MasukLumi stepped into the boardroom, her heart pounding in her chest as she surveyed the room. The long table was surrounded by the familiar, stern faces of the board members, all of them either buried in their notes or exchanging quiet murmurs. The cold, fluorescent lighting above seemed to heighten the tension in the room, casting everything in sharp contrast. She felt small, as though the walls were closing in on her. Her hands, despite her best efforts, were trembling slightly as she walked toward the head of the table.But it wasn’t just the board members who made her feel this way. It was the presence of someone else, someone who should have been a source of comfort but instead intensified her anxiety. Aaron. He was sitting at the far end of the table, his usual detached expression in place. His eyes, however, betrayed a flicker of confusion, a quiet question in his gaze. She couldn’t read it completely, but it unsettled her more than it should have.She cleared her throat, p
Lumi stood outside the conference room at Vanders Global, the morning light slanting through the glass walls, casting long shadows across the polished floor. She arrived early, as she always did, but today the weight of the situation felt heavier than ever. The familiar murmurs from the staff and the whispers from the board members had returned, their words slicing through the air like cold daggers. As she stood there, her fingers clenched tightly around the folder in her hand, a part of her wanted to turn and run.But she didn’t. She couldn’t. This wasn’t just another presentation. This wasn’t just another day. Today, her future was on the line, and there was no plot armor that could save her. She had to rely on her own strength, her own determination. The storm that raged inside her was contained, buried beneath a mask of calm. But the doubts? They still lingered, gnawing at her thoughts. What if everything went wrong? What if the truth was hidden too deeply to be uncovered?
The Vanders estate felt cold at night. It wasn’t just the temperature. It was the kind of quiet that sank into the bones, making the air feel heavier, more oppressive. Lumi sat at her desk, the faint glow of her laptop screen illuminating her tired face. Her eyes, red-rimmed and bloodshot, stared at the blinking cursor on the screen, though it hardly registered to her anymore. The weight of the past few hours hung over her—six hours of relentless work, her mind consumed with building a marketing campaign from what little was left.Her body screamed for rest, but there was no time for that. She couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when she was this close to finishing something she didn’t even think she could do.She had been forced to rely on partial backups, her fading memory, and whatever she could pull from instinct. The initial panic had settled into something else—something more driven.Lumi blinked slowly, fingers dancing over the keys as she continued to rebuild what had been lost. The
The elevator doors closed behind Lumi with a soft mechanical sigh, sealing her away from the tense atmosphere of Malhart’s office. For the first time since stepping into Vanders Incorporated that morning, she found herself in complete solitude, uninterrupted by judgmental eyes or silent accusations. The stainless steel walls reflected her faint image, slightly distorted, as though even her reflection was uncertain about what was happening.She leaned back lightly against the elevator railing and exhaled slowly.Only then did she realize how tightly her body had been held together by stress.Her fingers slowly relaxed from the clenched position they had taken since leaving the boardroom. The silence inside the elevator was almost unsettling, but at the same time, it gave her something she had not had all morning—space to think without interruption.A soft instrumental tune played through the speakers, barely audible, but enough to soften the edges of her thoughts. For a brief momen
The atmosphere within Vanders Incorporated had completely shifted by the time Lumi stepped deeper into the building. What had once been a place filled with routine movement and professional focus now felt like a disturbed hive, restless and buzzing with unchecked speculation.Everywhere she passed, conversations quieted.Not completely.Just enough.Just enough to make it obvious.People turned their heads as she walked by, their gazes lingering with a mixture of curiosity, suspicion, and something far more uncomfortable—judgment. Some did not even bother to hide it.“Is that her?”“I heard she—”“Seriously?”The whispers overlapped, low but persistent, forming a constant hum that followed her down the hallway like a shadow.Lumi kept her gaze forward, her expression carefully controlled, though inside, her thoughts churned violently.“This is not real,” she told herself. “This cannot be happening over something I did not even do.”Her steps did not falter, even as the weight of atte
Morning did not come gently for Lumi.It arrived with discomfort.A deep, unsettling wave of nausea rolled through her stomach, dragging her out of sleep long before she had any intention of waking up. Her body felt heavy, her head slightly foggy, and her throat tightened as the sensation worsened.She groaned softly, pressing a hand against her stomach as she sat up slowly on the bed.“This is awful,” she muttered, her voice hoarse with irritation.Another wave hit.Stronger this time.She barely had enough time to push herself off the bed before the urge became overwhelming.Just as she staggered toward the bathroom, the door to her room opened.Aaron stepped in.He paused for only a fraction of a second before immediately recognizing what was happening.Without saying anything unnecessary, he moved toward her and supported her arm firmly, guiding her the rest of the way.“Careful,” he said quietly.Lumi frowned slightly but did not resist. At that moment, pride was far less import







