Outside the glass walls of Serelis, the capital of Avelora, the city danced in its usual joy. Lilith Steele sat in her crappy corner of the office,
From her desk, she could see the plaza below—vendors calling out with cheerful voices, students laughing as they crossed the square, and music drifting in from a street performer strumming a lively tune.
The afternoon sun painted the rooftops gold, and the whole city looked as though it was celebrating. But inside her office, the weight of the day clung to her shoulders.
Her supervisor's criticism still echoed in her ears. The unfinished reports piled on her desk seemed to grow heavier by the hour, and her mistakes replayed in her mind like a cruel refrain.
Every laugh that floated through the open window only deepened her frown, and every burst of music grated against her mood. While Serelis sparkled outside, her cubicle felt like a cage, trapping her with fatigue and frustration, her loneliness seeming more evident by the minute. She glanced again at the world beyond the glass—so alive, so light—and wondered how it was possible to feel so alone in the happiest city.
She felt a bristling anger towards the world, she wanted to stand up and scream "fuck you all, I am going to live my life, I won't be tied down by your hypocritical faces and your degrading personalities" but who was she kidding?, she needed this job more than she needed life itself.
"Lilith Steele, you witty thing, daydreaming instead of finishing up this contract?!" Her Supervisor Cheryl Smith's sharp voice echoed through the entire room, snapping Lilith Steele out of her daydream.
The gossipy eyes of her colleagues coupled with the condescending look on Cheryl overly made-up face and bright red lips made her last shread of reasoning snap
"I'll take your criticism seriously the moment you demonstrate you understand the work you're criticizing. It's fascinating how you always find time to point out mistakes, yet never any to correct your own.". Gasps echoed through the room.
It was no news that Cheryl had received serious backlash from the executives above due to her incompetence, but nobody dared bring it up to her front due to her arrogant personality and the wealthy connections she has due to obviously sleeping around.
Cheryl's face, already burdened by an excess of cosmetics, seemed to collapse under the strain of her anger; the artifice that once aspired to beauty curdled into something almost grotesque, as though the very paint rebelled against the fury it was forced to frame. " you bitch" she raised her hands to hit Lilith Steele when the manager's voice resonated "what is going on here?".
Lilith secretly heaved a sign of relief as the original scary facial expression Cheryl had quickly switched to an innocent one,
"Manager Wen, it's nothing, I was just correcting an inconspicuous employee" Her forcefully made sweet voice nearly made Lilith Steele throw up but she coordinated herself.
Cheryl noticed Manager Wen staring at her with an expression one can describe easily as disgust as well as the other eyes of the employees , she glanced at herself at the glass window and screamed in horror when she saw her grotesque expression, her made up face had enough wrinkles one could mistake her for an elderly., she ran as fast as she could, her voice echoing "Lilith Steele, I would make your life a living hell!".
Lilith Steele chuckled a bit. "Maybe today isn't so bad after all." Lilith steele smiled and glanced around the office. Her keen sense quickly noticed that some of her colleagues had displeased looks had changed into one of admiration, while others, the hatred was written on their forehead.
They were probably the ones licking Cheryl' Smith's ass for favours, but the look of admiration pleased her a bit. she released a deep breath, lowered her head, and began working diligently.
By the time Lilith Smith was done with the pile of documents on her desk, it was already past working hours, her shoulders felt stiff and uncomfortable, she stood up and stretched to give her body some relief, that was when she noticed that there was barely anyone left in the office, no one disturbed her while working as she barely spoke to any of her colleagues.
She only got along with Lucy Stone, the bubbly dumb ass but she was ill, so she took a leave. Without her, she was practically alone in the office.
She sighed and walked to the office to ceiling windows, despite the fact it was already Seven O' clock, the city of Serelis was still busy like it was daytime, it seemed more people were out this evening because the laughter was even more obvious.
She smiled, looking at the couples holding hands, walking hand in hand, and the vendors screaming out of their lungs for customers to patronise them, it reminded her of her boyfriend, who was on a business trip. This was one of the rare moments of happiness in her life.
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The phone rang just as Lilith Steele was attempting to escape into the solitude of her evening. She glanced at the screen, her jaw tightening when she saw the name. With a resigned breath, she pressed "accept."
"Lilith," her father's voice came through, cold and commanding, with none of the warmth one might expect from a parent. "Tomorrow night, you will attend the Marlowe business dinner. Eight o'clock. I don't want to hear a word of refusal."
She closed her eyes, gripping the phone tightly. "No, Father. Send Maria. She's your favourite, isn't she? Always ready to be displayed, always eager to please. I want no part in your business games, so stop disturbing my life."
On the other end, there was a low chuckle—cruel, deliberate. "Maria will be there. But you will be there too. The Marlowes expect to meet both of my daughters, and I will not be made a liar. You will come."
Her voice sharpened, rising with anger. "I don't care what they expect! I'm not some accessory for you to flaunt. You've never cared about me, not once. Why should I keep bowing to your commands?"
There was a pause, and then his words came, heavy and venomous. "Because your mother's treatment depends on me. The medication, the hospital bills—you know I control them all. If you refuse me, Lilith, then tonight I make one phone call, and her treatment stops."
Her breath caught, rage and despair tangling in her chest. "You're vile," she spat, her voice trembling. "You use even your own family as bargaining chips. You can't buy loyalty, Father. You can only strangle it out of people. You're a monster."
He sounded amused, as if her fury entertained him. "Monsters get results. And tomorrow, you will sit beside Maria, smiling like the daughter you should have been. Do I make myself clear?"
There was a long silence on her end. The storm in her heart warred with the image of her mother, frail, and in need of care. Finally, with a voice low and tight, she muttered, "…Fine. I'll come. But don't mistake my presence for obedience. I'm doing this for Mother, not for you."
Satisfied, he gave the final blow. "La Couronne. Downtown. Eight o'clock sharp. Wear something that won't humiliate me."
She ended the call with her hand shaking, her heart burning with hatred. She had agreed, but the venom in her words lingered in the silence of the room: one day, she swore, he would choke on the empire he had built on cruelty.
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