The Bargain Undercover

Black Gown

It was rainy on Saturday.

The black gown was taken out of the closet and put flatly on the bed, waiting patiently to be put on. Eliana sat by the window, resting her chin on the sill as she stared blankly at the gray sky outside. Raindrops tapped on the window, creating a harmonious symphony. She didn't like anything about a rainy day as it dragged her back to unpleasant memories. But today, her mind was completely occupied as she waited for a phone call.

However, for the whole day, her phone was as silent as death on the windowsill.

Xander hadn't contacted her since he promised to take her to Queen and Ace's banquet that night. She had a bad feeling that he might not meet her again, at least before rumors about them faded over time. But she still carried a sliver of hope that he would show up and fulfill his promise, especially since it was a business banquet and not a private affair.

At 3 pm, she started to put on makeup.

Raindrops kept tapping against her eardrums. Suddenly, a sharp phone ring interrupted the pattern.

Eliana immediately dropped her eyebrow pencil and grabbed her phone.

She was hoping it would be Xander.

However, seeing the caller ID, she was swallowed by despair.

In the end, she still pressed the "answer" button. "Hey, Mom."

"What's wrong with you and that Artist Director?" Lora started off by throwing an aggressive question at her.

Eliana's heart sank. She wondered how Lora knew. "What do you mean?"

Lora told her, "Your dad was mad at you two. He said that Artist Director was not professional, and that you'd have no future working with him. What happened?"

It turned out Lora was talking about a different thing, which made Eliana relieved. She and Xander retorted against Delbert during their dinner, which must have been an unacceptable insult for Delbert, as none of his subordinates would dare to challenge him like that. Feeling humiliated but unable to show it due to his high self-esteem, he degraded them instead.

But Eliana didn't care how Delbert felt since she had obtained what she wanted - PhysioFit's sponsorship.

"I don't know what he meant," she answered casually.

"Listen, Eliana, I need you to call your dad and talk to him," Lora ordered.

"Sure." Eliana's tone was perfunctory.

Lora was mad at her attitude. "Eliana, I mean it! He's your dad. He brought you to this world, and you should appreciate him for that."

Eliana said faintly, "He said he didn't want to."

Lora sighed, "Alright, at least you should appreciate me and call him for my sake. You know how hard I tried to keep you back then."

'Maybe you shouldn't have.' This thought popped up in Eliana's mind right away. If Lora hadn't given birth to her, she wouldn’t have had to bear the stigma of being an illegitimate daughter, grow up fearful in such a dysfunctional family, or face a long, difficult life without any family support.

But she controlled herself to keep it in because it would hurt Lora to the bone.

Lora was her mother anyway. She didn't want to hurt her.

"I gotta go. I'm waiting for an important call." Without waiting for Lora's response, she hung up.

Then, her phone went back to dead silence again.

It felt unreal. The man who had protected her from Delbert back then had now vanished from her life.

Time ticked past 4 pm. Eliana had finished putting on her makeup and started to curl her hair. At 5 pm, she was all set, wearing the black gown with full makeup, sitting by the window and waiting.

The rain had stopped. The sun came out, and the sky turned clear. Downstairs, cars and pedestrians came and went. At this time, a cab slowly pulled up to the curb. Eliana immediately perked up and turned on her phone to see if she had missed any new messages, wondering if Xander sent that cab to pick her up. However, a young couple waiting at the curb got in, and the cab pulled away, gradually leaving her sight. She shifted her gaze and lowered her head, noticing the hem of her gown folded. Expressionlessly, she bent and unfolded it. It was already 5:30 pm, and her phone was still quiet.

Seconds ticked away, and two hours later, she finally had to admit the fact that Xander wouldn't take her tonight.

She took some frozen food out of the fridge and threw it into the microwave. In the quiet room with only the sound of food being heated, she took off her black gown that had just been dry-cleaned and put it back into the closet. She washed off all her makeup and casually put her hair up in a bun. Sounds of kids shouting and adults talking emerged as they gathered outside after dinner. Amidst the bustle, Eliana took the food out of the microwave and started eating alone.

The next morning, when Eliana stepped into the female changing room, she immediately noticed a bunch of colleagues gathering in the middle of the room, talking about something excitedly.

This deja vu instantly made her heart sink like a conditioned reflex. She wondered what happened again and if they were talking about her.

Roselyn poked her head out of the crowd and saw Eliana. "Morning, Ellie!" she greeted her excitedly, waving her hand. "Come here! Let me show you something!"

Eliana walked over to join the crowd. Her colleagues were passing around some photos, and she took a glance.

The scenes in those photos appeared to be from a business event. Roselyn was wearing a dark purple gown, smiling in each photo.

"Director Lane took me to a banquet held by Queen and Ace last night," she explained to Eliana. "I was hoping to be its endorser, so I tried very hard to socialize!"

Eliana listened as she looked through the photos. They captured images of Roselyn and several unfamiliar figures, perhaps executives from Queen and Ace. When one of the photos was passed to her, she took it, seeing Xander and Roselyn standing side by side, with Roselyn's arm wrapped around Xander's.

It turned out Xander took Roselyn to the banquet while she was waiting eagerly at home last night.

But Eliana wasn't blaming anyone. She understood this decision Xander had made. In the midst of rumors about her and Xander, she couldn't imagine what people would say if she had been the one wrapping her arm around Xander's in that photo.

"Did you get the endorsement?" someone asked.

"No." Roselyn sounded disappointed immediately. "I recommended myself, but they said my vibe didn't fit their brand."

"Well, it's their loss." Eliana gave the photo back to Roselyn, her smile and tone natural.

Roselyn squeezed her arm. "Thank you for saying that."

"But anyway, Director Lane took you." Ophelia said, "It means you're the most valuable dancer in his eyes."

"Wow!" Roselyn was touched, covering her heart.

Eliana listened with a friendly smile on her face when they asked Roselyn for more details about the banquet, but inside her heart, she couldn't decipher her feelings at this moment. Rationally, she understood Xander went back on his promise to avoid fueling the rumors about them. But emotionally, she still felt upset about being stood up.

But it had been carved in stone. She wasn't taken to the banquet and lost the chance to get the endorsement, and she couldn't do anything about that.

In the afternoon, Xander came to the classroom to observe their training, but he mainly stayed on the other side of the room, instructing the entry-level dancers. Eliana focused on her own practice. Since he didn't look over at her, she didn't look at him either.

He didn't owe her any explanations, and she knew that.

After a long, exhausting day, the dancers wrapped up their training and went to change their clothes before leaving.

Eliana went back to the female changing room. When she was about to open her locker, a colleague came to her, asking softly in a begging tone, "Eliana, can you do me a favor tomorrow?"

Eliana looked back at her. "What's up?"

"Could you help me with my Fouette? You can turn a million of it, but I lose my balance after only a few."

"Sure, no problem." Eliana didn't hesitate.

An apprentice rushed over when she saw that Eliana didn't refuse. "Can I join you tomorrow?"

"Sure," Eliana smiled. "A Fouette class tomorrow."

"You're the best, Eliana!" They thanked her and left after waving goodbye to her. Eliana waved them back, feeling a trace of ease.

It was a positive sign that her colleagues started to talk to her again. It meant things were coming back to normal. After all, the photo wasn't solid evidence, and everyone could see that neither she nor Xander was affected by the rumors, so the rumors eventually fell apart on their own.

Eliana opened her locker and checked her phone.

On the screen was a text received an hour ago.

She read it carefully, and then, widened her eyes in surprise.