Chapter 3

ZARLIA’s POV

I tried to forget everything that had happened that morning, but Stetson's eyes and his fangs lingered in my thoughts. I'd never seen anything like it before, but I was even more bothered by the comfort I'd felt with him.

"Miss Zarlia, it's your turn to be interviewed. Please go into the office," the lady announcing the applicants called out. A blushing woman who had just finished with her interview, walked out of the room.

"Thank you," I replied.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I knew I desperately needed this job. I needed to prove to everyone that I could survive, that I could do better for myself.

I was about to open the door when I heard a feminine voice from inside the room. "Sir, you're leaving? Don't you want to interview the next person?" the voice asked.

There was no reply. I knocked and opened the door when I heard, "Please, come in," from the lady inside.

As I entered, I saw a tall figure walking out of the room through another door. I felt a familiar presence, the same aura I'd experienced that morning. But my head was too clouded with excitement and nervousness about the job to think straight.

"Please have a seat," a woman, who looked to be in her mid-thirties, said. I quickly sat down.

"So, your name is Zarlia," she asked and I nodded calmly.

"Yes, I'm Zarlia."

The woman began to go through my resume, glancing between the paper and me. I could sense dissatisfaction in her eyes, and it made me squirm.

"I'm sorry, Miss Zarlia, but unfortunately…" she was saying when a call interrupted her.

The lady looked at me with a sudden smile, as if the caller had given her a recommendation. "Sorry, I meant to say, fortunately, you've been given the job," she said, a wide smile spreading across her face.

I couldn't express my excitement. "I can resume work on Monday?" I asked, wanting to be sure this wasn't a dream.

"Yes, you can. Congratulations," she replied, extending her hand.

I shook her hand, so excited that I couldn't stop thanking her. I knew my resume wasn't good enough. I'd desperately hoped for a miracle, the only thing i had on my resume were my mildly good results with my working experience at the restaurant and i knew for a company like the Stets empire it wouldn’t count as much, but today I'd gotten one, a miracle.

"Yes!" I yelled happily the moment I was out of the company.

I instinctively reached for my phone to call Romero and share the good news, but then I remembered we weren't on speaking terms. I thought about how happy this would have made us, how he would have cooked me a congratulatory dinner and told me all the beautiful things in the world in his soothing voice. I missed him, but I was too heartbroken to accept it.

I was about to put my phone back in my bag when it started ringing. It was my alleged mother.

"Zarlia, when are you going to send more money?" she asked, her voice as harsh as ever.

How could I not have realized all this time that this woman wasn't my real mother? I thought.

"I just sent money two weeks ago," I replied, clenching my teeth, trying not to let my emotions show.

"So? Do you think we're living on nothing for those two weeks? If you don't send money by tomorrow, never come home or call us your family," she threatened.

This sentence had always intimidated me, but this time, I refused to be threatened. "Disown me," I said. "I'm not your daughter anyway. I'm just a useless person, like my parents who died in a car accident." The words tumbled out, stunning her.

"You…"

"From now on, I and your family will have nothing to do with each other. I've been working a part-time job since I was twelve, and I've been the one providing for everyone and doing all the chores so you can't tell me I owe your family anything when, in fact, you are the one who owed me," I yelled, unable to suppress my emotions any longer.

"You can leave. You're just a useless orphan working a stupid part-time job and you have a cheating boyfriend," she retorted. I was stunned. Before I could react, she disconnected the call.

I stood there, transfixed. How quickly these people managed to ruin a good day. I sat in a corner, tears trickling down my cheeks uncontrollably. I couldn't hold them back anymore.

Apparently my alleged mother knew about my cheating boyfriend, i wondered what exactly i must have done to make them hate me that much, all i remembered was being the most supportive daughter and the sweetest girlfriend, where did i go wrong i thought to myself.

"It hurts. It hurts so much," I cried.

Stetson, who had been watching me from the top floor, was surprised. He'd thought the news would make me happy. How come she's crying? he asked himself.

His heart broke as he watched me cry silently. He'd been the one conducting the interviews, but when he saw that I was the next applicant, he'd had to run outside, afraid I'd refuse to work if I saw him. He knew my resume wasn't something he'd normally accept at Stets, but he needed to keep me close, so he'd sent a message to the director to hire me.

He couldn't watch me cry any longer. It felt like whatever was bothering me was disturbing him greatly. He quickly dashed downstairs to me.

"Hi, Zarlia," he mumbled as he got close, opening his arms for an embrace.

I recognized him, but I couldn't resist. I wanted comfort, and I didn't care where it came from. "It hurts," I cried even more.

His scent was so relaxing, the best I'd ever smelled.

It gave me a sense of comfort, and I found myself snuggling into his embrace. It felt different, different from Romero's.

"What did you say you were again?" I muttered.

"I'm your mate, Zarlia," Stetson replied.

I didn’t care ar that point, i just wanted to feel comfort again, i had no one, for the first time i was winning, i had something great happening in my life and i had absolutely no one to share it with.