GIVE YOU AN OFFICIAL STATUS

"Ahhhh" Ria sprang up from the bed, her face lighting up with a smile.

"What's going on? Emily hurried into the room, her eyes wide with curiosity. She had been in the middle of an online meeting in the sitting room when she suddenly heard Ria shout.

"They called me in for an interview on Monday!" Ria's voice was bursting with excitement.

"That's good news." Emily's eyes sparkled with excitement as she grabbed Ria's hands. "But... wait, which company is that?"

"The Williams Group!"

Emily's jaw dropped. "Shut up! You mean The Williams Group?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes the one and only Williams Group in this city."

"oh Ria, I'm so happy for you!, I knew you were going to get the job,"

Her smile faltered for a moment. "But how did they even get my contact? I never submitted any details for an interview?"

"What do you mean by how?" Emily frowned. "You went there last week, right?

"And caused chaos? Yeah..." her voice dropped and she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"What do you mean 'chaos'?" Emily asked with concern creeping into her tone.

"Well... I ran into Nathan there and he found out about my plan" her voice trailed.

"Oh that's not good. What happened next?" Emily eyes narrowed.

"He'd already signed the contract before I arrived and he thought I was only trying to get back at him because we broke up"

"He's not wrong" Emily smirked.

Ria laughed softly, shaking her head. "I know. But after all that, I thought my chances at the Williams Group were over."

"But they are not," Emily grinned widely. "No matter how it all went down, it all worked out at last and first thing tomorrow morning, we're going shopping!. We're going to find the perfect dress for the interview.

Then she went back to the sitting room, leaving Ria alone with her thoughts.

Her mind wondered back to that day— she'd walked out of Williams Group, when she heard Nathan call after her.

"Ria can we talk?"

She didn't stop.

She kept walking until she reached the roadside, standing by the spot where cabs usually lined up. She ignored him hoping silence would be enough to drive him away.

"Can you just... listen to me?

She didn't turn, but something in her heart cracked.

She hated that a tiny part of her wanted to know why.

"Go on," she said, her voice was flat.

"I never wanted to hurt you," he started, his voice pleading. "I love you. But... you know how Kelly is. She's fragile. Soft. She seduced me and after the first time, I couldn't resist her again."

Ria blinked. She was stunned.

That was it?

That was his excuse?

He was trying to pin it on her— Kelly's softness.

God. He made it sound like she had tricked him with a whisper.

She used to hide her fear and insecurities behind a strong front, always standing in tall beside him while he found his footing at his father's company. She never let herself look weak, not because she didn't feel things but because she thought he needed someone steady.

And now she was being punished for not being soft enough?

Kelly played the helpless girl and he fell right into it.

He knew the history. He knew what her relationship with Kelly and her parents was like.

And he still did it anyway.

Love?

She had loved him. Once. But not anymore. Never again.

"Can you come back to me, Ria?" he inched closer. "I'll fix everything, this time around I'll give you an official status— let the whole world know that we're together.

She stared at him like he'd lost his damn mind.

Was this a joke?

"An official status"

She repeated and laughed. It was the kind of laugh that was drawn from disbelief.

"Are you serious right now?

He didn't answer.

"You think that's what I wanted all this time? Do you think I'm still the naive girl who clung to your every word and would come running back because you're suddenly ready to parade me around like a trophy?"

She took a step closer.

"Give that 'status' to Kelly, I'm sure she would appreciate it more"

And then she narrowed her eyes. "Or did you change your mind because you got the contract and need me to keep designing?"

He hesitated. Just for a second. But that was enough.

That pause told her everything.

"You really are something else," Ria muttered.

Nathan looked at her with unease. Almost like he didn't recognize the girl in front of him. Like she wasn't the same girl who used to swallow her voice just to keep peace— who'd jump through the hoops to make him feel important.

He'd made sure to drag her name through the mud when he found out she was looking for jobs, he called in favors and whispered poison into the ears across the industry. All to make sure that she had nowhere to go and she would come back to him.

He miscalculated.

He didn't expect her to fight.

"Ria, please, just..."

"Save it," she cut him off. "Next time we meet... Pretend we're strangers."

Then she stepped into the street and waved down a cab, like she was done carrying his shadow, she got in without looking back.

Well— almost.

In the side mirror, she caught a glimpse of him walking back into the company like nothing had happened. Like she hadn't just crushed whatever was left between them.

She thought she had lost her last chance. But maybe somehow the universe decided to smile in her and give her the opportunity even though she didn't apply for it.

That was her fear. Who applied for her?

She pressed a hand to her chest, her heart was racing, she was going to ask them when she gets there.

It was the weekend. And Monday?

Just two days away.

She wasn't going to lose this opportunity.