Loving The Heartless Man

Chapter 15

Elara Pov

"Congratulations, Elara! I knew you would win the contest." Liam handed me the beautiful trophy I won in the recently concluded designer's competition with great joy. If my friend expected me to win the contest, it was the opposite of what I thought. Many excellent fashion designers participated in the contest, so I did not expect to win. I was already happy if my design made it to the top ten, let alone winning. That's why I feel extremely happy right now.

Liam has just arrived from another country where the contest was held. My friend went there on my behalf and accepted the award. No matter what questions the reporters asked him about who EN was, they got no information from him. EN comes from Elara Nobleza, which is my real name. I used an alias because I didn't want anyone to know my true identity. I didn't become a fashion designer to be known by people and become famous, but to have my name and designs recognized as EN, a skilled fashion designer.

"You don't know it, but I feel like I'm floating right now because of immense happiness." No matter what I say, I can't describe how happy I feel right now. This is my first award, and it's an international award at that. This is a huge achievement for someone like me who can be considered a newcomer in the world of designers.

"This is just the beginning, bestie. I can feel that you will become famous one day. And on that day, it will be you who will receive the award on stage and not me," Liam commented, full of dreams.

I was momentarily stunned. I didn't know if what Liam said would really happen. Maybe if that happens, I will be the happiest person in the world.

"It's okay even if I'm not the one to receive the award, bestie. What's important is that my designs get recognized and our customers increase," I told him. I know that won't happen because of this illness that I don't even know if I can overcome.

Even one of the employees in our company did not congratulate me; instead, they congratulated Liam. But it's okay with me because none of them know that I am EN. Only Liam and I know about this.

"We should celebrate, bestie." He took the trophy from me and hid it in a cabinet with a lock where only he and I could open it. Then he held my arm and pulled me out of his house where we were. "Let's eat at a fancy restaurant. And since you won, I'll treat you today."

"Why are you treating? Shouldn't I be the one paying because I won, and as a thank you to you for going to accept my award?" I asked him, laughing.

"It's okay, my friend. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to step onto the international stage and be recognized by people."

I just smiled at him and let him do what he wanted.

Liam and I went to a fancy restaurant inside the mall. The food served in this restaurant is delicious, so it's worth your money even though the dishes are quite expensive.

After we placed our order, we waited for more than ten minutes before the food we ordered was served at our table.

"Cheers to the first award you won and to the next awards you will claim." Liam happily raised his glass filled with red wine in the air.

I smiled and mimicked what he did. "Cheers to the start of our company's boom." We both drank the red wine before starting to eat the food we ordered.

While we were eating, Liam suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Beshy Bestie. While I was at the event, I talked to an organizer of the Intercontinental Fashion Designer Contest. He asked if EN would like to participate in the contest? If you're interested, they will send you an invitation letter. The contest will start five months from now, so I kind of forgot to tell you even though it's important to you."

"Intercontinental Fashion Designer Contest," I softly said to what my friend mentioned. Isn't this the contest in my dream where I won?

"So, are you interested?"

"Yes, of course!" I quickly replied. Which fashion designer would refuse to participate in this contest? As far as I know, not all fashion designers can join. They only select the designers who can participate. Maybe because my design won a recent contest in another country and they liked my design, that's why they invited me to join.

"I knew you wouldn't refuse, so I immediately said yes to the organizer I talked to. Let's just wait for when they will send the invitation."

We happily continued eating. After we finished eating, Liam suggested that we watch a movie. Since we were already at the mall, we might as well go straight to relaxing. After Liam bought the tickets, he told me he was going to the bathroom to pee. He probably forgot that there was a restroom before entering the cinema, but I just let him be.

While I was waiting for him, suddenly, two women and a man with a mic and camera approached me. Based on their attire and the equipment in their hands, I guessed they were from the media.

"Are you the wife of Mr. Alexander Reed? Is it true that you forced him to marry you?" one of the female reporters asked me consecutively.

"How did you manage to snag a millionaire? Can you share it with us so we can also marry a rich and handsome man just like you?" another woman asked me.

I suddenly froze in place. It felt like something heavy was pressing on my chest. How did they find out about my marriage to Alexander? Was it Alexander who told them? Is this his way of making me willingly break up with him before the six months stated in the contract we signed?