Chapter 8 Eight

Elara's daily life seemed the same for some time. She went to and from college with Alfred driving her-except on days when Rayyan taught at her campus, and his schedule lined up with hers.

Rayyan's admirers on campus were growing in number. This was obvious by the increasing number of female students transferring to Elara's class or attending Rayyan's lectures twice in one day, even skipping their main classes to do so.

Due to the class exceeding its capacity and their disruptive presence, Rayyan was eventually forced to remove them if they weren't on the official attendance list.

His actions were met with unhappy protests, pouting, and even flirtations from the female students who insisted on staying. But Rayyan, with a sweet smile, still refused to let them remain.

Three weeks had passed since Rayyan became her professor. Up until now, Elara hadn't told anyone who Rayyan really was-not Divya, not Gio.

The first reason was that she didn't want anyone to know about their relationship status, and the second was that Rayyan himself, indirectly, seemed to suggest she shouldn't tell anyone.

This was evident because when she "had" to go home with Rayyan, he always chose the location where he would pick her up. Usually, he picked her up at different, secluded places to ensure no one from campus would find out.

When Elara asked why he had to do that, Rayyan replied, "So that none of my students see us."

That alone made Elara realize that Rayyan didn't want anyone to know about their relationship. But out of curiosity, she still asked another question. "Then why bother taking me home?"

He simply shook his head and answered, "Ela, my love, don't you know that if you ask Alfred to return to campus and pick you up, you're contributing to air pollution, traffic congestion, and wasting fuel and labor?" He spoke as if he were a mother lecturing her child.

"Then convince Granny Ada to let me take public transportation instead. It's simpler, reduces traffic, lessens Uncle Alfred's workload, and saves fuel," Elara suggested. Rayyan responded with another shake of his head. "Why? Are you scared to talk to grandma?" she teased.

Rayyan shook his head again. "It's not that I'm scared. I just love my mom and don't want to worry her by making her worry about you. So just accept the benefits that come with being driven around by a handsome, well-established man admired by many, like me."

Elara pouted and rolled her eyes. "What's there to accept? If this keeps up, I'll just end up exhausted," she muttered, which only made Rayyan chuckle.

Elara turned on her phone and connected it to Rayyan's car audio via Bluetooth without asking for permission anymore. She played her favorite songs, which changed genres from time to time-something Rayyan thankfully never complained about-and began humming along.

Whenever she went home with Rayyan, she chose not to chat unless there was something she 'needed' to discuss. Otherwise, she preferred to stay quiet, watching the road while listening to music. However, during many of their drives, Rayyan spent his time on the phone with someone Elara assumed was a work colleague. So instead of blasting the car's audio, Elara would pull out her large headphones, put them on, and play her music loud enough so she wouldn't overhear his conversations.

Elara glanced at Rayyan when she realized he was driving in a different direction than usual. "Where are we going?" she asked, confused, as she kept watching the road. "You're not planning to kidnap me and sell me to the mafia, right?" she teased, to which Rayyan responded with a laugh.

"You have an uncle who's in the mafia-why would you be afraid of them?" he teased back, reminding her of her aunt's husband. "I'm not going to kidnap you. We're just stopping by somewhere," Rayyan said, offering no further explanation.

After driving for several more minutes, Rayyan pulled into a luxurious apartment complex that Elara suspected must be expensive.

"This isn't Uncle Meizar's apartment," Elara remarked suddenly. Rayyan, who was steering the car into the apartment's basement parking, nodded.

"Who are we meeting?" she asked.

"Someone," Rayyan answered cryptically.

"Don't tell me you're meeting up with some girl for a date, and you're using me as a decoy!" she accused, sounding irritated.

"Bingo!" Rayyan answered with a smile on his face as he parked the car in an empty spot and got out. Meanwhile, Elara sat in her seat with her arms crossed over her stomach, pouting.

"Come on, get out," Rayyan urged, opening her door.

"No way! Why would I want to watch someone go on a date? I'd rather stay here!" she said stubbornly, pulling the door shut again.

"Elara, my love," Rayyan reopened the door. "I'm not going on a date. I'm meeting with an interior designer. I just bought an apartment."

"You bought a new apartment?!" Elara asked, shocked. Rayyan nodded in response. "But you promised you'd stay at home with Granny and Grandpa!" she accused, sounding concerned.

It wasn't that she didn't want Rayyan to leave Grandpa Altezza and Granny Ada's house, but she could already imagine how sad they'd be if their youngest child chose to live independently, just like Elara's uncle, Meizar, had done.

"I'm not planning to move here," Rayyan said, pulling her out of the car. He locked the car with his remote and guided her toward the elevator. Elara followed without much resistance. "Consider it a property investment," he added, pressing the elevator button.

Elara furrowed her brow, casting a suspicious look at Rayyan. "A real investment, or some sort of cover-up investment?" she asked, her tone accusing.

"What do you mean?" Rayyan asked, confused.

He glanced down at Elara, who looked back up at him with a suspicious expression.

"You know, like buying an apartment as a cover so you can sneak women in and do inappropriate things," she hinted, raising an eyebrow.

"All I know is, if you're not using Uncle Meizar's apartment, you're using Uncle Ignazio's penthouse," Elara said accusingly. "And because you didn't want to seem cheap, you went ahead and bought your own apartment." She continued, her tone mocking.

The elevator doors opened, and Rayyan stepped inside first, followed by Elara. He pressed the button for the floor they were heading to, and the elevator began to rise.

"I'm not freeloading. Meizar always asked me to stay with him," Rayyan defended himself, to which Elara scoffed.

"Yeah, stay with him to do inappropriate things. You two are just the same," Elara grumbled, prompting Rayyan to playfully mess up her hair out of amusement. "Uncle, ugh!" she protested, swatting at his hand, though Rayyan kept his grip on her head, gently but firmly holding onto her skull as he laughed at her annoyance.

Only when Elara stopped struggling did Rayyan finally release her. She pouted, fixing her hair in the elevator's mirrored walls.

"And what do you know about inappropriate things?" Rayyan teased, pulling at her bun again, forcing Elara to tilt her head back.

"UNCLE! You're so annoying!" Elara yelled, stomping on his foot with her sneakers. Rayyan yelped in surprise, unable to dodge in the confined space. "Take that!" she grumbled, smoothing her hair once more.

The elevator doors opened, and Elara quickly stepped out ahead of Rayyan, trying to avoid him and his teasing hands. She kept a couple of steps behind, allowing Rayyan to lead the way while maintaining her distance. They walked down the hall, and Rayyan entered a code on the door of one of the units.

"Finally, you're here!" a woman's excited voice could be heard from inside as the door opened.

Elara peeked in and saw a stylish woman wearing an off-shoulder white top with long sleeves, a red leather skirt that stopped mid-thigh, and twelve-centimeter stiletto pumps. The woman raised her face and briefly kissed Rayyan on the lips.

Rayyan smiled and accepted the woman's kiss without hesitation, while Elara could only turn her face away, feeling uncomfortable.

"Have you been waiting long?" Rayyan asked, his tone apologetic.

The woman, with her dark brown, shoulder-length curly hair, pouted playfully. "No, I just got here too," she replied in a sugary voice that made Elara cringe.

"Thank goodness I didn't keep you waiting. I'd be ashamed of myself if I made a woman as beautiful as you wait," Rayyan said in a teasing tone that only deepened Elara's disgust.

'He doesn't like making others wait, but he's happy to leave 'me' waiting? So unfair! What an annoying man!' Elara thought, her frustration bubbling up, causing her to accidentally make a gagging noise that caught the attention of the couple.

"Who's she?" the woman asked, giving Rayyan a curious look.

"Oh, she's my niece," Rayyan said with a smile, waving at Elara, signaling her to come closer. "This is Elara. Elara, meet Diana Lynn. She's the interior designer who's going to help me design this apartment," Rayyan introduced.

Diana Lynn smiled warmly and extended her hand. Elara, feeling a bit awkward, accepted it and shook her hand properly.

"Elara, Aunty," Elara greeted politely after Diana introduced herself.

"Why are you calling me 'aunty'?" the woman asked, frowning in confusion.

Elara blinked at her, then shrugged. "Because you're my uncle's friend," she answered plainly. "It feels disrespectful to just call you by your name." She added with a slight smirk, which made Rayyan chuckle.

"Let her call you whatever she wants," Rayyan said, waving it off. "So, have you come up with a concept for the unit?" he asked, and the woman nodded in response, making Elara feel like she had become invisible.

Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, which was peppered with flirty touches and playful comments, Elara decided to explore the apartment on her own. She wandered from room to room, inspecting the bedrooms, bathrooms, and other empty spaces. The apartment was spacious and entirely unfurnished, so she finished her tour quickly. When she returned to the largest room, Rayyan and his guest were still deep in conversation.

Elara thought about interrupting them but didn't want to come across as a rude, spoiled teenager. Instead, she slipped into what she assumed would be the master bedroom, gently closing the door behind her.

"Such a sleazy man. He said they were here to discuss work, but all they're doing is flirting," she muttered to herself, glaring at the door in frustration. "If I'd known it'd turn out like this, he could've just had Uncle Alfred pick me up. By now, I'd already be home, lying in my bed." She continued to grumble as she walked over to the corner by the window and sat down cross-legged on the floor, even though the room was completely unfurnished-aside from the long sofa in the living room where her uncle and his guest were seated.

Pulling out her phone from her bag, Elara placed her large headset over her head and opened her music gallery. After adjusting the volume to a comfortable level, she leaned back against the wall behind her, resting her head against the wall to her right, and closed her eyes.