Elected To Love

Chapter 5

When the ceremony began, the recipients were divided into groups that gave them the appearance of being powerful. Although the ceremony's conclusion made Aliara's parents and friends proud, all she felt was anxiety. Nevertheless, it ended sooner than she had anticipated.

She was forced to stand by Ivan right until the very end, and when it was all over, she was ready to leave. However, to her dismay, she was forced to stay with him for an additional fifteen minutes because Mr. Smith, the principal, would not stop talking about their duties as the SC presidents.

Both presidents let out a deep sigh as soon as Mr. Smith left, and this abrupt movement caused them to glance at one another. Ivan laughed at this but kept a smile to himself, as did Aliara.

With no one else around, he turned to approach Aliara, who was prepared to leave at any moment since she knew that if they spoke, she would be forced into a scenario that she didn't want to be in.

"Thank you and congratulations!" Ivan spoke, confusing the timid woman next to him. She looked at him sharply and asked, "Thank you? I can't recall doing anything to earn your gratitude." 

He answered, "Oh you certainly did," putting down the flowers he was holding and approaching her a little closer, which caused her to suddenly back off.

"You put me to challenge and inspired me to take on something which I didn't want to... How come you don't remember? You are the one who predicted that I wouldn't be chosen, right?" This time, he questioned in a playful tone that caused Aliara to narrow her eyes and gaze directly into his, understanding them, and letting her know that he was ready for a battle.  

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Belle and Guliana gave her the flowers and said, "Congratulations, you are officially starting your duties tomorrow-," as Aliara emerged from the ceremony hall in a fog and was embraced by Uma. 

After congratulating her, Belle stopped short of asking her any further questions in an attempt to figure out Aliara's expression.

Uma noticed that Belle was doing the same thing, so she withdrew the hug and snapped her fingers in front of Aliara's eyes, causing her to blink. When Aliara emerged from her stupor, the first thing she exclaimed was, "I AM BUSTED," which caused the other three to stare at her strangely.

Subsequently, they heard the others leave, and they saw Ivan leave with a large group of people behind him. He shouted to Aliara, who turned to face him, but he was already too close to her. 

The devil had moved again, bending down to kneel next to her ear. "Let's work together, President," he said, turning to leave after grinning slyly.  
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Aliara sat down calmly, gulping down half of the water bottle.
"Why are you thinking about him? You don't need to stay in touch with him, right? As you do you, and he does he?" Uma inquired about standing straight, but she had asked since she was unaware of how SC operated.

Aliara shook her head both ways, "The SC can't work separately as things are to be discussed together, and on top of that I have the meeting today."
"Aha, the meeting! I've had to go, but let's discuss this later, alright? Not right now." She remarked, standing up and grabbing Uma's hand to pull her away as she ran inside the council room.

Uma waited outside the room as the meeting began. Against her will, she was brought here for "emotional support." 

Uma kicked the bench before clenching her toes, "That hurts, right?" Federico sounded unpleasant from behind her. 

Uma turned back, scowling, and sat down on the bench with Federico by her side knowing very well that he was here for the same reason as her. 

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The meeting proceeded, and the first ten minutes were pleasing because the teachers were around, but as soon as the teachers departed, the two were left alone with the other council members. 

Santiago began, "Congratulations to our presidents." Ivan and Aliara then opened the meeting while receiving more congratulations from the group.

The majority of the terms regarding the SC's operation for this year were agreed upon by all, but Aliara was deep in thought as she noticed how everyone seemed to be happy with Ivan. 

When she spoke about his side, they were much more pleased, and her side of the council, which is primarily composed of girls, was essentially giving him the heart eyes.

Watching how they respond She glanced at Ivan's face to see whether he was so attractive, but to her dismay, he turned to face her. The next thing that happened surprised Aliara even more. 

Ivan stepped in front of her and asked, "Do you need anything?" Her head jolted back at the intense look, her heartbeat racing. "Nah, let's keep on," she said, clearing her throat, and the meeting continued till the start of the break.  

Ivan gave the papers related to the upcoming event to Santiago, who was now his deputy, as they concluded the discussion. After that, the others talked as they left the room to wrap up the first meeting of the year, leaving the presidents in the council room.

Ivan saw that Aliara had been staring at him for the entire meeting, so he turned to look back at her. "What thoughts do you have?" She cringed in response to his question, breaking eye contact.

He went on, "I know you are curious about something," to which Aliara nodded "Yeah, I am just surprised to see you doing some work as the head and for a fact that everyone from your side obeys your orders."

 Aliara explained making Ivan incline his head, flashing his trademark smile, and said, "Obviously, you were thinking that I'm an arrogant, lazy guy who just wants the position, and you're right—I am—but I also understand my responsibilities."

"Considering everyone else, why not follow my lead since they did select me?" Curious, he asked.

Aliara retreated, dissatisfied with Ivan, saying, "I am aware of how your electoral system operates." 

"Well, so that's the issue. Since I already knew about it, I was ready to demonstrate my innocence—which I don't need to, but it appears like I have to collaborate with Miss. Believes What She Sees, so I guess I have to?" Ivan scoffed while removing his tablet, to which Aliara adjusted herself into a far more comfortable posture.

However, before she could speak, Ivan had already opened his device and removed a crystal-clear screenshot of the election results. 

With haste, Aliara seized the tablet and perused the contents; to her dismay, Ivan had once again proven his merit and she had embarrassed herself. With only 2% more votes than Santiago, Ivan had won in the presidential race, with the results favoring him.  

Ivan grabbed the tablet out of Aliara's hands before she could swipe any farther, and he closed it quickly. "Oh no, you are not getting to see your results, just be happy that you won but I can assure you that you also won fairly," he teased, smiling so that Aliara felt like digging herself a hole.

Ivan laughed as he saw her reactions. "Let's make peace for now and I will erase this image of yours in my head," he said, putting out his hand. Aliara sighed and silently cursed him before taking his hand and agreeing to make peace, at this point, Ivan couldn't help but grin.  

~Maria