4. Never Think About Running Away

I wiped away the tears that fell without permission. Before I could calm myself down, the phone on my bedside table vibrated violently. A notification appeared.

URGENT MEETING TOMORROW MORNING: MAIN CONFERENCE ROOM - 20TH FLOOR. ALL RELEVANT DIVISION STAFF ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND.

My heart sank. The 20th floor was Aaron's untouchable domain. Going there without preparation was the same as willingly walking toward a hungry predator. Aaron had a way of looking at me that made me feel small, as if he could see straight through my skin.

I bit my lower lip as anxiety and fear wrapped around me even tighter.

Aaron never summoned the entire staff unless something major had happened or there was someone he was personally after.

"Why now?" I whispered into the silence of my room.

My thoughts were in turmoil. Did he already know? Had he realized I had been avoiding him since that night? Or was this merely a cruel coincidence?

This morning, before truly leaving the city on the first bus, I forced myself to come to the company headquarters for only one reason.

To resign.

I had already made up my mind. I would not attend that meeting. I would only hand in my resignation letter, then leave. I just wanted to disappear and raise this child on my own.

I tried to look as professional as possible, even though the paleness on my face could not be hidden, not even beneath a thick layer of makeup. The moment I stepped into the lobby, chaos greeted me. Staff members rushed toward the elevators as if their lives depended on it.

The atmosphere was hectic, footsteps echoed in a frantic rush, and everyone looked terrified. There were no relaxed morning greetings, only tense and fearful faces.

Even though my heart pounded from not knowing what was happening, I tried to stay focused. I half ran toward the administration desk.

"Excuse me, Ms. Tari, I—"

"You can wait, Fay! Can't you see this chaos?" Ms. Tari, the senior administrator, cut me off without looking up. She was busy preparing several files in her hands. "Didn't you read the notification? Mr. Aaron ordered all relevant division staff to report to the 20th floor this morning. No exceptions!"

"But I was just about to—"

"No buts! This is serious. Mr. Aaron is in an extremely bad mood this morning. Don't let us be even one second late unless you want to be fired on the spot. Come on, go now!"

I flinched when her fingers suddenly gripped my wrist tightly, refusing to accept any argument. She strode forward, forcing me to half run to keep up with her pace toward the private elevators that would take us directly to the 20th floor.

"Ms. Tari, slow down," I complained, but my voice was swallowed by the chime of the elevator doors opening.

Inside the narrow steel box, I could see my reflection in the polished elevator wall. My face was pale, and my eyes still held a faint trace of redness. I tried to steady my racing breath as the elevator climbed.

The doors opened on the 20th floor. An oppressive silence welcomed us. Unlike the chaos downstairs, everything here seemed orderly, cold, and ... intimidating.

"Remember, Fay," Ms. Tari whispered as she released my wrist right in front of the grand doors I desperately wanted to avoid. "Don't speak unless you're asked. Mr. Aaron doesn't want to hear any excuses today. His aura is absolutely murderous this time."

She then pushed the door open. As I stepped into the conference room, the cold air from the air conditioner greeted me, and at the end of the long table ... that man was sitting there.

Aaron.

He did not look up, yet I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. He was sipping his black coffee, but the way his fingers tapped against the table created a rhythm that seemed to be counting the beats of my increasingly erratic heart.

"You're two minutes late." His voice echoed through the room, low yet filled with authority that instantly crushed my courage.

His gaze slowly lifted, sharp as a dagger, and the moment his eyes locked onto mine, I felt as though every bit of oxygen in the room had just been sucked away.

There was a strange glimmer in his dark eyes, something that went beyond the anger of a superior.

The room fell silent in an instant. Everyone attending the meeting lowered their heads, and no one dared to speak.

Aaron slowly set down his coffee cup. The sound of porcelain meeting the glass table echoed like an explosion in the silence. His eyes remained fixed on my face, completely ignoring Ms. Tari, who stood trembling beside me.

"Fay," he said quietly, yet he spoke my name with an emphasis that made my heart seem to stop beating for a moment.

I blinked, trying to gather what little courage I had left. "Y-yes, Sir?"

Wearing a black suit that perfectly framed his solid build, Aaron leaned back in his executive chair. His eyes narrowed as they scanned me from head to toe. I felt naked beneath that gaze, as though he was searching for something hidden beneath my skin.

"Starting this moment, you don't need to return to the administration desk downstairs," he said flatly, yet every word sounded like a sentence being passed on me.

Soft murmurs spread among several people seated at the conference table, but they disappeared the moment Aaron raised one hand.

"Move all your belongings to the assistant's office next to mine. You'll be assisting me directly with this development project," he continued.

His gaze shifted to the senior secretary beside him. "Prepare a 20th-floor access card for her immediately."

I froze. My legs felt weak. "But, Sir, I'm an intern in the general administration division. I don't think I'm qualified to—"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Fay," he cut in sharply.

Aaron immediately stood, making the chair behind him scrape loudly against the floor. He slowly walked around the table, every step calm yet threatening, exactly like a predator circling its prey.

He stopped right in front of me. We were so close that I could smell the sharp scent of a forest after the rain lingering on him. Whether it was only my imagination or not, I saw his jaw tighten as though he was holding something explosive back inside himself.

"You'll be under my supervision twenty-four hours a day if necessary," he whispered, low enough that only I could hear him, yet cold enough to send chills through my entire body. "Never think about running away again."

He then turned back toward everyone in the room, as if he had not just dropped a bomb into my already shattered life.

"The meeting begins. Explain the first point."

I could only stand frozen in the corner of the room while my mind screamed in terror.

How did he know I had been trying to avoid him? And what was I supposed to do now?

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