When her parents divorced, she was young but not too young to remember. People around her kept saying the same things. “Your father left your mother for another woman.” “He found you a stepmother.” “You’ll grow up without a real mother.”
She heard those words everywhere she went.
Later, when she learned the real reason behind the divorce, she couldn’t forgive her father. That was when she started to rebel.
Deep down, it wasn’t the divorce itself she couldn’t accept. It was her father’s attitude toward marriage and family. No matter how much money he gave her, it couldn’t heal the wounds inside.
Call her dramatic. Call her stubborn. But some things money just can’t fix.
Now, she didn’t want to dwell on the past anymore. All she wanted was her own life. Her own space. She also hoped her father would take care of his new family so she wouldn’t have to worry about him.
Maybe because of her parents’ marriage, Aria had never been in a relationship. It wasn’t that she never met a boy she liked. But before things could develop, she always ran away. And in the end, nothing ever happened.
When Savannah got home, Aria was about to go to bed.
“Savannah, you’re back!” “I’m so exhausted. Being a customer manager is not a job for humans!” Savannah collapsed onto the sofa and let out a weak sigh.
“What happened at work today?” Aria asked. “It’s just frustrating. So frustrating. Today, this crazy customer showed up and blocked the entrance to our branch. He demanded our bank lend him money, or he’d stay there forever and stop us from doing business!” “Seriously?” Aria exclaimed.
What a crazy world. She always thought banks were powerful. They couldn’t be blackmailed like that.
“This customer used to borrow from us, but he didn’t manage his business well. After our credit department reviewed his case, they decided the risk was too high. So after he paid back his last loan, we wouldn’t approve a new one. I never thought he’d show up today, saying if we didn’t give him the loan, his company would go bankrupt and he wouldn’t pay his employees. Anyway, in the end, our bank is the root of all evil! And I just got stuck with this mess because I’m new. I only just got off work!” Savannah sighed.
“Take it easy. If you can’t handle it, your boss will. They’ve seen worse. They’ll figure it out.” “Yeah, I can’t deal with this right now anyway.” Savannah nodded.
“Don’t worry about it. Things will work out. Go wash up and get some sleep. I’m heading to bed too.” Aria stood up and walked to her bedroom.
“Good night!” “Good night!”
Aria lay in bed but couldn’t fall asleep. The vice president’s face kept appearing in her mind. His gentle voice. His caring eyes. Like a lantern, it wouldn’t stop shining.
Aria sighed and turned over. She had to stop thinking about him, or she’d never get any sleep.
But the more you try not to think about something, the more it haunts you. Aria tossed and turned all night. No matter how she tried to hypnotize herself, she just couldn’t sleep. The more she told herself not to think, the more awake she became. So when she got up to wash her face in the morning, she wasn’t surprised to see dark circles worse than a panda’s.
People say love makes you lose sleep. She wasn’t even in love yet, and she was already going crazy.
Aria sighed again. She thought maybe if she got busy at work, she wouldn’t feel so restless.
But the moment she arrived at the company, she ran into Landon. Now she felt awkward seeing him.
Landon, however, was much more relaxed. He greeted her first.
“Good morning, Aria.” “Good morning.” Aria replied and stepped into the elevator.
“Do you take the subway or the bus?” Landon started a conversation. “The subway is more convenient.” “I used to drive, but now I’m thinking about taking the subway too. I can’t stand the traffic jams every day.” “Yeah, sometimes it takes me over an hour to get back to my apartment by bus.” Aria agreed.
They chatted until their floor arrived and stepped out of the elevator together.
“Sorry about yesterday.” Landon said suddenly. “Huh?” Aria looked at him blankly. “I didn’t know you were the vice president’s girlfriend. Sorry.” Landon explained. “I… I’m not…” Aria quickly waved her hands. “You’re not?” Landon’s eyes showed surprise. “Then…” “I… Sorry, I don’t know how to explain. I don’t want to think about relationships right now.” Aria looked a little helpless.
She couldn’t say the vice president was actually pursuing her but she hadn’t agreed yet. But even if she hadn’t agreed with the vice president, she wouldn’t agree with Landon either. So she had to make it clear to him.
“I understand.” Landon nodded. “I hope I didn’t bother you before.” “No, you didn’t.” Aria replied. “Good. I’ll head back to the tech department now. Bye.” “Bye!” Aria answered, relieved.
Aria went back to the administration office. She had just washed her cup and poured a glass of water when Hannah came in.
Hannah walked into the office and asked with a smile, “Aria, I heard that handsome guy from the tech department is chasing you. Is that true?” “No, it’s just a misunderstanding.” Aria answered.
She didn’t expect gossip to spread so fast. Yesterday Landon just sent flowers, and today her colleagues already knew he was pursuing her. Sure enough, gossip travels faster than anything in the world.
“What? You don’t like him?” Hannah asked with a smile. “No, no, that’s not it.” Aria waved her hands. “Or do you already have someone?” Hannah probed. “No, I just want to focus on work right now. I don’t want to think about relationships yet.” Aria had to answer. “I get it. You just graduated after all.” “Yes.” Aria nodded like she was pounding garlic.
She thought this matter would blow over and nothing like this would happen again. But things never go as smoothly as you hope.
Later, when Aria and Evan decided to be together, every colleague in the company knew she was the vice president’s girlfriend. Some people gossiped behind her back angrily. They said she pretended not to want a relationship, acting all innocent. But really, she was just fishing for a bigger catch. A diamond in the rough. Better than anyone else.
When Aria heard those comments, she felt terrible. It was like eating bitter herbs and not being able to say a word. But there was no way to explain something like this. The more she tried, the darker it would get.