CHAPTER 4

The sound of my alarm clock tore through the silence of my room.

I groaned, rolling over to the other side of the bed, half-buried under my blanket, for a moment, I didn’t even open my eye, my head felt heavy, my chest tight…the same way it always did after one of those nights.

I hit the alarm and lay still, staring at the ceiling, it was already morning, sunlight pushing faintly through the curtains.

Another day.

Another round of pretending.

“Get up, Rose,” I whispered to myself. “You have work.”

The words tasted bitter.

I finally sat up, my hair a tangled mess…my body ached like I had run a marathon in my sleep, it was the curse again or maybe it was just… life, I wasn’t sure anymore.

The clock read 6:05AM.

I dragged myself into the bathroom, letting cold water splash my face, I stared into the mirror my eyes were tired, ringed with faint shadows,I forced a smile it didn’t even last a second.

“Fake it till you make it,” I muttered under my breath.

But it didn’t work…It never did.

After dressing in my usual plain black skirt and cream blouse, I tied my hair into a neat bun.

The other secretaries always looked perfect shiny hair, long nails, perfume that smelled like expensive flowers while i just looked… simple.

Maybe too simple.

I grabbed my small purse and stepped outside.

The office building towered over the street like a glass giant, one of the biggest writing company in the city.

Halt Enterprises.

The silver letters gleamed above the entrance like a warning more than a name.

As the glass door open automatically, the familiar wave of tension hit me the smell of expensive deodorant, and something else..Fear, maybe. Everyone here wore masks, smiles that hid knives and demons.

I checked in with the receptionist, nodded politely, and walked straight to my desk in the corner of the fifth floor the farthest from the CEO’s office, the smallest, the dullest.

The spot nobody wanted.

“Morning, Rose,” someone said behind me.

I turned it was Sandra, one of the other secretaries, she was older, confident, with lipstick that could cut glass..she didn’t smile.

“Good Morning ma’am ,” I replied softly.

She looked at me from head to toe and smirked. “Your skirt’s wrinkled, you know the CEO hates that.”

I glanced down quickly, embarrassed. “I’ll fix it.”

“Yeah,” she said, walking away “If you want to keep your job, you should.”

The others laughed quietly, Mia, Lissa, and Hilda, all standing by the coffee machine, whispering things I knew were about me.

They always did that, ever since I joined.

I was the fifth secretary,the lowest one, the one they sent on errands no one else wanted, fetching coffee, printing files, cleaning desks.

Sometimes even being blamed for mistakes I didn’t make.

I’d been here since I was nineteen,two years of swallowing my pride and keeping quiet.

Because I needed this job.

Because I don’t have anywhere else to go.

The hours dragged like stones tied to my ankles.

Emails, files, meetings I wasn’t allowed to enter but had to prepare for.

The constant tapping of keyboards, the smell of perfume mixing with stress, every tick of the clock felt louder than the last.

At lunch, I sat alone as usual, pretending to scroll through my phone.

The cafeteria buzzed with laughter and conversation except at my table.

“Why do you even eat with us?” Mia said as she passed, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “You should probably sit with the cleaners. You’d fit in better.”

The other girls giggled.

I kept my eyes on my food, pretending I didn’t hear.

My throat burned, my hands trembled.

If I said anything, they’d only make it worse.

So I stayed quiet, like always.

Around 2 PM, the atmosphere in the office changed immediately.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway, heavy, confident and steady.

Kelvin Halt.

Even before he appeared, everyone straightened up, chairs adjusted, makeup fixed, documents organized.

The man carried power like perfume you felt it before you see him.

He walked in, tall and composed, wearing a perfectly pressed black suit.

His dark hair was slicked back and beside him, his personal assistant, Josh Adam, held a tablet and followed every step like a shadow.

The entire floor seemed to hold its breath.

I stood there, pretending to focus on the printer. My heart thumped faster, and I didn’t even know why.

Maybe because I could still remember his face from last night, the man who had found me crying on the express and the man who didn’t know that I work for him and never asked for my name for 2years.

He passed the other secretaries nodding politely, without saying anything .

When he reached my corner, he stopped.

For a second .. just a second his eyes met mine.

And something shifted in his expression. Confusion? Recognition? I couldn’t tell.

He studied my face like he was trying to remember a dream he had forgotten.

Josh whispered something to him, but Kelvin didn’t reply immediately, his gaze lingered, searching for something in my eyes.

My breath caught.

Then, as if shaking off a thought, he blinked and looked away.

“Let’s go,” he said quietly to Josh.

And just like that, he walked past, but his reaction didn’t go unnoticed.

The other secretaries turned toward me like a pack of vampires smelling blood.

“Well, well,” Sandra said loudly after he left. “Looks like the boss finally noticed our little Rose.”

Lissa laughed. “Please, he probably just thought she was the janitor.”

My cheeks burned, I pretended to print out something, but my fingers were shaking too much.

Mia added, “Or maybe he feels sorry for her, she looks like she hasn’t slept in days.”

They all laughed again.

I kept my head down, staring at my reflection faintly glowing on my monitor, tired, broken.

For a brief moment, I thought I saw something in the reflection instead of mine.

I blinked. It was gone.

By 5 PM, the office started to empty out, everyone left in groups talking, laughing, gossiping about the day.

I stayed behind, finishing up the reports I wasn’t even supposed to handle but somehow always got dumped on my desk.

The building grew quieter, I could hear the hum of the air conditioner and my own breathing.

When I finally stood up to leave, I saw Kelvin again through the glass wall of his office, he was still there, talking to Josh.

His face looked serious, but tired.

Something about the way he moved calmly, steady, yet heavy made me wonder if he ever felt lonely, too.

As I walked toward the elevator, I heard Josh’s voice faintly through the open door.

“She really looked familiar? and you haven’t seen her here in the company except today?”

Kelvin paused. “Yeah… she looks familiar but it’s nothing.”

“Should I look into her background?”

“No,” Kelvin said quickly. Then softer, “It’s probably nothing.”

But his voice didn’t sound certain.

The elevator doors closed, cutting off the rest.

The evening air outside was cool and dark.

I walked down the street slowly, my body aching from exhaustion.

Somewhere deep inside I could feel something like someone hiding behind a curtain, watching me.

I wanted to believe it was just in my head.

That every night was a dream.

That I wasn’t losing myself.

But when I reached for my phone in my bag, I froze.

Inside, tucked neatly beside it, was Kelvin’s business card.

The same one from last night.

I swallowed hard.

I could’ve sworn I left it on my desk in my room this morning.

A cold breeze brushed my skin, the streetlamps flickered once.

Somewhere, far away, I heard Blaire laughter faint, echoing.

I turned quickly.

No one was there.

I walked faster, hugging myself against the chill.

Behind my eyes, the world began to blur again just for a second as if someone was whispering from deep inside me.

“You can’t keep running,you know right?

My heart pounded.

“No,” I whispered. “Not now. Not again.”

But the whisper didn’t stop.

It only grew louder.

I reached home, ran into my room, then my vision blurred.

Another night as a different person.