Chapter 14

Life without Tobias was almost unimaginable to Amara. In the past, when Giselle threatened to make Tobias divorce her, she would always cower because of the threat, one time even going as far as wiping Giselle’s foot and begging her, all because she fear a life without Tobias. But now that she and Tobias were no longer husband and wife, now that their marriage was truly and legally terminated, she realized that life without Tobias was in fact not that bad. Instead, it was great, better than she had expected. There was no one to degrade or disgrace her and she didn’t need to work all day, dolling herself up to look pretty in hopes of grabbing the attention of a husband who would barely even look her way when he returned home. Although, Life without Tobias was strange at first, but a month into said life, she got used to it. She became accustomed to living without him, without anyone there to bother her or criticize her or control her. She had her own free will and could finally take the first step towards bettering her life without being judged. And that was exactly what she did. A few days after the divorce was finalized, Amara fully began preparing to take over the position of branch manager. With the help of Lorenzo, she studied the company’s ways for an entire month, waiting for the right time to make her appearance out of the shadows and that opportunity so happened to present itself sooner rather than later. “A party at Hilton Metropole?” Amara had asked as she examined the luxurious looking invites. Lorenzo had nodded. “It’s your opportunity to socialize, gain footing in the business world before taking over, you know, just to let people get used to the idea of you.” He suggested and Amara bought into the idea. Currently, 2 hours until said party, she stood in front of her mirror, examining the gown she had chosen for the event. It was a long sleeved, form fitting black dress with a slit running down the left side. The neckline wasn't too low and showed off her delicate shoulders while the sleeves made the outfit elegant. She had a pair of black high heeled shoes that went along perfectly with her outfit and her hair had been done in an elegant bun with a few strands hanging loose. To make sure her makeup wasn’t too over the top, she had opted to go with a natural look. She applied a little bit of eyeliner and a light pink lipstick. All in all, she looked like the perfect version of a female CEO. The sound of two gentle knocks on her door had her looking away from her reflection. “Lorenzo is here.” Melanie stated and moved aside, allowing said male to make his appearance. “Hey,” He greeted. “You ready?” Amara smiled, picking up her bag and phone. “Yep,” She replied and turned to Melanie. “I might be home late, Mel, don’t wait up for me.” “Sure thing. Have fun out there.” Melanie placed a chaste kiss on her cheek, giving Lorenzo one last look before she sauntered out of the room, chewing on the gummy bears she had picked out of the fridge. “Shall we?” Lorenzo asked, extending his arm for his sister. With a nod, she took it. “Let’s go.” ~•~ By the time evening came, the party had already entered full swing. paparazzi and journalists alike were standing around the venue, trying to snap a shot of whoever important and wealthy they could, while guests walked in and out of the hotel, dressed in their best. At current, some of the journalist were interviewing the two most stunning people at the event, Tobias Larsen and Celestine White, influential figures in their own areas and the perfect couple everyone had dubbed them. “Mr. Larsen, this is the first time you ever made an appearance with a lady, does this mean that Ms. White is going to fill in the position of Mrs. Larsen soon?” One reporter out of all, asked. Celestine who heard the rather suggestive question, blushed and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Well, the media has already assumed such things,” She replied. “However, me and Toby are still very good friends and nothing else, no matter what the media says.” Some of the journalist seemed satisfied with the answer, and Tobias, who was wearing a suit and looking every bit handsome and charismatic, merely nodded with a stoic expression, a look that the reporters had gotten used to and immediately took a picture of, for tomorrow's headlines. "Mr. Larsen, one last question. Last week, you and Ms. White were spotted together at the park, was that a causal outing between friends or did you have another agenda in mind?" This question had Celestine turning red as a tomato and she glanced expectantly at Tobias. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, the sound of commotion coming from behind them interrupted him. "Gosh, she's so beautiful! Who is she?" Someone said. "Her dress is so stunning!" Another commented. "Where is she from?" "What is her name? She must be a new model!" "Who is she with, the man looks rich!" Comments like that eventually drew Tobias’s attention and against his better judgment, he turned his head in the direction of where the commotion was coming from. He had expected a celebrity or an influential person or maybe a model, but the one who had drawn everyone’s attention wasn’t anyone he was expecting and the moment his eyes landed on her, his stoic mask broke, and his eyes widened a fraction. It was none other than Amara, but she looked different. She was beautiful, more than he had remembered her being. Her dress clung to her body like second skin and her heels made her look tall. Her hair had been done in an elegant style and the little amount of makeup on her face didn’t take away from her natural beauty. She was gorgeous, so stunning that the people around him had no choice but to acknowledge her presence and beauty. And if the looks on their faces was anything to go by, they were clearly awed by her and so was Tobias. But the look of awe didn’t stay on his face for too long and soon enough, his features hardened once again when he noticed Lorenzo who was beside Amara and had his hand on her waist. From across the room, Amara felt the pair of eyes boring holes into her head and slowly, she turned to see who it was. The moment her eyes landed on Tobias, her gaze immediately hardened and her lips pursed into a thin line. So, he was here too. And with Celestine too. Her eyes trailed to the beautiful blonde beside him, who was gawking at her like she had seen a ghost. She felt a frown creeping to the surface of her face just by looking at the two, but quickly schooled her expression, reminding herself that those two meant nothing to her starting from a month ago. They were total strangers and she would like, no, love to keep it that way. “Amara,” Lorenzo called, gaining her attention. When she looked at him, concern was etched into the features of his face. “I didn’t know those two were going to be here. Do you-?” Amara gave him a bright smile, as she interrupted him. “It’s alright. Those two don’t bother me, so let’s carry on like they don’t exist, okay?” Lorenzo took a second to scan her eyes, seemingly searching for the lies in her words that he couldn’t find, before nodding. “Okay. Shall we head in now?” Amara nodded and just like that, they began for the entrance. However, their journey was interrupted by the appearance of a figure in their path. “Look who the cat dragged in.” Fiona sneered as she eyed Amara from top to bottom. Although she was surprised by Amara’s expensive looking attire, she didn’t let it show. “What’s a poor orphan like you doing here? Ah, let me guess, did you borrow that dress and come here to beg for scraps?” “You-“ Lorenzo took a step forward, ready to defend his sister, but Amara rose her hand and stopped him. “I can handle this.” She told him before turning her attention back to Fiona. “So you’re still like this?” Amara eyed her. “And that dress,” She chuckled. “Jesus, where did you get that hideous thing from?” Fiona was rendered speechless, but before she could speak, Amara was already talking again. “Well, it suits you. Trash wearing a trash bag, accurate, wouldn’t you say?” Fiona quickly went red from head to toe, but she managed to calm herself, taking in a deep breath before she could act out disgracefully. “You’ve grown balls, I see. But let me tell you something, this place isn’t a place for dirty poor orphans like you. Security-!” “You don’t have the authority to do that.” Amara cut in confidently. Lorenzo who had quietly been watching, smirked at Fiona’s dumbfounded expression. “Excuse me?” She spat, taken aback by Amara’s boldness that she didn’t know where it came from. Amara scoffed and pulled out an invitation. “Here’s the proof. I am not trespassing.” She said and took a step forward. “But if you want to cause a scene, do it, but be ready to face the consequences when the time comes.” Fiona found herself shrinking back. Perhaps it was the confident look in Amara’s eyes or how her entire demeanor had changed so much in the space of a month, or perhaps both, but whatever it was had An ample of fear sneaking into Fiona’s body, rendering her speechless. “What’s going on here?” The sound of Celestine’s voice had both Amara and Fiona breaking eye contact. Fiona looked relieved to see someone on her side had come, whereas, Amara looked disgusted by the model’s presence. “Celestine,” Fiona quickly rushed to her allies side. “Thank God you came. This bitch was insulting me. I’m sure now that she no longer has big brother’s attention she’s trying to cause some sort of commotion to gain attention.” Celestine took a second to scan Amara. Just seeing her looking so much better irritated and made her feel insecure. But nonetheless, she smiled, putting on the face of an angel. “Don’t be that way, Fiona. Amara isn’t that type of a person.” She gently said. “So please don’t say such bad words about her and ruin her chance of finding a suitable man to latch onto today.” The last bit had Amara holding back a scoff and the fact that Fiona agreed and was laughing made her want to punch the two in the face. “A suitable man?” Fiona scoffed mockingly. “I doubt any man would want to marry an infertile woman like her. Six years, married to my brother, yet not one single child produced.” “And was that my problem?” Amara bit back, having heard enough of the two’s rubbish. “No, it wasn’t.” Taking a step forward, she looked Fiona dead in the eyes. “Six years no child, was not my fault. So I suggest you keep that damn mouth shut and have your brother checked out in a hospital before I make you regret ever opening that big mouth of yours.” She looked at Celestine and sneered. “And I mean both of you.”