Lost in the Maze: Elias de Marcel

Kabanata 9

KABANATA 9

Atasha's POV

Carrying the champagne bottle, I headed to the hotel restroom. Upon entering, I immediately locked the door and walked slowly toward the large mirror in the restroom. Carefully, I placed the bottle in the sink and then examined my reflection in the mirror.

As I noticed the tears slowly welling up in my eyes, I quickly bent down to the sink and splashed water on my face. Even though I washed my face to numb the warmth of my tears, I still couldn't stop the gentle quiver of my shoulders and the suppressed sob trying to escape my lips.

I tightened my grip on the faucet as I remained bowed, allowing myself to be consumed by tears and soft sobs. I could hardly catch my breath from the intensity of holding back from breaking into loud sobs. The heaviness in my chest was so intense, that I wanted to scream, I wanted to curse. But no words came out, no words could describe the pain I was feeling.

No words were uttered. I just let myself be in that state until my sobs slowly subsided on their own, and then I stopped and softly laughed at myself. I knew it seemed crazy to cry and then laugh afterward, but I didn't want to continue crying. Because I knew this wasn't me, I didn't want to appear weak.

So instead of wallowing and dropping to the floor because of the crying, I looked up at the mirror. I took a deep breath before taking out the makeup remover from my pouch and gently wiping the makeup off my face. Once I was sure it was all gone, I applied a bit of foundation and blush to my face. I also put on bright red lipstick and carefully fixed my hair.

"I'm Atasha Celestine, not just Atasha Celestine," I whispered to myself. Before I left the bathroom, I glanced at the champagne bottle I brought earlier and threw it in the trash, then walked out of the bathroom as if nothing had happened inside.

I was in the hallway, walking back to the room where the celebration was taking place. I wasn't sure what was happening there or if Elias was already there. I was about to turn right when Elias suddenly emerged from a door leading to the hotel balcony. We both froze, Elias unsure if he should approach or wait for me to make the move.

But I didn't move; I just smiled naturally at him, signaling that everything was okay. Bumuntong hininga siya bago dahan-dahang lumapit at bigla akong niyakap nang mahigpit. Sandali akong natigilan, ngunit di nagtagal ay tinanggap ko na rin ang kanyang yakap. Makalipas ang ilang saglit, kumalas siya, at tinitigan niya ako sa mata. Pinilit kong panatilihing walang bakas ng anumang emosyon ang mukha ko.

Subalit, ang hindi ko matanggap ay kung paano niya ako kayang tignan nang diretso sa mata matapos ang lahat ng kanyang mga kasinungalingan. Paano niya nagagawang kumilos na parang walang nagawang mali sa harap ko, Elias? Paano?

I tightened my grip on what I was carrying and continued to smile. "Where did you go? Why did you take so long? Did you go somewhere?" I asked one after the other.

"I just went to get some fresh air and chat with some acquaintances, that's why it took me a while," he replied. I wanted to laugh at his obvious lie.

"Really? Okay, let's go," I invited, making an effort to ignore what he said.

He linked arms with me and we walked back to the party together. We were greeted with smiles by the other guests, while Diovanni was coming down from the stage and he noticed us, so he quickly approached.

"Where were you, Elias?" Diovanni asked his cousin with a hint of annoyance. "You're supposed to be the spokesperson but you suddenly disappeared? Where did you go?" Dio added, unable to hide his irritation.

"Just calm down, I was just taking a break," Elias stubbornly replied before he pulled me away. Dio seemed puzzled and furrowed his brow as he observed Elias's unusual behavior.