At seven o'clock the next morning, Sophia sat by a glass table in a quiet corner of a local restaurant. She tapped her fingers anxiously against the surface, her eyes darting between the wall clock and the front entrance.
Right on cue, Ethan stepped through the doors, scanning the room. Spotting Sophia waving at him from the corner, Ethan quickly walked over and took a seat across from her.
"Sorry I'm a bit late." Ethan said, catching his breath.
"It's okay, Ethan." Sophia replied gently. "Let's order some food first, yeah?"
Ethan nodded in agreement. The two ordered their breakfast and began to eat, passing the time by catching up and reminiscing about their past. But once they finished their meal, the lighthearted atmosphere vanished. Ethan leaned forward, focusing his full attention on Sophia, who had been patiently waiting for him to finish.
"Let's get right to the point." Ethan said, his voice dropping to a serious whisper. "Sophia, tell me everything from the very beginning. Since when and how exactly has this Mr. Brown been targeting Liora?"
Sophia let out a heavy sigh. "The truth is, Ethan... it's completely the other way around. From what I can see, Liora is actually the one pursuing Mr. Brown."
Ethan's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "What? That's impossible. You know our Liora would never do something like that. Besides, she isn't capable of having romantic feelings for anyone. You know exactly what I mean by that."
"That is exactly why I insisted we meet in person." Sophia said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The whole thing is a complete mystery. It shouldn't be possible, just like you said. But the reality is, it's happening right now. I can't wrap my head around it either."
"Start from the beginning and give me every single detail." Ethan commanded.
"Okay, listen carefully." Sophia said, leaning closer.
She went on to recount the exact story Liora had shared with her, how the younger girl had mysteriously lost consciousness in the middle of the night and collapsed on the deserted road, and how drastically her behavior had changed ever since.
Ethan listened intently, letting out a long breath when Sophia finished. "It sounds like Liora definitely has feelings for him. But the real question is, what kind of connection is this? Is it just a fleeting attraction, or is it something much deeper?"
Sophia frowned, crossing her arms. "It has to be just a basic attraction. I refuse to believe it's anything else."
"Actually, something incredibly bizarre happened yesterday." Sophia added, causing Ethan to look up in confusion. "You've probably already heard about the legal trouble Mr. Brown got into yesterday morning."
Ethen nodded. "Yeah, the incident with his secretary."
Sophia then explained how Liora had suddenly burst into her workplace, desperately begging for insider details about the Vante case, only to bolt out of the building the moment she got her answers.
"Liora completely panicked when I told her the police were looking for a mysterious girl whom Mr. Brown was actively hiding from the media." Sophia said, her voice trembling. "I don't know what's going on with that kid. Why is she acting so reckless?"
Ethan stared at her, his expression turning grim. "Because the mysterious girl Mr. Brown is protecting from the media is none other than our Liora."
Sophia's jaw dropped, her eyes going wide. "W-Why would you think that?"
"Because there is literally no other explanation. Think about it logically, Sophia." Ethan said.
As the pieces connected in Sophia's mind, she realized Ethan was absolutely right. She wondered how she had been so blind to it before.
"This means they've been secretly meeting up again for some reason." Ethan mused, tapping his chin. "What's truly alarming is Mr. Brown's reputation. He is an incredibly proud, unyielding man who despises interacting with people, yet his entire demeanor has shifted because of Liora. We cannot just let this go."
A sudden, terrifying memory struck Sophia. She began to wipe away the cold sweat breaking out across her forehead, her voice shaking with fear.
"Ethan... a-actually, there's a much more dangerous reason I needed to see you today. I think it's directly tied to all of this. God, I hope I'm wrong." Sophia whispered.
"Sophia, what's wrong?" Ethan asked, alarmed by his friend's sudden panic. "What are you so afraid of?"
"Did you hear the specific details of how Mr. Brown's secretary died?"
"Yeah, the news reported she passed away under unusual circumstances, some kind of abnormal weakness..." Ethan trailed off, his voice dying in his throat as a horrific realization dawned on him. His eyes went wide as he stared at Sophia.
Sophia nodded slowly, confirming Ethan's worst fears.
"It means exactly that..." Sophia choked out. "Oh god, Ethan... this is an exact replica of what happened twenty-two years ago. It's identical to that tragedy. Let's just pray to heaven that Mr. Brown isn't the person we think he is. Because if he is... Liora is going to get severely hurt."
. . . . . . . . . . . .
A few days passed after that frantic morning. The high-profile investigation into Vante Group slowly quieted down because the authorities couldn't uncover a single shred of actionable evidence. Just like the tragedy from twenty-two years prior, the secretary's death was officially swept under the rug and classified as an unsolved, mysterious passing.
"You're fired."
Ronan's deep voice boomed through his office. It was the third time he had uttered those exact words in the span of just a few days.
He had been working himself to the bone day and night, desperate to repair the minor corporate setbacks his empire had suffered due to the scandal. Because his schedule was entirely packed, he hadn't found the time to formally interview and hire a permanent executive assistant. Instead, he had been temporarily pulling staff members from lower-level departments to fill the role. Unfortunately, the stressed-out employees couldn't handle Ronan's brutal personality, and they all ended up losing their jobs within hours.
The first temporary assistant had been fired on the spot for showing up exactly two minutes late in the morning. The second was terminated because he failed to submit a critical project proposal by his strict afternoon deadline.
Lately, the entire corporate roster at Vante Group was walking on eggshells, terrified of losing their livelihoods. Ronan was flying into a rage over the absolute smallest errors, completely consumed by professional stress. And beneath the anger, a deep, suffocating wave of loneliness was beginning to take hold of him.
Today, however, things took an even worse turn. His newest temporary assistant wasn't a young man like the previous candidates; the department had sent up a young woman. And it didn't take long for Ronan's stress levels to skyrocket.
It was hard to blame the girl entirely, after all, what employee wouldn't lose their focus when the man voted the world's most handsome face became their direct superior? But this girl crossed the line. In fact, she completely obliterated it.
Having spent the entire day studying Ronan's habits, she marched into his office later that evening with a stack of documents, fully intending to seduce her billionaire boss. Without Ronan even noticing, she had slyly locked the heavy office doors behind her.
She was wearing a tightly fitted blouse and a remarkably short skirt that was entirely inappropriate for a corporate boardroom. Earlier that afternoon, Ronan had given her a firm, professional warning regarding the company's strict dress code, willing to let it slide since she was new. But she had entirely misinterpreted his leniency.
When she handed Ronan a set of documents, she purposefully unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and leaned far over his desk, exposing her chest. When that failed to get a reaction, she intentionally dropped her pen on the carpet as she turned to leave, bending down to flaunt her figure. Ronan was completely exhausted by her desperate antics.
By the time she brought in the final folder of the evening, Ronan was aggressively massaging his temples, trying to dull the throbbing pressure in his head.
"Sir, there's one more file that requires your immediate signature." she purred.
Before she could lean over his desk again, Ronan aggressively snatched the folder right out of her hands. A confident smirk played on her lips as she casually strolled around his massive desk. Disregarding all boundaries, she boldly sat right on the edge of his mahogany table, crossing her legs sexily right beside his swivel chair.
Ronan forced himself to remain perfectly still, his face an emotionless mask of forced patience.
But his absolute limit was reached a second later when the girl reached out, her fingers sliding across his chest as she attempted to undo the top buttons of his dress shirt.
"Stop right there." Ronan muttered, his voice dangerously low as he fought to control his mounting rage.
"Oh, come on, Mr. Brown." she whispered, leaning closer. "I know you want this. There's no need to be shy. I know exactly how to relieve all that stress you've been carrying."
As her fingers kept moving down his shirt, Ronan violently launched himself out of his chair, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Get off my desk!" he roared.
"Mr. Brown-"
"I said get off right now!!"
Ronan's deafening shout echoed straight through the heavy doors, instantly terrifying not only the girl but every single employee working out in the main hall. The girl scrambled off the table, trembling.
"How dare you think you could just touch me?!" Ronan snarled, slowly stepping toward her like a predator tracking its prey. She stumbled backward in sheer terror.
"S-Sir, please..."
"You're fired. Get out of my sight right now!"
"But sir-"
"If you value your life, get the hell out of my office!!!" Ronan screamed.
Unable to contain the blinding rage consuming his mind, Ronan whirled around and slammed his fist directly into the adjacent wall. The impact cracked the drywall, sending plaster fracturing outward. Terrified by the raw destruction, the girl let out a horrified shriek, threw the office doors open, and bolted down the hallway.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!"
Left alone, Ronan let out a raw, guttural scream of absolute fury. With a violent sweep of his arm, he launched every single file, computer monitor, and stack of paperwork off his desk. The documents scattered through the air, floating down onto the ruined floor like snow.
A few brave executives and security guards cautiously gathered at the shattered doorway, trembling.
"M-Mr. Brown? Sir... are you alright?" one of the senior officers managed to stammer.
"Do I look like I'm okay to you?! No, I am not alright!!" Ronan violently gestured toward the exit. "Every single one of you... get out of here! Leave me the hell alone!!"
Terrified of escalating his wrath, the staff instantly cleared out, leaving him completely isolated in the wreckage, just like he always was.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ronan drove straight to his massive, empty mansion. The moment he reached his private quarters, he began tearing the room apart, smashing expensive decor and hurling furniture against the floor to release the suffocating tightness in his chest.
He was the number-one businessman in England, possessing an unimaginable fortune, but he was painfully aware that his billions couldn't buy the one thing he desperately starved for: genuine comfort, warmth, and love. For the first time in his entire life, he had briefly experienced that beautiful, fleeting warmth in Liora's arms. In this moment of complete psychological breakdown, he craved that exact security. To be entirely honest with himself, he desperately needed Liora.
At that exact moment, across the city, Liora was curled up in her bedroom, crying her eyes out.
Ever since losing her part-time job, she had spent her days trapped in her room, blasting music through her headphones to drown out her chaotic thoughts. But without any warning, a sudden, agonizing vision flashed through her mind.
She distinctly felt the violent sensation of Ronan smashing his fist into a wall; she could feel the sharp, throbbing pain, and she could vividly see Ronan's knuckles split open and bleeding.
Liora burst into fresh, heavy tears. A desperate, overwhelming urge to run to Ronan gripped her chest. She didn't understand the logic behind it, but she knew with absolute certainty that Ronan was in agonizing pain right now, that the older man desperately needed her.
But she forced her feet to stay planted on the floor. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to convince herself that it was all just a hallucination brought on by her own miserable overthinking.
Meanwhile, back at the Vante mansion, someone was silently watching Ronan's destructive breakdown with tear-filled eyes. It was old Miss Scott.
Standing in the shadows of the long hallway, she watched the powerful CEO collapse onto his knees amidst the debris of his bedroom, his spirit completely broken.
Trust me, Ronan. Miss Scott thought to herself, a tear slipping down her wrinkled cheek. You won't have to suffer in this darkness for much longer. The profound peace you have been searching for your entire life... it will be yours very soon.
. . . . . . . . . . .
More days bled into one another, and neither Ronan nor Liora made any attempt to see each other. Their connection was unlike anything shared by ordinary mortals; it was bizarre and unexplainable, mirroring the supernatural nature of their very first encounter. And with every passing second, the unspoken feelings locking them together only grew more intense.
Liora, having not caught a single glimpse of the billionaire in days, spent her lonely hours agonizing over their last encounter, her mind completely trapped in the memory of that breathtaking kiss.
Ronan's state, however, was far more severe. His mental health was deteriorating rapidly, his stress levels morphing him into a ghost of himself as he buried his consciousness under an avalanche of corporate work.
"Just this afternoon, when I went upstairs to deliver the CEO his black coffee, I caught him standing by the window, smiling completely all by himself." a low-level custodian whispered eagerly to a group of coworkers in the breakroom.
The other staff members immediately scoffed, waving him off. "Oh, come on, there's no way. Our boss would never smile at nothing. You're getting old, old man. Your eyesight must be failing you."
But the custodian's story was absolute fact.
Lately, Ronan would find himself mid-meeting or deep in a financial report, only for an image of Liora to flash across his mind, pulling a genuine laugh from his lips. He would smile like a fool the moment he recalled the girl's chaotic antics. He remembered how tightly Liora had hugged him out of pure terror during their first meeting; the way the girl would adorable frown whenever Ronan was a bit too rough; the way his entire face illuminated when she flashed her toothy bunny smile; and even that ridiculous afternoon when Liora had jokingly chased him around the room with a kitchen knife, laughing hysterically.
He could practically see the girl's slightly long, disheveled blonde hair, and he could still taste that unforgettable, magical kiss.
Whenever these memories etched themselves into his consciousness, his characteristic harshness and suffocating stress would instantly melt away, replaced by a soft, lighthearted smile. For a brief moment, the old, lighter version of Ronan would return to the world. It wasn't that he was actively avoiding Liora; he was simply entirely paralyzed by the massive influx of work keeping him chained to his desk.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eventually, the chaotic week settled into a normal routine. Liora arrived back on the university campus, holding her phone to her ear as she finished up a casual call with her father. As she walked down the main corridor, she noticed a massive, excited crowd of students tightly gathered around the central notice board.
"Dad, I have to go. I'll call you back later tonight." Liora said, quickly pocketing her device.
She patiently waited by the wall until the sea of students finally cleared out, heading to their respective classes. Once the hallway was quiet, Liora walked over to the notice board to read the freshly pinned flyer.
UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCEMENT:
Grand Opening Ceremony of the New Campus Management Building.
Date: Next Friday.
Next Friday... so that means in exactly three days. Liora thought to herself. She let out a quiet sigh, adjusting her backpack strap before turning on her shoes to walk toward her lecture hall.
In her distraction, she remained completely oblivious to a sinister group of individuals watching her every move from the deep shadows at the end of the long hallway. They stared at her retreating figure, letting out low, evil chuckles.
"That ceremony is going to be our perfect window." the leader whispered, a dark smirk twisting his face. "While the entire campus faculty and security are distracted by the grand opening, we will execute the plan exactly as choreographed. There won't be any escape for you this time, Liora Miller."