Taking in the way her eyes were wandering around, she couldn't stop herself from inquiring about her. "Who exactly are you looking for?"

"Huh?" The words made Elena to turn her attention back to the host of the banquet. "I am sorry for my absent mindedness. It's just, I was looking forward to seeing someone here."

After giving the lady before her a scrutinizing gaze, Stella grabbed her elbow and dragged her to a corner where no one was around. "If Carston has sent you her, then that old fool must have done it for me. Based on how much I know about him, he clearly made a deal with you. So, who's the person he promised you that you will find here? Don't tell me it's that creepy son of his?"

For some unknown reason, Stella was feeling at ease in her presence and felt like she could trust the lady. So based on the familiar vibes she was giving off to her, she decided to be straightforward with her words.

"Aren't you worried that I may be a spy sent by someone who means harm to you? Aren't you being too overly relaxed with someone you have just met?" Elena gave her a skeptical look in response to her words from earlier. Though she liked the woman before her, in no way would she show that to her and provide her with some satisfaction.

"I may seem easy going, but I am not stupid. You wouldn't have mentioned the old man's name before me if that was the case. Beside me and him, nobody knows that we have met for even once, let alone that we are on talking terms now. And if you really are sent by him, then I don't mind being frank with you." She took a brief pause to catch her breath.

"Moreover, based on the amount of overprotective people who have my back, nobody can lay a finger on me." Stella gave her a devilish smile before continuing. "Now, enough about me. Let's talk about you. Who's the person?"

Elena couldn't help but let out a chuckle after hearing her confident words. "No wonder the old man has a soft spot for you." She shook her head with an amused expression gracing her lips. "Since I am getting the same vibes from you, I will tell you the truth. I am looking for a girl who's almost around your age."

"What do you have to do with a girl here?" With a curious gaze, Stella continued to pester her while cursing herself internally. 'Dang! These pregnancy hormones are definitely affecting my brain. Since when do I crave for some gossip?'

"She's supposed to be my step sister." Elena replied to her with a sad smile. "The step sister I don't even remember much about. It's been like six to seven years since I last saw her. After turning sixteen, she suddenly disappeared to nowhere. I just want to bring her back home. Though we only share a father, she was the only real family I had then. After searching hell and back, I found out that she was here all this while."

Stella let out a low hum in response to her words. Growing up without any siblings, she couldn't relate to what the lady before her was going through. But she could at least understand the pain of losing one's only family, maybe she could feel it better than her. "So, you think she will be here tonight." Her words were more of a statement instead of a query. That was what she could conclude from her words so far.

"Yeah! At least that's what he said to me." Elena shrugged her bare shoulders which were peeping out of her off shoulder gown with a bored expression. "I don't know if I will be able to recognize her now or not." She let out a long tired sigh. "All I have left of her is our memories. We barely get to spend any time together even then because I was here in Berlin while she used to stay back with my mother and our father. The day she disappeared, all of her pictures also did."

"Are you sure that your family wasn't involved in it in anyway?" The words escaped Stella's lips before she could stop them. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have said it." She apologized to her right away thinking it was better to accept her mistake than turn a blink eye towards it.

"Oh, no! It's actually fine. I doubt the same. I even tried to confront them regarding the matter, but they would just always move the topic to something else. They are good at covering their tracks, but not that good at playing it cool. The bad thing is, my family is a bit complicated, and since I cannot do anything to them, I decided to focus on looking for her." Elena answered her, keeping her voice low so that no one else could even catch a whisper of the matter they were discussing.

"So, how did you manage to find out about her whereabouts?" Stella questioned her.

"The old man helped me." She replied to her only to get a quizzical look in response.

Taking in a deep breath. "Well, you might not believe me at the moment, but the old man isn't half bad. He sort of helped me a couple of years ago as well in getting away from that a**hole son of his. But that only made my life more troublesome. So, I decided to ask her and coincidentally, she was here in Berlin all this time, the very city I ran away from. I wonder how is that even possible? I stayed here for like five more years here after she went missing."

"So, you trust the old man?" Stella raised her delicate eyebrows at the lady before her.

"Oh, yeah? He isn't that bad." Elena replied to her causally. "But, I don't see her around." She let her eyes roam around the hall once again, only to be met with the same result.

"Umm.. most of my guests have arrived already except for a few, but they are my friends and family." Seeing the sad look on her face, Stella tried to think of a way to help her out. "Can you at least share her name with me? Maybe I could help you with finding her, but only if you are okay with that."

"I don't know if she still goes by the same name. But since you are asking, her name was Lillian. I used to call her Lilly." Elena's reply only left her baffled.

"Did you say Lillian?" Stella asked her to make sure that she hasn't heard wrongly.

"Why do you seem like you know her?"

The question rang in her ears, but she was too shocked to force any words out of her mouth. If her doubts were correct, then the Lillian she knows and the Lillian who's name was just mentioned must be the same person.

"I hope that I am not wrong." Muttering under her breath, Stella walked away from the lady, only leaving the lady confused.

******

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