Bring Your A Game, Mr

Despite the circumstances, Elise only smiled back at Jamie. After all, if it weren’t for the presence of

other people, she might have used this opportunity to tell Alexander the truth. However, it wasn’t the best

time to speak up given the number of people present. And so, she decided to take it step by step.

As a discerning man, Rudolph took notice of Alexander’s seeming interest in Elise and tried his best to

bring the topic around to both of them. Meanwhile, Jamie, who was seated nearby, was quick-witted

enough to resolve the awkward atmosphere.

However, Rudolph seemed not to cotton onto Jamie’s meaning and only occupied himself with debating

whether to arrange for H and Alexander to have some time alone after the dinner.

Most were aware of the unspoken rules that guided this industry, and Jamie knew that H’s reputation

would not suffer for her being alone with Alexander. Hence, he offered, “Want a smoke, Rudolph? Let’s

step outside for a smoke.”

Though somewhat reluctant to leave, Rudolph agreed to Jamie’s proposal with a smile. “Sure. We’ll be

back soon, Young Master Alex.”

With that, they walked out of the room one after the other. Without Rudolph there to get in the way, the

atmosphere between Elise and Alexander began to change subtly.

For a long moment, the room was silent. After a while, Alexander slowly spoke. “You have a beautiful

voice, Miss H, and you've been doing very well in the industry. Why did you retire?”

She lifted her eyes and stared at him. As their eyes met, the both of them jolted like they had been

shocked and Elise was the first to look away.

It feels too familiar, Alexander thought to himself with a frown. It feels just like when Elise and I look at

each other. Why do I keep seeing Elise in her? Are they related in some way?

Now that he actually thought about it, they both had the same last name. Does that mean the both of

them are biologically related?

Before Alexander could pursue that line of thought, Elise murmured, “I retired previously due to a vocal

cord injury. Since I thought I could never sing again, I chose an appropriate time to leave the scene. After

treatment, however, my vocal cords healed. I didn’t want to return—you could say I never thought about

it—but in the end, I came back for a friend. She lost her memory, but she was always a fan of my music

before that. What I’m hoping for is to bring back her lost memories using my music.”

“I see. You must prize your relationships very much. It must be a blessed thing to be your friend.”

Though his tone of voice was sincere, she simply commented, “Thank you, but I’m only doing what I can.

I’ll leave the rest up to fate.”

By now, Alexander was feeling not only did Joy remind him strongly of Elise, but they spoke very

similarly as well. How could there be two people in this world who looked so different and yet seemed so

alike?

“May I take the liberty of asking you a question, Miss Sinclair?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have a twin or a biological sister?”

And just like that, Elise felt her heart skip a beat. At first, she thought Alexander had discovered

something but since he was only staring at her in confusion, she could only tell him, “I’m an only child.

There are no other children in my family.”

Assuming he had jumped to conclusions, Alexander was quick to apologize. “I’m sorry. I only asked

because I thought you were very similar to someone I know. Please don’t take it to heart.”

Yet, Elise asked curiously, “Who are you talking about? Is it the woman you love? I heard you have a

fiancée… I wonder what she’s like.”

The statement was thrown out reflexively, and Elise wished for nothing more than to be able to bite off

her own tongue the moment she finished speaking. Why do I have to complicate things for myself?

Yet, there was a part of her that hoped to be able to hear what Alexander thought of her through

someone else’s ears.

“I wonder if you can read minds, Miss Sinclair, because the woman that I said was similar to you is

indeed my fiancée. She is someone I feel very comfortable with.”

Somewhat surprised by his reply, Elise opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by the

room door flying open as Jamie and Rudolph walked in.

“Miss H! Young Master Alex! What are you both talking about?”

“Nothing. We were merely chatting.”

With that, Rudolph dropped the topic.

It was evident that he dared not force Elise and Alexander together again after Jamie’s skillful

manipulation of the scenario. Thus, the dinner came to a perfect end.

On the way home, Elise looked out of the window as Jamie drove and couldn’t resist asking, “Do you

think Alexander could have found out about my identity a long time ago, Jamie?”

“Why do you say that, Boss?” Jamie questioned, puzzled.

In truth, she didn’t have a concrete explanation. It was only that Alexander had stared at her strangely

prior to leaving, and that careful recollection of their conversation made her feel like he wouldn’t have

asked her whether she had a sister if he hadn’t realized something was amiss.

“Forget it. I was planning to tell him the truth, anyway, so even if he knows, he’s only finding out a little bit

beforehand. It’s no big deal.”

“It’ll be fine, Boss! You didn’t do anything wrong—you were only keeping your identity hidden. He

shouldn’t blame you for that.”

Pursing her lips, Elise muttered, “Let’s drop the topic. I don’t want to think about it anymore. The fan

meeting is tomorrow, so make sure you get some rest once you go home.”

With that, Jamie speedily ferried her back to the Griffith Residence before driving off on his own.

Unbeknownst to Elise, there was a slender figure on the balcony of the top floor, watching as Jamie

disappeared into the night. At this moment, Alexander sucked in a deep breath as his eyes darkened.

“You’re finally back, Miss Elise! Young Master Alex has been looking for you ever since he got home.

When he found out you weren’t home, he was worried sick. You’d better go say hi to him. He’s on the top

floor!” Stella announced, prompting Elise to hum a reply before putting down her bag and heading

upstairs.

Unexpectedly, Elise bumped into the man in question once she turned a corner. “Why are you standing

here?”

Staring closely at her, Alexander ignored her question in favor of asking, “Where have you been? Why

have you returned so late?”

And so, she had no choice but to say, “I wanted to relax after my exams, so I went out for dinner with my

friends.”

“Oh? Which friends?”

Despite the mild evenness to his tone, Elise was starting to realize that something was off. Lifting her

gaze, she answered with a smile, “My classmates! Why? Did you need something?”

Just like that, Alexander looked even more somber. The one thing he was most scared of in life was

being deceived, and she had just looked him in the eye and lied to him.

Before she came back, he had had Danny ask Elise’s friends for her whereabouts. Not a single one of

them had set up a meeting to have dinner with her, not to mention that she had just been dropped off by

a man. Even so, Alexander had chosen to trust her until she lied straight to his face.

“It’s fine. Get some rest.”

The response made Elise’s eyelid twitch. After all, she had sensed the change in his mood, but his anger

had dissipated so quickly that it left her feeling like she had imagined things.

“You should get some rest as well.” With that, she strode upstairs and back to her room, shutting the

door without thinking further about the incident until her cell phone chimed several times in rapid

succession. Quickly, she pulled it out and discovered a slew of messages from Danny.

‘Where are you, Boss? Alex is looking for you.’

‘Say something, Boss. Don’t make us worry!’

‘Why aren’t you picking up my calls? Call me back as soon as you see this message.’

‘Boss! Boss! Boss!’

And it went on and on.

Dumbfounded, Elise stared down at the messages. Having not expected to receive so many

notifications, she had put her phone on silent mode that evening and was only now finding out that

Alexander had been looking for her.

Hurriedly, she replied to Danny’s messages and informed him that she had returned so he wouldn’t

worry. With that, she put the thought out of her mind, took a quick shower and fell sound asleep.

The night passed smoothly and Elise did not wake up until the next morning. Although her clock told her

there were only a few hours left before her fan meeting, she did not feel hurried in the slightest and only

took her time to wash up and get changed. By the time she made herself presentable, Mikayla was

already downstairs waiting for her.

“Why are you so slow, Elise?” Mikayla couldn’t help complaining upon seeing her.

Taken aback to see Mikayla there, Elise asked in surprise, “Were you waiting for me?”