PROLOUGE

"OMG, SIS!" I heard the scream of my gay friend August as soon as I entered our floor. Our other co-workers looked at him so I bowed down in shame.

"What the hell Augusto, stop screaming! My ears hurt," I scolded him as I approached my cubicle.

"Yuck! Don't call me Augusto! I hate it!" he said hatefully so I laughed. He even shook his clothes as if there were dirt on them.

"So, what's tea, sis?" I asked, chuckling. Because I know that even if he just screams the name that screams, I know that he has a story to tell.

"Eh, because, girl, you really won't believe what I'm going to tell you! Do you know what that is?" He came to my cubicle and sat on a swivel chair of our colleague who was not here yet.

"Oh, what's that?" I said bored while setting up my desk. We will start working soon. Fortunately, I got in early today.

"The CEO of this company is coming!"

I turned to him after he said that news. I don't know but I suddenly became anxious. My chest pounding is also strange.

I didn't think that the original CEO of this company I work for would come right now. We all know that it is only managed by the acting CEO, the real CEO's uncle. The arrival of a CEO from another country was announced just recently.

But I didn't think it was now!

"O-oh? W-when p-yet?" I asked him trembling, nervous.

He frowned. "Huh? What time? I said, now that the new CEO of this company is coming!"

"A-ah...Is that so? It's good to know then..." I said and turned my attention to fixing my cubicle. I don't know but I'm really nervous. I feel like a deluge is coming right now.

"OMG, girl, all I know is that the new CEO will choose who will be his secretary today!" August and I turned around when we heard one of our co-workers.

We both looked at each other.

"What did that woman say?" August asked me in a whisper.

"I think the incoming CEO will choose his new secretary today," I answered, also in a whisper.

He nodded. I was surprised when he suddenly approached our colleague.

"Is the new CEO coming today a man?" he asked our colleague there.

The woman raised an eyebrow at him and nodded. "Oh, why? Do you want to be chosen as the new secretary?" he said mockingly. "Hah, as if!"

August did not let her down and put both hands on both of her waists.

"And why?! You think you'll be accepted too?! As if!" August replied flatly to the woman and tortured her even more. I couldn't help but laugh because she was really a woman when she acted.

"You annoying bitch!" I was afraid that the woman was going to touch August but I moved between them.

"Stop this, you two!" I pulled August away from the girl because I knew he would punish her. "Come on, August."

"The thickness of your face is threatening me with a twist! Why, who are you?!" August shouted. Our other co-workers do nothing but watch. The two female henchmen were standing on the side, their eyebrows raised.

"Hah! Gay!"

"Ingrata! Hypocrite! Tse!" August shouted at her one after the other so I couldn't do anything but move him away from there. The woman looked like she was about to cry because of what my friend was saying.

"That annoying girl! Guess who, she looks like a cockroach!" August said annoyed as we headed to the canteen. His step was heavy and it was obvious that he was really angry with the woman.

"You're too stubborn, eh," I said and sat down first when I found a table.

"Why can't I beat that!" He also sat down and folded his arms.

I just shook my head. He's really too stubborn. Just small things, he is already angry.

"It's a good thing I'm always by your side." I grinned at him. "If not...You might always end up fighting," I added and laughed out loud.

He just stared at me so I laughed even more. He is always really angry.

"That bad bitch Pia," I heard him whisper while looking at the table with a bad look that you thought someone had done something bad to him.

"Is her name Pia?"

He sneered. "Yes. The name is ugly, the appearance is ugly, and then it doesn't even recover from the habit!".

I burst out laughing. "Crazy."

He shook his head and just grinned and decided to order, after all we're here at the canteen.

"I only have one slice of chocolate cake, Bebs," I said.

He nodded silently and went to the counter. I, on the other hand, fixed my messy hair while waiting for him. I don't even know why the CEO is still not coming.

I now work here at a jewelry company owned by the

Thompsons. It is a famous jewelry company all over the country and it has other branches located in other countries. It is so famous that its owner is actually a billionaire.

I'm just a simple girl who didn't graduate from college. We have three siblings and I am the eldest so I have the responsibility. Our father left us to be with another woman so we were the only ones at home with our mother, who unfortunately was sick. Our mother is getting weak so I need to scrub well.

The one who followed me, my brother, is going to college. Only one year left and he will graduate from senior high school. The youngest is about to enter senior high school.

Sometimes, I envy them because they can fulfill their childhood dreams. As for me, I'm going all out to fulfill my brothers' dreams...and give my daughter a good life.

And yes, I have a daughter. I got pregnant early so I was forced to stop studying. I had to sacrifice and put aside my dream because of what I did. At first, my mother was angry. She was angry not with me, but with herself. She said he feels that she is neglecting us, her children, that's why this is happening to us.

But I explained to her what happened. I liked it. I gave myself to the man I love because I know he won't let us down. We love each other and in fact we were already planning to get married by my twentieth birthday.

It's just that...fate is not in our favor. Someone came to destroy us. It was painful, but because of that person, my problem was also solved. It just hurts because our relationship is broken.

I sighed. I shouldn't be worrying about what happened in the past, I should be moving on. But until now, what happened is still fresh in my mind. I still can't get out of my mind what he did begging and kneeling in front of me just to beg me not to leave him. But I did not follow him. I left that night, leaving him in tears.

"Hey, you're crying again."

I was startled by the voice of August who came to me and hugged me. I didn't even realize I was crying.

"Do you remember him again?" he asked with certainty.

I just kept quiet and didn't answer. He already knows what my answer will be. Always 'yes'.

In the past year, he is used to me in this scene. He was the one who sympathized with me every time I cried and suffered. He was the one who witnessed to me how broken I was when that night happened. He is the father to my son even though he acts as a girl.

I can't lose my best friend August.

"Girl, it's been six years. Move on," he advised me, his voice is gentle. It's always like this, it's like a cycle. I will cry, he will comfort me, give me advice, but in the end all I can do is cry.

"I-I c-can't...I-I can't, A-August...I-I love him so much..." I sobbed.

"How can you move forward in the present if you always go back to the past? Not everything you have is something you need to keep. You need to let go. And it's the same with people. You can't keep everything by your side. There leave, someone will return."

"But how can I forget him? How can I forget the person who is a big part of my being?"

"You can forget him. You can forget the past. You just have to open your eyes to reality. Because if you don't, you will continue to be blinded by the fact that he will never come back. You will only hurt yourself you."

I was silent.

"Listen, six years have passed. How can you be sure that he hasn't started a family in the past years? How can you be sure that he hasn't forgotten you until now?"

I couldn't answer. My brain went blank.

"You're the one who left. You left him. But if you act, it's like he left you."

"ALRIGHT, is everything alright?"

We employees have gathered here at the convention center of this company to welcome the new CEO of this company. We are all here except the staff and guards.

My knees were shaking from so much nervousness. My heart was also beating fast and it felt like it would come out of my chest. I've been taking deep breaths to calm myself down, but it's had no effect. I'm still nervous. But I don't know why it has this effect on me. It just said that the real CEO of this company will be introduced. And another thing, there are many Thompsons in the world.

"Sis, are you okay? Why do you look pale?" commented August who was next to me.

I looked at him and I couldn't help but remember his words earlier. It had such a strong impact on me that I can still hear his voice saying those words in my mind.

He made a point. And even though I don't want to admit it, I'm actually more affected by the one who left than the one I left.

I didn't answer him. I feel myself. My hands are cold. My heart was beating so hard, it was deafening. Even though I couldn't see it, I knew August was right that I was turning pale. I don't know but when our floor manager called us, the intense nervousness in my chest took over again. I feel like I'm going to fall from where I'm standing.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." I was brought back into my trance when I heard the voice of the floor manager of the sixth floor where the CEO's office was. "

All the employees here greeted back except me.

"We all know that only the acting CEO is in charge of our beloved company. That's because the CEO is from another country. Six years ago, the inheritance was completely passed on to the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson," he began at length.

I swallowed at the last thing he said.

Six years ago.

Only son.

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson.

Heir to the Thompson Jewelry and Clothing Empire.

Please...I hope it's not him.

"However, the heir was not prepared for that. He had to fly to another country to study management. But now, the long journey is over." The manager trailed off. He took a deep breath, as if to make the introduction to the CEO more suspenseful.

Damn, I'm getting more and more nervous.

"The king has arrived! Let's all welcome with a round of applause our newest and original CEO of Thompson Jewelry and Clothing Empire, Mr. Hendrake Jeiz Thompson!"

Then my mind completely went black. I felt like I lost my hearing and all I knew was that he was here. He is back again. I suspected correctly.

I can't hear anything anymore and it's like it's dark around me and I can only see him.

He is in front of me. I'm not dreaming. What I see is true. He's here. The CEO is back.

Our eyes met, and he grinned. His eyes were full of hatred and anger staring at me. Even though we are far apart, I feel that he is very close to me.

"I'm back."