While Corbin and Neil solved Orla's problems in the kitchen, they were outside. At the place where the party took place, the atmosphere was extremely lively, but in a certain corner, it seemed unaffected by that attraction.
Zane stood in an unseen corner, sipping a soda, eyes fixed on the open wooden door, nervously waiting for Clara to appear.
So impatient! Zane stood for a while and still did not see Clara. He felt restless, very upset, afraid that something bad would happen, if Clara ran away, everything would be ruined, this party would no longer have any meaning, and for some reason, that thought kept lingering. in his mind, but if Clara had left, the servant would have told him, Zane reassured herself, she must be getting ready, women usually take longer than men. His eyes did not leave the door, even though his heart was lost in negative thoughts.
That's it! he shouted, happy to see her appearance, but he was afraid of her after waking up and left. Clara was walking through the French doors to the backyard, where most of Zane's guests were dancing under the tarps to the loud music blaring from four loudspeakers. Now he can let go of his troubles, ease, and ease into the next step, hoping that everything will go as smoothly as he had always hoped. After seeing her, Zane was about to turn away but urged himself to linger to look at the beautiful Cinderella a little longer.
Zane watched without taking his eyes off, Clara was busy with the instructor, He moved a little to the side to get a better look at her. Clara was wearing her Cinderella dress, Her hair was pulled up in a high bun, a few curls falling around her smooth shoulders. She looked graceful and sexy, but also polite, beautiful, calm, and restrained. The mask covered her flaws.
The man who was instructing Clara to step aside then disappeared and he realized Sarah was there, right behind her. She is staring at her. Zane's hand tightened on the cup as he watched Sarah begin to move slowly closer to Clara.
Relax, Zane ordered himself. Sarah won't do anything to Clara. She just wanted to say a few words to you, damn it! What is she going to say to Clara? I hope Sarah doesn't say anything that affects Clara's psyche, or else he won't forgive her.
Sighing in frustration, he felt the heavy ring box in the pocket of his evening gown. In a few hours when the party's over, he will propose to her… Zane smiled. After she put his ring on her finger, surely someone would think twice before looking at her or intending to start a conversation with her. He seems to be referring to Gaara.
"Young master!" A voice behind him brought him back to focus: "Everything is ready, sir."
"I know, let's go."
Then he turned away, and definitely stopped looking at Clara, following the way the servant led the way, he walked while wearing a mask comfortably.
oOo
"Nom you're so beautiful." A voice raised to drown out the music rang in her ears: "That shirt suits you."
Clara could tell it was Sarah. There was a hint of jealousy in her voice when the one wearing it wasn't herself.
It's hard to believe that Sarah is still here, and yet Clara thinks she's gone, maybe Sarah is here to mock if she reveals her negligence? Clara knew she shouldn't think that way, but there was an inescapable fact that the two were hostile to each other, perhaps too harsh a word. But from the very beginning, Clara and Sarah were inseparable. Even now, as adults and all mature people, that hasn't changed. Of course, there was nothing Sarah could do about her now, but Clara knew better than anyone. She knew Sarah's nature hasn't changed, but she was just trying to suppress that evil nature, repress it somewhere dark inside if she didn't wake up maybe one day. There, evil resurfaced.
"Poor Cinderella." Sarah continued to stare at Clara's stare: "Did you just lose the white horse prince?"
"You think too much, Sarah." Clara walked away from the dance floor, away from the loud music, and walked to the table with new and delicious-looking dishes, her stomach was rumbling all this time, She kept her cool but polite manner, covering her face. hides the danger of an adrenaline surge every time she comes face to face with this sinister girl. Her heart skipped a beat she told herself was due to fatigue from a long sleep and waking with a hungry stomach.
"Why didn't you find him?" Sarah followed her, urging in her ear.
"Zane?" Clara asked, frowning, changing her jawline: "I don't think I need to."
"Really?" Sarah asked her in surprise, she couldn't believe that Clara could calmly let Zane be free in front of a forest of beautiful flowers. Does Clara trust Zane that much?
"Why not? Zane has a lot of guests to host, and I wouldn't mind bothering a busy person."
Clara walked faster, clearly trying to get away from Sarah. She patiently followed.
"There are too many guests," Sarah commented, her eyes darting over the layers of guests dressed in various costumes, and Clara had to agree. Zane's guest list must already include half the rich people in this Tokyo city.
Costumes are as diverse as the wearer. There are elaborate self-made sets, but most are rented.
Arlo, as dashing as Indiana Jones, is dancing with a mermaid. But not everyone is easy to recognize. The light from the Japanese lanterns hanging around the dance floor was extremely dim, and there were many people wearing masks that completely covered their faces.
It's weird and provocative - when everyone hides their identities. With faces hidden behind masks, everyone has a certain freedom. In one night, they can truly become kings, clowns, or veiled palace maids. Or... Cinderella.
Clara discovers the second Batman dancing with a Catwoman, and she has no clue who they are. At least three ninjas were scattered among the crowd, unrecognizable by their masked faces.
Who will Zane dress up as? Clara looked around wonderingly because she couldn't recognize anyone in the crowd if they didn't speak up. Suddenly Clara turned around, curious to know who Sarah was dressing up as, a certain princess or...? Curious she could die.
Clara partially removed her mask to get a better look at Sarah. She was wearing her favorite dress, a two-piece black dress. Her hair was in a high bun on her head, a few curls fell around her smooth shoulders, how is she today? untidy and fussy as usual, she looks indifferent to everything, including dressing herself up to impress and catch the eye. The butterfly mask made her unrecognizable, but it didn't hide her listless eyes, boredom, and lack of interest in everything around her.
Sarah looked tired. She didn't seem to mind the fact that her hair was hanging down her face, she ignored it and just looked through them. That annoyed Clara for her. Sarah had something to worry about, and Clara could guess what it was, for the first time she gave her the feeling of a normal person, it turned out that no matter how evil she was, her nature The kindness inherent from birth cannot be lost, regardless of the circumstances. Mother's love, filial piety! It was good when she realized she hadn't lost that precious affection.
Tsunade is so happy! Clara was momentarily ashamed of her filial piety.
"Are you okay?"
Clara waved her hand to get her attention.
"Of course I am..."
No matter how hard Sarah tried, she couldn't hide her thoughtfulness at the thought of her mother.
Sarah was speechless, quickly looking out at the colorful lights in the yard. In the dim light, her face looked sad.
Clara was taken aback.
In her memory, Sarah Chiba only had two emotional states. She is always fake and aloof, sometimes angry or careless. And only that. Clara used to wonder if Sarah had other mixed and mixed emotions. Sadness, pain, loneliness. Both are opposite emotions: happiness, excitement, love. Especially love.
Looking at her now, seeing the pain and loneliness etched on her face, Clara knew Sarah had all of those feelings. It's just that she hid them. Repressed in recent times.
What will it be like to remove all of Sarah's outer layers? What kind of person is hidden underneath? This thought piqued her curiosity. Obviously, Sarah was devastated by Tsunade's case and Zane's exposure as well. But before this point, she didn't believe Sarah could break down over anything.
In all the years of knowing her, Clara never thought there would be a time when she would go and comfort Sarah. At this moment, she never thought she needed it. But she clearly needed it. And if she were anyone else, Clara would put her arms around her and hug her tight. But standing in front of her was Sarah Chiba, the one who caused her so much suffering.
So Clara just touched her arm. Her hand is soft And warm. She could feel the heat of her body.
That is a silly thought. Of course, it wasn't cold to touch her, after all, she was a human being. Her behavior is cold. Not the body.
But when she glanced at her, surprised by the sudden touch, there was a flash of warmth and concern on her face.
This is the first time she's touched Sarah, Clara thought dreamily as she stared unblinkingly at the black and gold spots in her blue eyes. They've known each other for twelve years since Sarah set foot in Clara's house. , cautiously probing each other, fighting each other with a superficial attitude, jealous, in general, no one likes the other, but they have never touched each other. Isn't that so strange?
"I'm so sorry about what you're going through," Clara said, Looking down at her hand, she realized Sarah had covered it. Long slender fingers.
"Clara." She said softly, "Shouldn't you have forgiven me, a wretch like me, who didn't deserve to be treated so well?"
"Knowing you're ugly means there's still some good in your conscience, it's just sleeping, but now that you've woken it up, Sarah, everything can be started again."
"Really? is there still time for me?"
"It's never too late to turn around, it's never too late to redo your life."
"Clara Thank you, really thank you." Sarah choked up and said: "Even though I'm a terrible person, doing so many bad things to harm you, I really don't deserve your forgiveness, but you still do and comfort me. I'm certain. will cherish this opportunity, appreciate the tolerance you have given me."
Her voice sounded breathless.
Sarah looked into her eyes for a moment, and beyond the pain and weariness, she saw hope, warmth, and promise. Sarah let her see it all and more. She didn't try to hide anything from her. Another thing happened for the first time.
Clara shook her head: "It's over, I hope from now on you will be a completely new person."
Sarah was touched, feeling grateful and ashamed, she had done so many despicable things, but Clara was still willing to forgive and sincerely encouraged her to look forward. She held her hands tightly, choking and unable to speak, but suddenly a dark cloud came from nowhere, covering the small light that had just flashed, the sad cloud obscuring the ray of hope Clara just planted in her soul.
Sarah looked away from her, jerked her hand back, and glanced at the sea of ​​people moving on the dance floor: "I hope so too." She said, looking back at her: "But... Clara...I..."
Before she could finish, the music stopped and the lights in the garden went out. Those present, who had to be used to such situations, were very calm, only Clara was a little surprised standing next to Sarah, a little shy. It must also be her first time attending such a large-scale party.
The space was filled with white smoke, hazy and fuzzy, no one moved, and everyone turned their attention to the stage. A beam of light shines in the center, and instantly a dashing, noble prince appears, a silver mask covers his handsome face, and a proud expression can be seen on his smile. laugh. His deep black eyes shone with excitement, his special outfit was very similar to Prince Charming's pairing with Cinderella, he looked very elegant.
"Zane." Sarah involuntarily uttered. Standing next to her, Clara's face showed surprise.
Unexpectedly that person was him, Clara could easily tell who he was dressing up as, the person with Cinderella but who else. At first, he planned to dress up like a normal person, he would be himself, but after thinking about it, how the hell did he change and decide to dress up to suit Clara.
"It's too colorful, people think there's a fight if you do it too much." Corbin sighed, breaking the air as he stood next to his friends, all of whom were closest to Zane, but the tactician had no interest in thinking about Orla, who had never returned.
When everyone had turned their steady attention to him, the young man signaled for everyone to prepare for the next performance.
"There's going to be a special event tonight. Any girl present tonight, wearing those shoes, I'll marry Zane."
His voice was a bit low, his eyes had a smile, and his hand pointed to the bottom of the stage, towards the old housekeeper who was escorting the shelf, all quickly dispersed to make a way in the middle for the man.
"What? What the hell did Zane just say?"
Clara was surprised and quickly turned to ask Sarah, but Sarah's expression said it all, she was also stunned.
"As I said, do you understand?"
He raised his voice to ask the crowd, the sound of the crowd was whispering, and the table suddenly stopped.
"Are you ready ladies?"
He shouted through the microphone, raising his hand to create the atmosphere, the shock broken by the excitement and enthusiastic response of the crowd, especially the girls.
It's like a joke! but Zane decided it would happen.
The girls started to act, shuffling, jostling, jostling each other for the right to try first. This party suddenly turned into a fight for the princess's throne? Looking at the chaotic scene Clara was speechless.
It's creepy!
Clara was shocked and then stepped back, she had no intention of participating. Partly angry, how could he make this a joke?