"What?! Why am I just getting to know about this now?!" Collins exclaimed in utter shock.
"It happened too fast, honestly. Plus, I didn't have any other options left on the table. Either I got married to him or I got thrown in jail for assault, leaving you and Granny to rot. I couldn't even bear the thought of not being there for grandma."
Aella tried to explain to him. Collins had barely come out of jail when he called his sister. Aella had to meet him at a coffee shop instead of her "marital home" for fear that Damien would somehow find out she brought a stranger to his house.
"Let's look on the bright side, Collins. You're a free man again. Grandma has a chance at survival. I just signed the documents, and the surgery will commence in a few hours. What we have to think about is how to get you a job so you can survive in this country."
Collins didn't give her a response. He looked lost in his head for some reason. "I don't have a lot, but here's 500 dollars."
Aella slid the thin wad of 100-dollar notes across the table to him. "You'd have to find somewhere to stay. When I get my salary from my job, I'll give you half of it for you to find your feet. For now, you have to find something to do.
"You can't marry that man, Aella. I won't allow you to make that mistake."
Aella stared at her brother in silence for a few seconds. Was he being real?
"If you didn't notice it early, I'll let you know that the mistake has been made already, and that mistake got your life back. That mistake got Grandma her life back. We can't do anything about it because it's too late.
"Fuck all that, Aella!"
He flared up from his seat and sprang to his feet in rage. "I don't care if you marry him to save me from hell! Are you telling me that you're fine with getting married to him? It was a spoiled rich brat who put me in jail for something I did not do. They think they own the world. They think they can do anything they want and get away with it! Is that who you plan to live with, even if it's just for a few months?!"
The silence from Aella soon made him aware of the commotion he'd just caused, the eyes he'd attracted with his outburst, and slowly, he got a hold of himself. He finally took his seat and faced a pissed-out Aella.
"We both know that the rich prick is going to frustrate you to death. He's going to take advantage of you and dump you when he gets what he wants."
"And you think I don't know that? I'm doing this because I don't have a choice, Collins. You have to understand. He's fulfilled his own part of the deal, and I have to fulfill mine, or I go to prison. Why rebel when I could endure for a few months? Do you want to be thrown back into prison? Do you want Grandma to die?" She questioned him.
He opened his mouth to protest, but words couldn't get out of his mouth.
"I thought so," she muttered. Collins sighed helplessly.
"Look, Aella, I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't want that bastard to do anything stupid to you, he said, holding her hands, his once-red eyes now filled with concern. She knew her brother had a very short temper, but she also knew he was acting like this because he was sincerely concerned and he loved her.
"You don't have to worry about me, Collins. I'll be fine. What I want us to think about is how we can get you back on your feet. First, let's start with trimming this overgrown beard of yours, she stared in irritation.
****
"9:30?? How?!"
Aella screamed her lungs out when she took a glance at the clock hanging on the wall. She was supposed to get ready for work and follow Collins to work an hour ago! Why did she have to oversleep today, of all days?!
She flung the duvet away and dashed into the bathroom immediately. It didn't take her long to take her bath. In less than fifteen minutes, she was done and dressed, ready to go to work.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!"
She cussed several times as she frantically searched for her ID card. She finally found it. With her heels in her hands, she busted out of the room and ran down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her.
She thought of branching Damien's room just in case, but she knew he didn't bother to wake her up; he wouldn't bother to wait up for her. She was soon out of the estate and in a cab, on her way to the company.
"Ma'am?"
The driver called to her as he drove.
"Yes? Yes? What is it?" she questioned impatiently as she tried to put on her shoes.
"I... I think you have your shirt worn inside out," he informed her as he gave her a glance through the rearview mirror.
"Wh...", She checked her shirt just to be sure he wasn't messing with her, and he wasn't. She couldn't care about that now.
He soon dropped her, and she ran as fast as she could into the three-story building. She didn't bother using the elevator because her guess was that it would be full on a Monday. She jumped the stairs, floor to floor, until she got to the last floor.
Panting and sweating like a little girl who'd been chased by a ghost, she soon realized she'd somehow gotten the attention of every staff member on the floor.
It turned out they were having an open meeting with their CEO, so her heavy steps attracted their eyes. From their confused looks, Aella knew she wasn't looking too good.
"And just in the nick of time, our latest employee is here. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Aella Thompson, our newest designer. Oh, and before I forget, my wife," Damien introduced her to the rest of the workers with a cheap smirk on his face. Great.
Did he have to introduce her now?
She had no choice but to approach them with a sheepish bow, knowing she'd lost her first impression on her colleagues.
"I'll let you know that you were an hour and thirty minutes late. Unfortunately, lateness is heavily frowned upon in this organization, and for that, 10% of your salary shall be deducted as punishment," he informed.
"10%?! But I'm a new employee! Is there some kind of grace for first-time offenders?" She asked, shocked and still panting. She couldn't believe her ears.
She had people to take care of. 10 percent was too much of a deduction, for goodness sake!
"Besides, we literally live in the same house. You could've just woken me up for work."
"Did you hire a human alarm clock? How dare you tell me I should've woken you up? You think I didn't see you sneak into the house hours past midnight?!"
His smile was replaced by a death glare.
"My grandma just had her surgery, for goodness sake! I had to stay with her for some time before coming back home. I sneaked in because I knew you'd make a fuss about it."
"I don't want any lame excuses from you!! I don't tolerate bad behavior from anyone here, and you won't be the first! Do I make myself clear?!!"
His anger-filled voice bellowed through the whole floor, and he shut Aella up immediately. She looked around, only to see that they were giving the rest of the staff some premium husband-wife reality TV drama.
"And next time, come to work looking sane, at least. Your sweaty, haggard look will affect our workspace. This meeting is dismissed, he said, walking away into his office.
Slowly, she felt the eyes of the workers peel off her before going back to their positions. What a great way to begin her career.
"You don't know your way around, do you?" Aella gasped and turned sharply to face the direction of the voice, only to see a young man fully dressed with glasses that looked bigger than his face. He looked harmless overall, but a little funny with his pointy nose and big eyes. "I'm sorry I startled you. It's just that I noticed you were looking lost. This is the fourth time you've been on the floor with these documents, and every time you come, you scan with your eyes, but never ask for help," he said with a gentle smile. "I've been working here for two days, and it's obvious I don't know my way around. I'm embarrassed, she muttered and looked away in shame, wiping beads of sweat off her forehead. "There's no need to be embarrassed. It happens to everyone, he chuckled. "I'm Gareth. What exactly are you looking for?" "Who actually? Her name is Miss Marie Lopez. According to my husband, my boss, she's the head of the design department and my direct boss. I'll be working as a desig
"Collins!!!"Waves of shock coursed through the room., and murmurs arose from the rest of the people in the meeting."Was it our boss that this nobody called a rich bastard?""Why is our boss not doing anything about it?""The Mr. Damien I know would have this man locked up in prison for the rest of his life.""What's really going on?""How did he get past the security in the first place?""Why... Is it just me, or does he have the same brown eyes as our newest employee, Aella?"While the murmurs went on, Collins and Damien stood face-to-face with each other. Aella was just two seats away, wet with jittery sweat, despite the new air conditioning unit in the office."Is this the thank you I get for getting you out of jail and giving your life back?" Damien finally spoke out."Listen to me and listen well. I don't care whether you saved me from death or not. Don't act like you don't have ulterior motives for doing that. I'm not going to allow you to indulge in a lame act of charity in r
Damien had asked her a question, but with no reply, she furiously summoned the courage to glare at him dead in the eye. "I said! Do… I made myself clear, Aella."He repeatedly questioned her. "Yes, yes,” she replied, furrowing her eyebrows and making her eyes narrow. She felt so much distress and was also left dumbfounded by Damein’s actions; he sure does have lots of connections. "Now let me go, or are you planning on cutting my arm down, huh?" She bravely questioned. He kept glaring at her, seeing she mustered so much courage to talk to him like that. He was about to realize her arm was in his grip, but she furiously took her arm from the tight grip she felt. He saw that she was acting stubborn but still ignored her, took the restriction agreement papers, and walked up to his room. "Release him and make sure he returns safely," Damien ordered, and he flung his phone on the bed. ****** "Hey dumbhead," the police inspectors called out to Collins. "It's time for you to get your
Everyone in the design units was busy working on their designs, and Damien was inside his office waiting for the designers to display their samples.Aella was almost done with her design sample; she was swift and careful, and the dress came out perfectly. Although it was just a sample, it was more like the original design. She completed it, did a few finishing touches, and took it to the display room. She was the first to bring her dress sample.She was there beside her sample until Marie came in and told her to go check up on the other designers to see if they were doing well.“Wow! I must say, bravo! Your work doesn't even look like a sample."Go! Quickly check on the others before they mess up theirs!” Marie said with a little evil smirk on her face. Aella didn't notice.“Yes! Thank you, ma'am. I'll be more than happy to help, Aella, who was inches away, answered and went out of the display room to help the others.“Now let me see how you are going to get praised and hyped in the
Aella stared at Marie with a mix of disbelief and anger. "Seduced Mr. Damien into marrying me? What are you talking about?" Aella retorted, her voice firm and determined.Marie, caught off guard, tried to regain control of the situation. "You don't know the truth. You're just a naive newcomer who thinks she can make it big in this company."Aella took a deep breath before responding, "I might be new here, but I'm not ignorant. Tell me the truth, Marie. What's your issue with me?"Marie hesitated, glancing around as if searching for an escape route. Aella wasn't about to let her off the hook."I know you sabotaged my design earlier. Why? What have I done to deserve this?"Marie scoffed. "You think too highly of yourself. This company is everything to me, and I won't let some outsider steal the spotlight."Aella's eyes narrowed. "Outsider? I earned my place here, fair and square. If you have a problem, let's settle it professionally."Marie, realizing she couldn't intimidate Aella, chan
Aella's phone was ringing continuously as she didn't answer the first call. Grandma and Damien got worried upon seeing she wasn't answering the call.Damien knows she would answer if it was Grandma that called, but still, she didn't answer, which got him startled seeing that she didn't answer Grandma's calls, "Grandma, is she in some sort of trouble?'' Damien growled with such a wave of uneasiness.“No! Child, you shouldn't say such things, grandma said with a look of worry on her face.Meanwhile, Aella came out of the bathroom, and upon hearing her ringtone, she wondered who was calling.“Oh my gosh! It's Grandma, but why did she call me? That too three times! She questioned as her worries heightened. She was about to call grandma back, but another call came in. “It's grandma,” she said, quickly tapping on the green (accept call) icon.“Grandma!!” She yelled softly in order not to confuse Grandma even more.“Aella! Your…!” Grandma was about to say Damien's name but got cut off by hi
It was so hot and heated in the Damien fashion world, as every designer was trying hard to make their work count.All aligned, they were ready to fetch the garments they would like to use.Damien was in his office, waiting for Marie to update him on whatever the designers chose.Aella picked her garment; she does have good taste.Marie, who was supposed to supervise and check on all the designers, locked her eyes only on Aella, trying so hard to put Aella in a tight spot.Steve, who was always supporting Aella, came close to her and put his hands on her shoulder, saying, “I got you." He took his hands off and went to the sewing room.Aella knew she wasn't alone in this, as Damien was also weird yesterday; he was going to help her, or so she thought.They all went into the sewing room, leaving only Marie behind.Marie, making sure everyone was fully engaged, went straight back to Damein’s office to report.“What's the situation?” Damien was questioned as he awaited a reply from Marie.
Collins arrived at the same place but was not sure which one was Damien’s house, he scouted for a bit to see a gate almost completely closed.“Hey! Hey we are gonna drop here cabby man," Collins said, making the cab driver pull over on the road.“Collins you have got to be taking things easy, alright!” Matthew added.“Matt! I don't wanna say anything bad to you, so just support me in this”, Collins growled as he paid the fare. Collins immediately ran down to the gate.“Open the goddamn gate you!!”Collins growled.Mathew reluctantly followed him to the gate, waiting to see what was going to transpire.Aella has already entered the house leaving Damien who noticed something was going on behind the gate.Damien walked back to the gate to see what was happening.“What's happening?” Damien asked the gate guard curiously.“It's nothing, sir, just some fella trying to disturb me that's all.Collins, who was behind the gate, yelled in clenched teeth with so much rage and annoyance, “Distur