Part 4

Adaline was late for work. It was all because the taxi she had taken had a flat tire, and they still had a considerable distance to cover. Adaline had no choice but to find another means of transportation to get her to the office. Unfortunately, she couldn't find a taxi during this busy hour, and on top of that, she had run out of money. It was just her luck. However, Adaline had no other option but to run to her office.

With heavy breaths, Adaline greeted the security guard at the lobby and shouted at anyone in the elevator to hold it open for her. Adaline stepped out of the elevator looking less than put together. She was sweating, and her hair was slightly disheveled from the run. When she entered her office, her senior and good friend, Tessa, looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Late start?" Tessa asked, casting a teasing look at Adaline.

Adaline grinned, placed her bag under the desk, and tidied up her appearance. "No, just unlucky on the way here," she replied while running her fingers through her hair. "The taxi I took got a flat tire. Now I'm completely out of money, and payday is still far away." She complained, met with a chuckle from Tessa.

"That's what you get for binge-watching. Your data runs out before it's time." Tessa retorted, well aware of Adaline's habit of watching online dramas. Adaline just grinned in response.

She glanced at the clock on her phone, realizing she had five minutes before the workday officially started, and sighed in relief.

Coskun Company, the construction company where Adaline currently works, is a multinational corporation founded by an Italian-descendant family that has settled and married a local named Arthur Quirino. Over the years, the company, which has been standing for more than four decades, has continued to grow. In the last two decades, with the involvement of the sole son of Coskun's founder, the company has expanded its reach beyond construction, venturing into property, furniture, and even into the realms of fashion, entertainment, and digital infrastructure. Their family is truly multibillionaire.

Adaline is proud to be an employee of this multinational company. Although she is not part of the history of the company's development, she has made her own mark by successfully passing various tests, securing her current position. Yes, working at Coskun Company is not easy. There are many stages of tests to be passed. Even though she is a cum laude from a prestigious university, she struggled to compete with foreign graduates who are more fluent in various foreign languages, have a better understanding of the outside world, and have broader insights than her.

But thanks to her efforts, optimism, and the support of her parents, Adaline finally managed to get accepted here. Her first test began after she was accepted. The first three months of her internship were not easy. She had to be willing to work overtime to meet the deadlines set by the authorities. However, with guidance and patience from her colleague Tessa, who had been working for two years longer than her, she could go through it all without any problems.

And it turns out that after three consecutive months of overtime, working as hard as a horse, in the following month, she worked as a regular employee who went home when her eight-hour workday ended. Although sometimes she worked overtime if necessary. But everything paid off; the overtime pay she received allowed her to add to her novel collection. Ha ha.

Now, Adaline has been working for three years, and the salary she receives is truly, really, fantastic. That's why she has never considered looking at other companies. In addition to the comfortable working environment and fantastic salary, working at Coskun Company has been her dream since college. It was also her late father's dream.

But everything in this world always comes with a trade-off. Behind all her struggles, she didn't just get sweet rewards; there were also painful experiences. A year after she started working, her parents had an accident. They were on their way home from a relative's wedding when they were hit by a fully loaded truck. Her father died on the spot, and her mother was paralyzed. Although her mother can now walk again due to regular therapy, her physical condition is not as healthy as before the accident.

It seems that losing her father caused her mother's optimistic side to disappear. Unbeknownst to her, Adaline often sees her mother staring into space and crying alone. When Adaline is in front of her, her mother always pretends to be strong and resilient.

Adaline is an only child. Therefore, she is very afraid that her mother's mental state will deteriorate. Worried that her mother might slowly give in to the circumstances, and eventually, Adaline will end up living alone.

She has no biological siblings.

Of course, because her father couldn't have children. And she herself is not the biological child of her parents. She found out when she was twelve years old. When she was about to enter junior high school, one of her father's relatives said that she should be grateful for her parents' kindness, even though she was just an adopted child.

That's when her parents revealed the fact that she was adopted from an orphanage.

Because when her parents found out that her father couldn't have children and her mother didn't want to part ways with him, they decided to find a middle ground by adopting a child as a substitute for the child they could never have. And they promised to love and raise Adaline as their own.

And indeed, that's how it was. Her mother, Violet, and her father, Gregory, never treated her differently. They never treated her unfairly. They were firm and gentle according to the situation. They never were harsh, let alone violent towards her.

If Adaline made a mistake, they would first ask the reason behind it. After that, they would decide on an appropriate punishment. But whatever punishment they gave, it never made Adaline resent them. Instead, her love for her parents grew stronger every day.

Until her father passed away, she felt like half of herself was lost. Especially with her mother's condition, who was unconscious for three days and eventually became paralyzed; it was truly tormenting for her.

Her mother was the one who lifted her spirits when she decided to resign to take care of her.

She thought that with the condolence money and her father's accident insurance, they could open a small business so that she could focus on taking care of her mother. However, her mother refused. She knew very well that working at Coskun Company was her dream and her father's for a long time.

So Adaline gave up. She followed her mother's wishes. And her mother chose to have a household assistant who could also be her companion. A fifty-five-year-old widow who was still healthy and able to work. Emma, who enjoyed spending time with her mother because her husband and daughter died in a landslide in their hometown.

Now, two years have passed since the accident. Adaline still cannot feel at ease because her mother often falls ill. The effects of the accident, besides causing temporary paralysis, also impacted her mother's right kidney and liver simultaneously. Gradually, internal bleeding occurred. They only found out a few days ago when her mother collapsed again and was hospitalized.

Even this morning, Adaline went to work from the hospital after staying overnight with her mother. Although she feels tired and worried about her mother now, she doesn't want anyone else to know. She just wants to show her cheerful side to others.

Even if she complains, others may not necessarily help her. Those who care about her will worry, while those who dislike her will just be thankful for her situation and be sarcastic.

Adaline puts her bag under her desk. She looks at a photo frame where she, her mother, and her late father laughed at her graduation ceremony three years ago. Adaline wipes it and kisses it before starting her work. Hopefully, her work today goes smoothly, and her mother's condition at the hospital continues to improve. That's all Adaline hopes for from day to day.

She turns on her computer and is ready to start the day with all the reports piled up on her desk, waving as if urging Adaline to finish them quickly.