Aria answered the call and slipped into the bathroom for a shower.
She now shared this semi-old apartment with Savannah Hayes, a classmate from a different major in the same department.
They split the rent and utilities evenly.
This was Aria’s first taste of true independence.
Even during college, she had lived in the dorms, always under her father’s watchful eye.
The dean was one of her father’s close friends.
So her grades, her campus activities, even whether she had a boyfriend—her father knew it all, even from abroad.
Few students ever knew about that connection.
Since she turned twelve, she had dreamed of the day she could live on her own.
Her parents divorced when she was twelve. Less than two months later, her father brought home his first girlfriend, Margaret, and announced she would be Aria’s new mother.
Aria was old enough to understand what a “new mother” really meant—a stepmother.
What she couldn’t grasp was why her parents, who had always seemed so happy and never even fought, would suddenly divorce. Then, within two months, her father had a new love.
It wasn’t until high school that she pieced the story together from relatives’ gossip. Margaret had been her father’s first love. They had parted ways because his family was poor.
Her father later met her mother through an introduction, and they married. Together, they moved south to build a life. They started as laborers, then became self-employed, and eventually built a thriving company.
But that was when their marriage began to crack.
Her father reconnected with his first love. Her mother was proud and refused to fight. She chose divorce and took half of their shared assets.
Aria stayed with her father. She had no choice—it was the only condition he would accept for the divorce.
After that, Aria lived a rebellious life, until her mother took her in for a summer break.
Her father had no say in it then. He could only let it happen.
Those two months were the happiest Aria had felt since the divorce.
Her mother taught her that a woman must have dignity, self-respect, self-love, and fierce independence.
That was when Aria started studying hard. She became humble and polite. She pushed herself to be excellent and self-reliant.
Her mother told her,
“Don’t wait for others to give you what you want. Fight for it yourself. But first, you have to earn the right to fight. That means being good enough.”
Later, Aria asked her mother,
“Then why didn’t you fight for Dad? You might have won!”
Her mother smiled and said,
“Love is the only thing you don’t have to pay back.”
At the time, Aria didn’t fully understand. But she knew her mother must have had her reasons for choosing divorce.
From then on, Aria studied quietly. She joined interest classes. She got along with everyone. Her new classmates all thought she was easygoing. They had no idea she had once been a rebellious girl.
In the end, Aria scored among the top in the province and got into a prestigious university. She graduated with honors and joined Sterling Group.
Too bad she was born with a funny streak. No matter how hard she tried to be elegant and intellectual, she couldn’t help being clumsy sometimes.
Like on her first day at work today—she knocked a man down in public.
Every time Aria remembered that scene, she wanted to bury herself in shame.
Her goal had always been to become an outstanding modern woman. But reality never seemed to match her ideals.
Sigh.
The more you want something, the harder it is to get it.
Aria sighed and walked out of the bedroom after her shower.
Her roommate, Savannah, was watching TV in the living room. She turned and greeted her,
“How was your first day at work?”
“If I said it was amazing, would you believe me?” Aria asked as she walked over.
“Why wouldn’t I? If I got into Sterling Group, I’d be thrilled too!” Savannah said with a grin.
Savannah and Aria had different majors. She now worked as a bank teller, just two blocks away from the Sterling Group building where Aria worked.
After Aria confirmed her job at Sterling, they rented this apartment together. They split the rent and utilities.
They looked out for each other.
“Your bank job isn’t bad either!” Aria said.
“I don’t know yet. I’ve only been there a week. Not much to feel, but the manager warned us to be ready for some ‘interesting’ customers,” Savannah said.
“What kind of customers are ‘interesting’?” Aria sat down beside her, curious.
“I haven’t met any yet. I’ll tell you when I do!”
“Just pray you only get good customers!”
“I hope so!” Savannah laughed.
They chatted for a while. Aria made herself a cup of coffee, then went back to her room to review what she had learned that day.
Born lacking, make up for it later.
She had a high IQ and had entered university with top scores. She graduated with excellent results. But she had no connections and no work experience. And on her first day, she had made a mess of things. If she didn’t work harder than others, she would never catch up.
Aria could be scatterbrained and funny, but when it came to work, she was serious and focused.
That was why, while her classmates were busy dating in college, she stayed focused on her studies and won scholarships.
She reviewed until after eleven, then washed up and went to bed.
She set her alarm, afraid of oversleeping like she had today.
A new broom sweeps clean.
As a newcomer, Aria was full of passion for her job.
Even yesterday’s disaster didn’t dampen her enthusiasm.
The next day, Aria arrived at the company half an hour early.
No one was at the elevator. Aria thought she could finally make up for yesterday’s bad impression. Her mood lifted.
Just then, the elevator doors slid open. Aria looked up, ready to step in, and froze.
Standing inside was a handsome man in a light pink shirt. He looked familiar—like the man she had knocked down yesterday!
Her first instinct was to bow her head and find a hole to crawl into.
“Are you coming in?” Evan Sterling asked, seeing Aria standing outside with her head down and a dazed expression.
“Yes, yes, thank you!” Aria snapped back to reality and lowered her head.
She stepped into the elevator and stood in a corner, head down, trying to make herself invisible.
Luckily, he didn’t seem to recognize her. Otherwise, it would have been so embarrassing.