikera on the other side stood up to her feet and bowed slightly to Enoch and Liam, "I will be outside the door."

She walked out and immediately the door closed after her, everyone in the room except Ethan, stood up to their feet with different looks on their faces.

Liam wore an apologetic and shocked expression, Shikera’s was melancholic and a little bit expectant, while Noah was just looking at the woman with confusion evident in his eyes. From Ethan’s face too, one could tell that he was assessing the woman in his head.

"Natalia..." Liam called, and the woman’s head snapped to face him.

"Wait a minute, Lee. I just asked who is that woman?"