Jiya,s pov
I was standing with a bunch of dresses in my hands, thinking about the party on May 24. I don't even have a new dress. What will I wear? I was so lost in these thoughts that I didn't even realize Degi ma'am had been calling me for a while. Suddenly, she came in front of me and shouted with her eyes closed, "Oiiii newww beeeee!" That scream really scared me. I was already distracted, and on top of that, she shouted out of nowhere.
"Yes, ma'am," I replied.
Degi said, "I've been calling you for a while. I told you, I'll say it once and that's it - we have to work fast. Forget the artist, I'm going to focus on you now."
I said, "Sorry, it won't happen again."
Honestly, I felt like beating up both Degi and Maddy right then. Yes, I was wrong for not listening while working, but still, what was the need for such a scream?
Then she sent me to another artist's assistant with some papers. I went and saw pictures of Alex and Alina - all couple photos. They pierced right through my eyes.
That man - I love him deeply.
Tell me, how are we supposed to see the ones we love with someone else? How can that be accepted?
Anyway, I returned to the room and saw him talking to someone on speaker phone.
As I walked in, I tried to say, "Degi ma-" but I stopped mid-sentence. I couldn't speak any further.
Did I just hear that right?
Did I really hear that?
On the phone, he said, "I'm not sure if I can come today, but I'll try. Alina has a shoot today, right? Let's see, I'll try to come."
Then he hung up.
And someone nearby said, "Ahh sir really likes her, huh."
Was that really Alex's voice I just heard? 😯😯
Was I hearing properly?
I went completely silent for a moment.
Whatever the assistant was saying didn't even register in my ears.
I somehow pulled myself together, finished the task she gave me, collected some files, and left the room.
I placed my hand on my chest and wondered - where did that smile even come from?
This feeling...
I was walking and thinking - that was Alex's voice, and the assistant I went to was named Lisa.
That means Lisa is Alex's assistant.
Ughh, if only I could work under Lisa...
After that, I went to Degi ma'am, and as soon as she saw me, she shouted,
"Fuck you, Everyone's time is valuable here. If you can't work fast, don't work at all!"
It took me only 7 minutes to deliver those papers.
What does she expect me to do - fly through the air?
She was saying whatever came to her mouth.
For the first time, I didn't reply to anyone.
Because I know how far I've come, and how badly I need this job.
She insulted me in front of everyone.
I'm new here, in a foreign country, and no one likes me.
At one point, someone asked me for water. I gave them my bottle, but for some reason - maybe they were angry - they poured the whole thing over my head.
Nice.
Now I look like a soaking wet crow.
I didn't even get time to clean myself - they kept giving me more and more work.
And because of the AC, I was freezing.
Then Maddy James called me again to give me more tasks.
She was drinking something, and she didn't like the taste.
She took a sip, made a face, and intentionally spilled it on the floor while looking straight at me.
Then she told me to clean it.
Everyone around saw it and laughed.
And then... I felt like crying.
Do people really behave like this?
While mopping the floor, I didn't even realize when my tears dropped down.
I was crying - truly crying.
I hadn't eaten anything since morning, and I'd been working non-stop.
I even had to climb to the 11th floor several times without using the lift.
My head was spinning, my body was heating up, and my eyes were getting blurry.
As I was still mopping, I saw someone standing in front of me in black shoes.
I looked up from the floor - it was Alex's eyes. ❤️❤️
Inner voice: "Jiya... seriously? Even now you're thinking about him?"
My eyes began to close.
Right then, in front of everyone, I collapsed.
I could barely sense that someone caught me before I hit the floor.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Where am I?
What is this place?
Did I die?
All I could see were Alex's eyes.
Did I really die? Am I in a hospital?
I sat up. A nurse came over and said:
"Pakiupo muna kayo nang dahan-dahan. May ibibigay lang kaming ilang iniksyon, at kapag tapos na, pwede na kayong umuwi."
I didn't understand anything, and it made sense that I didn't.
Even in pain, I said,
"Can you speak in English? I don't understand Tagalog."
The nurse called another one who came over and said in English that they would have to give me a few injections, and once that's done, I could go home.
Injections? A few injections?
Let me see just one first before giving me anything. No way. I'm not letting you do it.
I told them,
"I'm totally fine." 😅😅
I gave her a big smile.
The nurses understood as soon as they heard that I'm afraid of injections.
The nurse said,
"Don't be scared. If we don't give you this, you might have more problems. We'll do it slowly - you won't even notice."
Slowly?
From what she said, I realized they were already coming toward me with the injection.
I got out of bed and told the nurse I needed to go to the washroom.
As soon as I stepped past her, I RAN.
I could honestly qualify for the Olympics.
My head was spinning and I was out of breath, but I ran and reached a VIP cabin.
When I looked back, I saw the nurse was following me again.
I stood in front of the room - and without knocking, I went in.
There, I saw a guy kissing a girl on the forehead.
When I entered, the guy looked at me - Drake John!!
And the girl - Alina, Alina Mathew!!
There were rumors about Alina and Alex being in a relationship.
Everyone in the agency knows something's going on between them.
But what I saw... what was that?
Alina was asleep.
What really happened here?
She looked elegant - honestly beautiful.
Anyone would fall in love just by seeing it up close.
The one Alex likes is now right in front of me.
I need to accept that Alex has good taste.
When Drake saw me, at first he looked like he was about to scream in anger.
But seeing Alina, he tried to calm down and said,
"Anong ginagawa mo dito? Umalis ka!"
("What are you doing here? Get out!")
I said,
"Please speak in English."
Drake said,
"Get out of here."
I could hear the nurse's voice from behind the room's door.
She was talking to someone.
I turned to Drake, about to say something -
When someone opened the door behind me.
I turned around just as that person stepped in.
I couldn't see who it was.
Then the nurse said:
"Hawakan mo nang mahigpit, huwag mong hayaang makawala."
("Hold her tightly, don't let her escape.")
I didn't understand what was said.
The next moment, someone grabbed me from behind -
One hand wrapped around my waist, and the other gripped both of my shoulders tightly.😳
I still hadn't seen who it was.
But I hated the way I was being held.
There's only one person I'd ever let hold me like that - Alex.🤭
No one else has the right.
Furious, I screamed,
"Who the hell do you think you are? Let go of me!"
I could feel the man's head near my ear, his breath on my neck.🫣❤️
He whispered,
"You need to stop now. That's enough."
I turned to face him -
Our eyes met.✨
And suddenly, I couldn't hear anything around me.
Everything went completely silent.
Time froze.
Somewhere in the background, a piano played softly.
Butterflies fluttered from who knows where.
I couldn't take my eyes off him.
He held my hand and passed it to the nurse.
Alex Astor. 🥺🥺
Tears streamed from my eyes.
And I don't know why, but everything started to go dark again...
I lost consciousness once more.
Wow. Just... wow. 😑😑