Public appearance

Once the two left their own ways. They made their way towards their apartment.

After Elina came back her phone chimed with a message from Oswal’s assistant informing her about a charity gala that she would be attending with Oswal.

When the time for the charity gala neared Elina walked down the stairs where she saw Oswal waiting for her outside his car.

When Oswal heard the sounds of her heels clicking he looked up and was stunned by how beautiful she looked. She still looked like the young girl whom he held in his arms seven years ago.

Oswal opened the car door for her like a gentleman and after she got in the two made their way towards the venue.

It was the kind of evening meant to dazzle—an elegant charity gala hosted in the heart of downtown, the city skyline glittering beyond the glass walls like something out of a dream. Elina adjusted the diamond clasp on her clutch as the car pulled up to the valet line. This was it—their first appearance as husband and wife.

Not real ones.

Just the kind that fooled headlines.

Oswal stepped out first, tall and composed beneath the soft glow of chandeliers spilling through the glass. He wore confidence like his suit—fitted, impenetrable, rehearsed.

Then he walked to the other side of the car and opened the door for her, hand outstretched.

When she saw him giving his hand for her for a second, Elina hesitated. Not because she didn’t want to take it—but because she did.

So badly.

With her chin high, she took his hand, her fingers slipping into his like it was second nature. They hadn’t touched like this in years, yet her body remembered. The way he used to intertwine their fingers beneath tables. The way he’d squeeze once when he was nervous.

She was feeling her heart flutter but after a few seconds, disappointment settled in her heart. The man in front of her was no longer the same boy who loved her passionately and held her hand with love. Now, it was just for the cameras.

But he didn’t let go when they walked past the flashes.

Inside, the gala was awash with socialites and investors. The kind of people who smiled too wide, drank too little, and asked far too many questions.

“Oswal, my boy!” An older man approached with a hearty handshake and too much cologne. He turned to look at Elina and smile slightly “And this must be your new bride. What a beauty!”

Elina smiled graciously. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

Oswal’s hand never left the small of her back. “She’s even lovelier when she’s not stealing the spotlight,” he said, teasing on the surface—but his thumb brushed against her spine for just a second too long.

She stiffened.

Don’t read into it, Elly. she said to herself

“Married life treating you well?” the man asked.

Oswal answered smoothly. “We’re adjusting. Learning each other’s quirks.”

“Like how he hates when I leave the toothpaste cap off,” Elina added, tone sweet but edged.

Oswal raised an eyebrow. “Or how she alphabetizes the spice rack.”

They laughed for the crowd. And maybe, for a second, it didn’t feel like a lie.

But as they drifted through the sea of guests, Elina caught the way Oswal’s smiles dimmed once backs were turned. How he kept checking his phone, like waiting for someone—or avoiding something.

Finally, in the quiet of the terrace, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“You hate this, don’t you?” she asked.

Oswal looked at her, startled. “What?”

“This,” she said, gesturing behind them. “The pretending. The people. Me.”

His brow furrowed. “I don’t hate you.”

“No?” she challenged. “Because it sure feels like you’d rather be anywhere else.”

He looked away. “You think I’m the only one pretending tonight?”

The air between them snapped.

Elina folded her arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He turned to her slowly. “It means you've hated me ever since I left. But you never once asked why.”

“Because it didn’t matter,” she said sharply. “You were gone.”

“I left,” he said, voice quiet, “because your father made it very clear what I had to lose.”

The words hung there, jagged and raw.

Elina blinked. “What?”

“He offered me a job overseas. With a condition: leave you. No goodbyes. No explanations.”

She stared, her eyes turning red. She couldn’t believe that he had left her for a job opportunity overseas. She hissed. “You said yes.”

“I thought I was protecting you.” he murmured

“No, Oswal. You were protecting yourself.” Elina’s eyes turned red. She was trying to hold back her tears. All these years there were many possibilities she had thought about but she never thought that he would leave her for a job opportunity abroad.

He stepped closer. “You think I didn’t want to fight for you? You were the only thing that made sense to me back then.”

“And now?”

His eyes locked with hers. “Now? You’re the only thing that still does.”

She swallowed hard.

But before she could speak, the terrace doors opened. A reporter with a camera called, “Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, a quick photo?”

Elina turned on her heels with a smile so perfect it ached. “Of course.”

She didn’t look back at Oswal.

Because she wasn’t sure she could.

She didn’t know if he had said that because he meant it or because he knew that there were reporters outside. She didn’t have the courage to ask.

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