Chapter 5 Fiancée

Evelyn's POV

I walked the streets with no destination in mind. Kids ran past me laughing, chasing each other. It felt like they lived in one world and I lived in another.

Late spring in San Verona. The maples were fully unfurled, rustling in the wind.

I looked at it all, and I didn't know what to do next.

Losing my temper had cost me the job. Once I was out of the building, the wind dried the tears on my face and my head cleared.

Thinking about the things Brode had said, all the contempt he'd thrown at me, the hurt came rushing back, sharp in my chest.

Yes, three years ago I'd said brutal things to push him away.

But what else could I have done?

Was I supposed to turn to a boy with no power, no money, a boy who couldn't even keep his head above water in his own family's politics, and say, "Please help me, give me money"?

I was already in hell. Was I supposed to drag an innocent man, a man I loved, down into it with me?

I couldn't do it.

Back at my apartment, I stared blankly at the bedroom ceiling, turning over every piece of the past. It drained the last of whatever I had left.

When I came out of it, it was already eight at night.

The failed interview had killed my appetite. I went to the kitchen, cut two slices of bread, spread butter on them, and forced them down.

My phone lit up with a new email. I assumed it was some automated system notice. I tapped on it without thinking, and then I actually read it.

"Dear Ms. Evelyn, we are pleased to inform you that you have passed the initial screening for the Legal Counsel position at Aganya Company. The second interview is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at three—"

I wasn't even finished reading before my heart slammed back to life.

I never expected to pass. I even closed the app and opened it again just to make sure the email was still there, to prove I wasn't imagining it.

I had a job. A real one. The kind with a salary most people could only dream of.

I threw myself onto the bed, and suddenly my mother's debts didn't feel like the end of the world anymore.

Sooner or later, I'd pay off every cent.

And then, finally, my life would be mine again.

I went in the next day. To show I took it seriously, I ironed my suit one more time before leaving.

After picking up the location details from the front desk, I took the elevator up.

I was walking and trying to figure out the layout of the floor when I walked right into someone.

When I looked up, a delicately beautiful young woman was standing there, frowning, rubbing her shoulder.

I stood there, stunned. "I'm sorry," I said on reflex.

A cluster of people was already helping her up. She shot me a resentful look. "Why don't you watch where you're going? What department are you in?"

She said it loud enough to draw everyone's attention.

"I'm here for an interview. I was looking for the right office and wasn't paying attention."

Her expression shifted. "Oh, you're the one interviewing today?"

"Yes."

Everything about her turned vicious in an instant.

Her eyes went cold. She dragged them up and down my body, then let out a contemptuous little sniff.

"Someone like you thinks she belongs in this company?" She made a show of brushing nonexistent dust off her expensive suit and stepped closer. "Look at what you're wearing. It's embarrassing, really."

The executives gathered around her started laughing quietly.

"Do you have any idea what I'm wearing?"

I stayed quiet, head down. She gave her secretary a look.

"Ms. Sofia is wearing a custom piece by a famous Milanese designer. Mr. Brode accompanied her personally to select the fabric. Forget the price tag. Just having the Don's attention makes it priceless."

The secretary said it with her nose in the air, then turned to check Sofia's face for approval.

"Take my advice. Don't bother with the interview. Get as far from here as you can. Offending Ms. Sofia is the same as offending Mr. Brode."

Sofia was looking down her nose at me. "Got that, small-town?"

Of course I knew who Brode was. I was never going to forget that name.

I raised my head slowly. "Then… you are…?"

"I'm his fiancée. Do you have a problem with that?" Sofia kept that look down her nose.

"No… no problem…"

I didn't understand why, but the moment she said it, something hollowed out in my chest.

An ache I couldn't name crept in.

I turned and walked silently back the way I'd come. The people behind me were still sneering.

"If you know what's good for you, stay away from this company. Keep making our future Donna angry and see what happens."

"Seriously. Who does she think she is, bumping into Ms. Sofia?"

I already knew, deep down, that a man like Brode was out of my league now. Sooner or later he'd fall for someone who belonged in his world.

But hearing it said out loud, hearing that Sofia was his fiancée, still dropped a stone somewhere inside me.

I went through the rest of the interview in a daze. I couldn't even remember how I got out of the room.

In the elevator on the way down, Sofia's words kept echoing in my head, along with all those mocking laughs.

I couldn't stop thinking, if I got this job, would it be a gift or a curse?

A deep, steady voice broke into my thoughts.

"Miss. You're in the wrong elevator. Please step out."

Brode was surrounded by bodyguards, looking at something on his phone. He seemed to be talking to another executive and hadn't noticed who was standing in the elevator.

I glanced at the panel and realized it was the private elevator for the top brass. My face went hot.

I mumbled an apology and stepped out.

Just before the doors closed, I glanced back. My eyes met Brode's.

There was something playful in his gaze. The way a hunter looks at prey.