Elected To Love

Chapter 20

The council members, who were now seated in the changing area, cheered enthusiastically at Ivan's statements. They couldn't believe it was all coming to an end, with such a spectacular exhibit.

Zara said, "I swear to God I was fed up with the teachers' ignorance on this matter, oh- you both didn't tell us that you were looking for evidence," which made the two giggle somewhat.

"Yes, it was Mr. Emerson who came up on Tuesday saying he had someone who had come forward with a straight-up confession and that's how we started to gather all the shreds of evidence" Aliara replied while the rest of the group nodded.

"You could have asked us too," Saint murmured, but Ivan placed a hand on his shoulder as if to reassure him, "You have done a lot actually, you all helped us to keep up with the exhibition arrangements while we were distracted," to which Saint grinned brightly.

Aliara was simply relieved that everything was finished as she relayed the events to Uma and Bella.

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.

"Feeling relieved?" Ivan's voice boomed in the hallway as he approached a lost Aliara, who stood supporting the wall, sipping her mango juice as Uma worked on the side boxes stored on the bench opposite them.

Looking at him, she smiled and nodded. "That's good to hear," he added as Uma handed him juice on her way out. "I'll take these to the changing area for the others," she added, giving the two nods.

Aliara sighed looking at the disappearing figure of Uma as thoughts rushed in her head. "Without them, we wouldn't have been able to do it," she said making Ivan nod who took a seat on the bench while Aliara stood there.

"Thank you for being strong, Carina," he remarked abruptly, causing Aliara to turn to him, only to see his eyes flash sparkling and proud. 

She giggled at his comment, "What did I even do, on top of that, I was scared of defying the teacher-" she started before being cut off as her hand was yanked and her body was shoved next to Ivan's on the bench.

"You talk too much," he observed, still holding her hand as he proceeded, "Don't think much of it; I spoke with Mrs. Smith before she left the exhibition. She says the police would stay at the school for the following week to guarantee that nothing goes wrong again."

Her face brightened up as she said, "That's great!" The two were silent for a bit before Ivan spoke up, "Oh, by the way, Federico is doing much better with Sofia."

Aliara nodded and continued, "That's good, I talked with Sofia the other day and I did ask her about Andrew and...." She paused and concluded, "Well let's just leave it there," clasping her hands together which made Ivan scoff.

"Oh, come on, tell me," he confronted her, to which she narrowed her eyes in worry, "She- she told me that it was difficult for her and that she did not regret it," her voice came out cranky in nervousness as she scoffed at the end.

"Woah, what did I even expect from her!" Ivan cursed his angry tone, and Aliara cleared her throat. "Yeah, it's alright, let's just let them handle it," she murmured, patting his shoulder.

Ivan scoffed, "Fine? I didn't like her from the start, but this Federico is a dumb kid," he remarked, adding to the blaze, and Aliara sought to change the subject, knowing how easily this guy might blow up.

"Ah- yeah, you didn't tell me yet about the 'no' thing?" She asked quickly, changing the subject and capturing Ivan's attention, his expression puzzled. "What was the purpose of that one time you told me to type and share a 'no'? Did you use it for anything?"

She enquired again, hoping to get Ivan to remember one of their previous chats, and grimaced when she heard Ivan say,

"Why are you so curious about it, Darling?" His words became more seductive than she could have imagined as he placed one arm on the desk behind her shoulders, narrowing the smallest gap between them.

Aliara's eyes dilated with the quick motions, and she gasped hard as she realized how close they were. "I- I'm curious," she said, her voice barely audible as her ears grew crimson.

Ivan inched closer to her face, now looking at her expressions, only to be pushed back, "Just tell me" she yelled, trying to keep a distance again, which made the latter laugh.

"It was a bet, nothing else," he explained, and Aliara looked at him surprised. "F-Federico asked me to ask you out," he said suddenly, widening Aliara's eyes. "And I bet you would say no," he added, and Aliara chuckled loudly, disappointed.

"That's very dumb," she muttered, getting up from their settled position. "So you used your cunning mind and won it even without asking me?" She enquired, and Ivan made a little bow, "Yes, Your Highness," his tone witty.

Aliara shook her head, "You are unbelievable," she said as they headed towards the event hall, laughing.

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.

"This guy surely likes you!!" Uma yelled at Aliara, who snickered in return.

"No, he doesn't!" Aliara said, receiving a whack on the head,

"He does!" "Certainly does; you are only blind if you say no," Uma stated.

"Then Yes I AM BLIND!" Aliara closed her eyes, causing Uma to huff in amazement and gulp down the icy soda as she backed up into her picnic chair.

After being abandoned by the other two ladies in the group, the two were now sitting on Uma's patio, enjoying a barbecue. They had met for a revision session for the Biology exam, which was scheduled for two days later.

The students were aware of what had happened and were happy with Nelson's arrest. Overall, the week finished on Thursday, allowing students to have a long weekend and a study day on Friday.

The four had already arranged to have a study session for the approaching exam, but when Aliara arrived at Uma's house, the two discovered they were the only ones free since the other two had to attend a family gathering.

So the two girls decided to have a small barbecue on the terrace top because the air was soothing enough for them to study with clear minds, but Uma had not anticipated that they would get into a disagreement over a certain 'Head Boy' during their break-chat session.

"I am done with you," Uma said, standing up and pulling out the cooked chicken skewers; Aliara, in turn, rolled her eyes and returned to her revision notes.

"Aliara," Uma yelled out to her, filling her dish as if to entice her to listen further. "I don't trust men and I don't trust this head boy of yours either" Aliara turned to face her as she put down her book. "That's a very controversial thing to say, Uma," she added, making Uma cringe.

"Yeah, but whatever. Let's get to the topic. He calls you names, and what was that, C-Carina, and Your Highness, oh God, and what happened up to this point?" Uma took a pause.

"It all shows he likes you, and now I have a feeling you--like him too, especially after the beach incident--and to be honest, there is much more, anyone can see it on your face," Uma remarked, waving her entire face, causing Aliara to widen her eyes and straighten her back.

Uma's mind raced, 'she isn't ready to accept it either, so both of them are fools,' she laughed to herself. She had noticed the glitter in Ivan's eyes when he looked at Aliara and how her friend reacted when conversing with him.

But one thing was confirmed, Uma had now recognized that at the moment, both had certainly fallen for each other but were in constant denial, the term 'both' resonated in her mind as she smirked,

Uma was convinced that Aliara would confess to Ivan sooner or later, knowing how profoundly everything they had been through together had affected her, and she eagerly anticipated it, knowing full well that Ivan would never reject her.

~Maria