Chapter 3

When Adriana arrived at the interview site, her nerves tightened despite herself.

The Sanctity Group had numerous subsidiaries. The position she was interviewing for was in bio-intelligent machinery—the group's core business.

Although she had kept up with the field since graduating, continued studying on her own, and even published papers in international journals, she ultimately lacked real work experience.

Five years of staying home to care for Chris had left her almost completely disconnected from society.

If it weren't for her best friend, Bella Moss, pulling strings for her, she wouldn't even have landed the interview.

During the interview, the interviewer skimmed her résumé and asked several technical questions. Adriana felt she answered them fairly well, yet the man's expression never shifted from mild indifference.

"Miss Adler, there's no doubt your professional foundation is excellent," he said calmly. "But with a five-year gap and zero work experience, I'm afraid you don't meet our position requirements. We're recruiting high-end talent."

"Could you give me a chance?" Adriana pressed. "Just one month of probation. I don't even need a salary during that time."

She didn't want to give up so easily. From a long-term career perspective, Sanctity was unquestionably her best option.

"Miss Adler, there are plenty of people who want to intern here for free," the interviewer replied. "Your overall profile isn't more competitive than theirs."

He set her résumé aside. In his eyes, the young woman in front of him was nothing more than a book-smart ornamental piece—far from meeting Sanctity's standards.

"I still have work to attend to. You may go."

Watching his unfeeling retreating figure, Adriana shrugged helplessly and picked up her résumé.

She felt a twinge of disappointment, but she wasn't discouraged.

Sanctity was an industry giant. It was normal not to get in.

Bella had told her—start with the best companies. If you're rejected, then lower your sights.

[Bella, Sanctity turned me down. Boohoohoo…]

She sent the message to Bella in the elevator. As she stepped out with her head lowered, the corner of her eye caught a flash of striking golden-brown hair in the adjacent VIP elevator.

She instinctively looked over, but the doors had already closed.

She dismissed it as her imagination and walked on absentmindedly, not even noticing when her résumé slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.

By the time she realized and went back to look for it, it was gone.

When she returned home, she wondered if she had walked into the wrong place.

The floor was piled with toys, the décor completely transformed. Several of Joan's paintings hung on the walls. The minimalist style had been replaced by something flamboyantly artistic.

It no longer felt like a home—more like a niche daycare run by some eccentric curator.

Chris, who should have been at the office, was sitting with Edward, building blocks together. Joan was hanging a brightly colored oil painting on the wall.

Adriana froze for a moment. Perhaps this was what a home truly looked like—filled with traces left by its occupants, not meticulously arranged like a model house.

She stepped around the pile of toys and hurried toward the study, planning to reprint her résumé and prepare for the next interview.

"Well? Did the job hunt fail?"

Chris looked up at her, a teasing smile on his lips, as though he had already expected the outcome.

"Failing once doesn't mean anything," Adriana replied stubbornly, her tone betraying no sadness.

"I had my assistant arrange a light position for you," Chris said. "Come to the company with me tomorrow."

"No need. I'll find a job on my own."

Chris dropped the block in his hand, his expression darkening. "Adriana, you can rely on me completely."

"Chris," Joan chided softly as she sat down beside him, naturally holding onto his arm. "Adriana isn't a child. She has the right to choose."

She turned to Adriana with a gentle smile. "Adriana, if you ever need help, just say the word. I have plenty of friends who run companies."

Joan no longer addressed her as "Miss Adler," but instead mimicked Chris's tone, calling her "Adriana" at every turn.

Adriana's gaze fell on the oil painting—Joan holding Edward as a swaddled infant.

Mother and son hung there openly, bold and dazzling.

"Then you can find a job for yourself," Adriana said coldly, "instead of living in someone else's house."

Her tone was sharp. Joan's face immediately turned an ugly shade.

"Adriana, I don't want to hear comments like that again," Chris said. His voice wasn't harsh, but the reprimand was unmistakable.

Adriana tightened her grip on her handbag strap. Self-mockery flickered in her eyes as a tide of bitterness surged in her chest.

Just then, Heidi came in through the back corridor, breaking the awkward tension in the living room.

"Madam, where should I put those flowers?"

Adriana followed her gesture toward the garden. The lawn was crowded with flowerpots of all sizes.

"Weren't they always kept in the greenhouse?" she asked. "Why move them out?"

Heidi glanced at Joan, her face dark, and said nothing.

"Joan wants an art studio," Chris said. "The glass room has the best lighting."

As soon as he finished speaking, Joan let out an exaggerated cry.

"Oh! I only mentioned that the glass room had great light. I didn't know it was your greenhouse. Should I give it back to you?"

She sighed lightly. "It's all Chris's fault—he didn't explain it clearly and just turned it into my studio."

Chris replied calmly, "Those flowers can be kept outdoors. At most, we'll build a few more flower racks."

"Forget it," Adriana said to Heidi. "Give them away. I don't want them anymore."

She had thought she was long past living under someone else's roof. Only now did she realize she wasn't.

In the Slater family, she was just like those flowers—unable to even hold onto a greenhouse, only allowed to stay obediently where she was placed.

"How could that be?" Heidi protested. "Those flowers were all tended so carefully by you, Madam."

"I'll be working from now on," Adriana said. "I won't have time to take care of them."

Even Heidi knew how much those flowers meant to her. Yet Chris hadn't cared at all.

If not for Joan's appearance, Adriana wouldn't have realized how worthless her life over the past five years had been.

She strode into the elevator, forcing herself not to look back.

But the elevator had glass walls. In the reflection, she saw the flowers scattered across the lawn.

Chris withdrew his gaze from the elevator and instructed Heidi, "Keep them for now. Have someone build some nice flower racks and hire a professional gardener to take care of them."

He had seen the reluctance and resentment in Adriana's eyes and couldn't help lowering his head with a faint smile.

That once-obedient little girl now dared to sulk with him.

Just a few pots of flowers—hardly worth getting upset over.

…

Sitting in front of her computer, Adriana couldn't focus. Her mind kept drifting back to that distant figure from long ago.

She had intended to revise her résumé, but before she realized it, she was sketching on an A4 sheet instead.

Golden-brown tousled hair. Clear blue eyes. The face of a young man gradually formed on the sheet.

"Zzz—"

A sudden jet of water shot in from the doorway, splashing onto the keyboard and soaking the drawing.

Adriana hurriedly shut down the computer and shoved the paper under a few books.

Edward burst in, brandishing a water gun. "Pew pew pew! I'm going to shoot you dead!"

Water sprayed everywhere, drenching documents, books, and Adriana's clothes.

"You can't play in here," she said, trying to stop him.

"I want to!" Edward shouted, lifting the water gun and spraying straight at her eyes.

Adriana dodged, grabbed his collar, snatched the water gun away, and tossed it into the trash.

Edward opened his mouth and wailed. "Waaah! You're a bad person! I'm going to kill you!"

Her head felt like it was about to explode from the noise. She stiffened her face and warned him sternly, "No water guns inside the house. Do you understand?"

"This is my house! I'll play if I want! Waaaah!" Edward kicked wildly, lashing out at her.

Adriana dragged him toward the door. Suddenly, he clamped down on the back of her hand and bit her hard.

She sucked in a sharp breath and loosened her grip.

Unsteady on his feet, Edward fell to the floor the moment she let go.

"Waaah!" He sprawled on the ground, rolling and crying.

The noise carried downstairs. Joan rushed up and scooped him into her arms.

"Edward, what happened?"

He cried even louder. "She pushed me! My head hurts so much…"

"What's going on?" Chris frowned as he looked at Adriana's pale face. His gaze dropped to her hand, where faint traces of blood were visible.

Before he could look more closely, Joan stepped in front of him.

"Chris, we need to take Edward to the hospital."

"Let's go." Chris took the crying Edward into his arms, and the three of them went downstairs.

The cries quickly faded. Adriana stared at the blood and bite marks on her hand, tears welling from the pain.

Heidi turned pale at the sight. "Oh my goodness! Shouldn't you get a rabies shot for this?"

Adriana laughed despite herself. If she divorced, she wondered whether Heidi could come with her.

"It's fine. Have Damien help me clean the wound."

Heidi muttered unhappily, "Honestly, sir didn't even think to take Madam along to the hospital."

To say she didn't care would be a lie. A quiet loneliness settled in Adriana's heart.

It wasn't about love. It was the loneliness of realizing she was about to lose another home.

She didn't have much. Chris was one of the few things she had thought she could count as hers.

He was the one she grew up with, the husband she'd been married to for five years, and—aside from that person—the most important presence in her life.

That faint desolation was quickly washed away by joy.

As her wound was being bandaged, a new email popped up on her phone.

[Dear Adriana Adler,

Congratulations on being hired by our company. Please report to the Human Resources Department tomorrow before 10:00 a.m.]

The sender was the Human Resources Department of the Sanctity Group.