Too Late To Love Me, Mr Jobs

For two weeks, Mira Nolan had endured her boss's unreasonable attitude without knowing what she had done wrong. She had finally had enough. After finishing the day's work, she gathered the last file he needed and headed for his office, determined to find out what had changed between them.

She stopped outside his door and knocked twice.

When nobody answered, she waited a moment before knocking again. Hearing voices inside, she reached for the handle and pushed the door open, only to stop when she saw Alexander Jobs kissing a woman beside his desk.

The woman's arms were wrapped around his neck, and Alexander seemed in no hurry to let her go. From the way they were touching, Mira could tell they had been doing more than talking. She glanced at the clock on the wall, then back at her boss.

"Mr. Jobs!"

Alexander pulled away from the woman and looked at her with obvious irritation.

"What is it now?"

Mira stared at him in disbelief. "Office hours aren't over yet, and you're making out with someone in your office. What if an investor walks in and finds you like this? Have you thought about what that would do to the company's reputation?"

The woman chuckled, but Alexander's expression turned unpleasant.

"Mind your own business, Mira. I don't remember asking you to supervise my private life."

"Your private life? We're still in the office, and I'm simply doing my job."

"Enough!" He stepped away from the desk. "I haven't even married you yet, and you're already acting all high and mighty. Don't expect me to have an ounce of sympathy for you when the marriage finally pulls through."

Mira frowned. "What marriage?"

Alexander scoffed and turned toward the woman, placing a hand on her tummy.

"This is the woman I want. Whatever happens, you'll be the neglected one in that marriage. Don't expect me to treat you like a wife just because you get to bear my name."

For several seconds, Mira could only stare at him. She had no idea what he was talking about, and the thought of marrying a man who could barely tolerate her was disgusting.

"What are you talking about? I would never marry someone like you!"

"Stop pretending to be ignorant. Go and ask your parents about the details. I'm sure they've already told you everything, but you're acting this way because you want me so badly."

Mira almost laughed at his arrogance. If not for her mother's medical bills, she would never have continued working for a man who treated her like this.

She walked to his desk and dropped the file on it.

"Here are your documents. Have a nice night, Mr. Alexander."

Without waiting for his response, she left the office. She would deal with whatever nonsense he was talking about when she got home.

When Mira opened the front door that evening, she found her father, Richard, sitting in the living room with her stepmother, Vanessa, and her stepsister, Benita. Papers lay scattered across the coffee table, and Vanessa was holding her phone. Their conversation stopped the moment they noticed Mira.

She looked at them suspiciously. "What's going on?"

Benita glanced at her mother before speaking.

"Mira and I look alike enough that she can replace me. I can't abandon my career just to be with a man."

Mira frowned. "Replace you? What are you talking about?"

"But you also want to be his wife, Benita," Vanessa reminded her daughter.

"Yes, I do. Alexander is wealthy, and marrying him would be good for me. But I'm not giving up my career for anyone. Let Mira take my place, and after three years, I'll come back."

Everything suddenly made sense to Mira. Alexander had assumed he was marrying her, but the arrangement had originally been intended for Benita. Now that her stepsister didn't want to sacrifice her career, the family had decided to use Mira as her replacement.

Mira looked at her father, hoping he would explain himself, but he remained silent.

"You arranged a marriage for me without telling me?" she asked.

Vanessa rose from the sofa. "We were going to discuss it with you."

"After deciding everything yourselves?"

"Don't make this difficult, Mira. It's only three years."

"Then marry him yourself!" Mira snapped at her stepmother before turning to Benita. "You expect me to marry a man I don't want so you can continue living your life and return when it's convenient for you?"

Benita shrugged. "You're not interested in him anyway, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that it's my life!"

Vanessa stepped closer, unimpressed by Mira's protests. She pulled out her phone and showed her a hospital notification. The name on the screen belonged to the hospital where Mira's mother was receiving treatment.

Mira's anger gave way to alarm. "Why are you showing me this?"

"If you refuse to cooperate, we'll stop paying your mother's medical bills. Let's see how she'll survive without our help."

Mira stared at her stepmother before turning toward her father.

"Dad, are you going to let them threaten me like this?"

Richard shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. He looked at his daughter, then at his wife, seemingly unwilling to challenge either of them.

"Mira, this arrangement is for the betterment of the whole family," he said. "It's only three years. Can't you sacrifice a little?"

"A little?" Mira repeated, her voice rising with disbelief. "You want to talk about sacrifice? When Mom needed money for her treatment, who spent almost all her savings trying to pay the bills? When your business was failing, who gave you money she had saved for her own future? When Benita needed help, who was expected to understand because we're family?"

She pointed at herself.

"It was me! I've spent years putting this family first, giving up things I needed because I thought you would eventually appreciate what I was doing. Now Mom is still in the hospital, I'm struggling to keep up with her bills, and you're asking me to sacrifice my entire future for Benita!"

Richard lowered his gaze.

"Nobody is denying what you've done for us, but sometimes we have to make difficult decisions."

"Then why am I always the one who has to suffer?"

He offered no answer.

Mira looked at her father, waiting for him to defend her, but he remained silent. That hurt more than Vanessa's threat. She had sacrificed so much hoping he would stand by her when it mattered, yet he was willing to let his wife use her mother's illness against her.

Vanessa returned to the sofa. "We've discussed this enough. Your mother's treatment depends on our cooperation, so think carefully before you make your decision."

Benita leaned forward, impatient with the argument.

"Are you going to take my place as Alexander's fiancée or not?"

Mira looked at her stepsister, who seemed more concerned about getting her way than about what the marriage would mean for Mira. She wanted to refuse, walk out, and never look back. Unfortunately, she couldn't risk her mother's treatment being interrupted.

After a long silence, she lifted her head.

"Fine. I'll take your place."

Benita relaxed immediately, while Vanessa exchanged a satisfied glance with Richard. They seemed convinced that Mira's agreement meant they had won.

Mira picked up her handbag and turned toward the stairs, keeping her anger to herself.

She would marry Alexander Jobs for the sake of her mother, but she would never forget how her family had forced her into it.

“They think I'll simply accept everything they've done to me, she promised herself. Fine. I'll play along for now. But one day, every single one of them will regret the disrespect they've shown me.” She muttered to herself as she walked up the stairs.