Elara's birthday party was still going on.
The house, usually so quiet, was now filled with music drifting from speakers placed in every corner of the garden. The guests chatted among themselves while enjoying the food that had been prepared.
But all that festivity felt so far away to Elara.
She sat alone in a corner of the garden, letting the guests' laughter and conversation pass her by.
Honestly, she had never wanted this party.
Elara hadn't even invited a single one of her school friends.
Everyone attending tonight was a business associate of Adrian Nicholas Ashbourne's, along with colleagues who had once worked with her late father.
To Elara, getting older was not something worth celebrating.
Her birthday had lost its meaning ten years ago.
On the night her parents were murdered right in front of her.
Those memories had never truly gone away.
Every time she closed her eyes, the shadows of that night returned.
And every time she opened them...
Her goal remained the same.
Find the person responsible for their deaths.
"Are you sure you just want to sit here in silence?"
A man's voice shattered her reverie.
"At least go talk to the guests."
Elara didn't need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to.
Nolan Bryce Ashbourne.
Adrian Nicholas Ashbourne's only son.
And the only cousin she had.
Nolan stood beside her for a moment before finally sitting down as well.
Elara said nothing.
She knew Nolan wouldn't leave just because she ignored him.
"I heard you want to join Dominion."
Nolan looked at her for a few seconds.
"Are you serious?"
Elara remained silent.
Her silence was answer enough.
Nolan exhaled softly.
"My father did give you permission to choose your own path."
He paused for a moment.
"But I hope you'll think it over one more time."
Elara continued looking toward the garden.
Her gaze was empty.
"I won't change my mind." Her answer was brief.
Flat.
Without a hint of hesitation.
Nolan lowered his head for a moment. "You know the risks."
"I know."
Nolan shook his head slowly. "You only know what you've been shown all this time."
Elara finally turned to him.
For the first time that night, their eyes met.
"What do you mean?"
Nolan fell silent.
Several seconds passed before he shook his head.
"Forget it."
Elara studied him for a moment.
She knew Nolan had almost said something. Something he had ultimately decided to hold back.
"Okay, just leave me alone."
Nolan smiled faintly.
A smile that looked more like resignation.
"All right."
He rose from his seat.
But only a few steps after leaving Elara, he stopped again.
Without turning around, Nolan said quietly,
"Julian Reid Walker. He's coming home tomorrow."
Elara's heart seemed to stop beating for one second.
That name...
She hadn't heard it in years.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze toward Nolan.
"So...?" Nolan finally turned around. "Are you still sure you won't change your decision?"
The next day, Elara arrived at school five minutes before the bell rang.
She never came early.
To her, arriving on time was far better than spending the morning on unnecessary conversations.
Though nearly every student knew who she was, Elara was not the type of person people could easily approach.
Her perpetually calm face and cold attitude made most people choose to keep their distance.
And Elara had never had a problem with that.
She hadn't come to school to make friends.
When she reached the classroom, Elara went straight to her seat by the window.
She took a book from her bag and began reading while waiting for the bell to ring.
Several students greeted her.
Some merely nodded.
Others smiled.
Elara returned each greeting with a brief nod before sinking back into her book.
Her deskmate arrived a few minutes later.
The girl sat down without saying much.
She was already used to seeing Elara absorbed in a book every morning.
Not long afterward, the bell rang.
The noise in the classroom gradually died down.
Elara closed her book.
She put it back in her bag, then took out her textbook and school supplies.
That was when the classroom door opened.
The homeroom teacher entered the room.
All the students instinctively stood to greet her.
But Elara's attention wasn't on the teacher.
Her gaze stopped instead on the figure walking a few steps behind her homeroom teacher.
"...Today, we're welcoming a transfer student."
The homeroom teacher motioned for the boy to come forward.
Elara no longer heard what her teacher was saying.
Every sound in the classroom suddenly felt distant.
That name.
That face.
That gaze.
Julian Reid Walker.
Impossible.
The boy who should never have returned...
Now stood only a few yards in front of her.
"Please introduce yourself."
Julian stepped forward.
Then...
His gaze slowly shifted toward Elara.