3

"I’m Late!"

Nicole shouted loudly as she sleepily glanced at the clock and saw that it was only a few minutes before seven o’clock. She quickly got up from her sleeping mat, hastily folded the blanket she had used, and carefully placed it inside a wooden cabinet along with a single thin pillow. She also rolled up the tattered sleeping mat, which she estimated she had been using for about seven years, and neatly tucked it under the broken bamboo sofa.

After tidying up her sleeping area, she grabbed a change of clothes from a small cardboard box she had asked for from a nearby store. She also took the towel that was neatly hung up and quickly ran towards her Aunt Norma’s house to take a bath.

As expected, a flying washbasin was the first thing that greeted her as soon as she stepped inside the house.

Luckily, just like yesterday, she was quick enough to dodge it today. Instead of hitting her beautiful face, she caught the basin mid-air.

With how skilled she had become at catching flying objects, she might as well join a football or rugby team.

After all, every single day of her life, her aunt would always greet her with flying objects. If it wasn’t a basin, it would be a dipper. If not that, then a bucket—sometimes even a mug or a breakable glass.

Nicole had long learned to shrug off her Aunt Norma’s actions, convincing herself that maybe this was just her aunt’s way of saying "Good morning."

She entered through the back door, where the kitchen was located. It was the closest way to her aunt’s house from the storage shed she lived in.

Yes, a storage shed. She had been thrown out of the main house by her Aunt Norma at the request of her spoiled cousins, who wanted her out of sight. They claimed she was an eyesore.

Well, she figured they were probably just annoyed because she was undeniably more beautiful than them.

To be honest, it was actually better that she was in the storage shed. At least she had some peace and quiet compared to when she lived inside their fancy bungalow, surrounded by her cruel cousins. Back then, even in the middle of the night, they would wake her up just to fetch them a glass of water.

Moving to the shed was tough at first. There was no electricity, and it was filled with rats and mosquitoes, probably due to the darkness and the clutter. But after a few months, she got used to it. She cleaned up the place, reduced the number of pests, and got rid of the awful smell.

Now, at least, she could sleep peacefully without anyone disturbing her.

"Good morning, Auntie!" Nicole greeted her aunt with a big smile.

Instead of returning the greeting, her aunt simply shot her a nasty glare.

"There you are. Go find a job so you can finally be useful around here! You’ve been freeloading for years!" Aunt Norma shouted at her.

Nicole forced a smile and simply nodded.

Her Aunt Norma wasn’t that old—probably in her fifties—but she was incredibly grumpy. Not a single day passed without her shouting.

Then again, like the flying objects, Nicole had grown used to the insults and harsh words. Even when she did nothing wrong, she was constantly bombarded with curses.

She tried to understand her aunt. Maybe she was just bitter because she had been single for a long time. Maybe she just needed some love.

Nicole knew she was only fooling herself with that reasoning. The truth was, her aunt had always been this way towards her—even when she was a child.

At least, this time, her aunt didn’t scold her about the fight she had with her cousins, Luciferia and Lizabelle. Instead, her aunt just pushed her to find a job, saying she needed to be useful now that she had graduated.

Nicole had been tirelessly searching for a job for days. Even though she was a summa cum laude from a prestigious university, work was hard to find. She applied everywhere, even at a gas station as a pump operator.

But today was different. She received a call from the company that had sponsored her scholarship. They wanted her to come in for a job interview!

Nicole felt like this was the opportunity she had been waiting for. She almost jumped for joy when she got the call.

Her interview was scheduled for eight o’clock, and now she was sitting in a coffee shop near the company, anxiously waiting for her coffee order. She kept glancing at the time, worried about being late and missing this life-changing opportunity.

She could have skipped coffee and gone straight to the company, but she hadn’t eaten since last night. She had run out of food, and her aunt had been in one of her terrible moods, so she didn’t get to eat breakfast either.

Besides, she didn’t want her breath to smell bad during the interview.

A smile spread across Nicole’s face when she finally heard her name being called at the counter. She eagerly stood up and was just a few steps away from her order when a tall man in a business suit blocked her path.

Her eyes widened in shock as the man casually took her coffee.

"Miss, I’ll take this. I’m in a hurry," he said.

The man coolly repeated himself.

"Oh no, look at the name written on the cup—Nicole. I’m sure your name isn’t Nicole. That’s mine!"

Nicole insisted, clearly annoyed. But the man just raised an eyebrow at her, staring at her seriously.

"You are keeping me late with this nonsense," he said, irritation evident in his voice.

He slightly bent down, reached into the pocket of his black slacks, and pulled out some cash.

"Here’s a hundred dollar get as many coffees as you like. I don’t care, I have to go," he said, shoving the money toward her.

Nicole’s temper flared even more at his arrogance.

"You’re so rude! Just because you’re very hands, taller and more muscular than John Cena, and smell better than Mary doesn’t mean you have the right to be a jerk!"

Her cheeks flushed with anger as she grabbed the bills and threw them back at him.

The man looked utterly confused, furrowing his brows as he stared at her. Then, his gaze dropped to the money scattered on the coffee shop floor.

"What I’m saying is, you have an ugly attitude! Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean other people’s time is worthless. If you’re in a hurry, so am I! And I need my coffee because I’ve been starving since last night. I have an interview at eight o’clock in that company over there, so give me my coffee and keep your money!"

Nicole pointed toward the building she was headed to, still fuming. But instead of looking guilty, the man just smirked.

"Don’t worry, Miss Loudmouth—you won’t get hired," he said seriously before turning on his heel and rushing out of the coffee shop.

"What a rude man! I hope you trip, you jerk!" Nicole stomped her foot in frustration.

She was about to leave when her eyes landed on the three thousand pesos still lying on the marble floor.

She hesitated for a moment before bending down to pick up the bills. It would be a waste if someone else took them.

Nicole quickly folded the money and stuffed it into her pocket.

But even as she walked out of the coffee shop, she couldn’t shake off her irritation at that arrogant man who stole her coffee. And what did he say? That she wouldn’t get hired? The audacity!

With a deep sigh, she decided to focus on her interview instead of her hunger. That was more important right now.