Chapter 2

The fear of potential ostracization, triggered by the revelation of my orphan status, momentarily silenced me. Stammering, I replied, "I... My parents work abroad and only return home occasionally."

"I see... Are you living with your boyfriend right now?" Chloe asked, briefly pausing before continuing her words, "I saw you staring at a snapshot of you and a man during lunch break."

Startled by Chloe's question, I nearly choked on the wine I was sipping. The image she was talking about was taken during my morning run and remained on my phone because I hadn't figured out how to delete it. I was reluctant to ask others for guidance, fearing people might find me annoying. The weight of the silence clung to the air, and I felt the urgent need to clarify my situation.

"Actually—"

"You're right! I also saw it once, but she seemed troubled at that time," another female colleague suddenly interjected before asking with curiosity, "By chance, were you in a quarrel?"

I muttered, hearing her words, "No. I—"

"I don't think so. Iliana was talking to her boyfriend earlier. They seemed to be in quite a good mood talking about some interesting book," a male colleague stated.

"A bookworm? I bet he's an introverted nerd," another male colleague snickered.

"No! He's totally dashing!" Chloe retorted before turning to me. "Isn't it right, Iliana?"

I was unsure how to respond, so I ended up finishing the entire glass of a mixed drink I couldn't remember the name of. My colleagues had already constructed a dramatic romance story without giving me a chance to explain. The man in the photo is someone I don't know, though he looks somewhat similar to Sam at a glance, the friend I was talking with over the phone earlier. I wanted to clear things up, but my tongue started to feel strange after just one glass of the drink.

"Yes, he's quite handsome," I replied briefly, secretly clenching my jaw and tightly gripping my seat to keep my composure before showing them briefly the image that Chloe had mentioned.

The ladies squealed in excitement, their eyes sparkling at the sight of the photo. However, Ms. Hark, who had been bragging about her distant connection with the Ainsleys just a while ago, appeared to be the only one uninterested. Her hostility was evident, leaving a heavy feeling in my chest that seemed to bear the weight of my lies despite being a little tipsy.

Even after the spotlight shifted away, my tension persisted. It was the first time I lied about my identity. I could still feel the tremor of my cold hands, reminiscent of my past self walking into the university hall with whispers and disdain swirling around me. The faculty staff contributed to the hostility, their subtle snickering aligning with students who, in unity, orchestrated my expulsion from the school, leading to the loss of my scholarship. The dark past I thought I would forget once I started a new life seemed to loom despite the joyous occasion and the hushed noise of my colleagues' chatters in the background. With a subtle smile, I lowered my gaze to my phone to message Grace that I might get home late because of the team dinner at a nearby pub.

"The night has just begun, Ms. Davis. Are you already missing your boyfriend?"

I couldn't help but chuckle and playfully shake my head as my colleague insisted on refilling my glass with more wine.

"Why don't we play truth or dare?" Ms. Hark suggested with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she raised an empty bottle of wine.

Everyone cheered in excitement as they agreed with Ms. Hark's idea. With a perked-up atmosphere, she began spinning the bottle in her hand. Their eyes sparkled with anticipation as the bottle slowed down its turn.

My heart skipped a beat in anxiousness as the bottle stopped in front of me. The grin on my colleagues' faces was like sharp arrows waiting for me to make the wrong move.

"Alright, Ms. Davis! I mean... Iliana... truth or dare?" Ms. Hark inquired, her voice firm and forceful.

"D-Dare!" I stammered, my words hustled and breathless.

The girls whispered to Ms. Hark before she gave the dare, whispering the last few words. "Ring your boyfriend and say..."

I was momentarily confused by her words but hesitantly followed their whim as I took a deep breath while dialing Sam's number. My heart began to race when his phone began to ring on the other line. The expectant gazes of my colleagues placed me in a tight spot.

"Ily?"

"I... I want a good cream pie?" I stammered with a confused tone.

Sam coughed at the other line upon hearing my words, followed by the laughter of my colleagues. My confusion grew as I looked at my colleagues with furrowed brows.

A momentary pause stayed in the air before Sam replied, "I-I... Ily... I don't think we're ready for that."

"Wait, what does that—"

"Poor thing," our team leader muttered while chuckling before sipping the glass of wine in his hand.

The call suddenly got cut off, and everyone's laughter grew as they looked at my confused appearance. They moved on with the game without explaining what those words meant.

The atmosphere was light and easy-going, and despite the guilt nibbling at the edges of my conscience due to the fabrications about my identity, the night continued smoothly. The friendly vibes and the genuine laughter of some of my colleagues helped me set aside my bothersome thoughts, at least for the time being.

********************

"Even the most noble people tend to lie to protect people they care about or to protect themselves from others. Lying is not a bad thing, but it depends on the consequences that it implies," Grace murmured in a hushed tone as she read her manuscript.

I wanted to ask her how she managed to utter words that perfectly fit my current situation, despite knowing well that it was merely a coincidence. My eyes stayed wide open as I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, dimly lit by the glimmer of Grace's laptop screen. Despite my sleepiness and numb head, I couldn't get myself to sleep. I sighed, feeling the strong thumping in my chest.

"Still up?" Grace asked in a hushed tone while still typing on her laptop.

"Hmm..."

"Is something wrong, Ily?" Grace asked as she turned her head towards my bed.

"I think I made a mistake today."

"What kind of mistake?" she asked as she closed her laptop to climb on my bed and sat on the edge, stroking my hair gently.

I turned to her eyes and confessed about lying to my colleagues and eventually telling her the 'Truth and Dare' game. They asked me to do something that confused me. In the beginning, she was listening to me intently, but she momentarily wavered as I soon mentioned the call I had with Sam.

"Ily, please call Sam... right now," she muttered with her eyes wide open.

"What? Why—"

"Just because!"

I jolted up and hurriedly reached for my phone in my bag, clinging to the edge of the headboard of my bed. I dialed Sam's number as I was told, still confused about what was going on.

"Ily? Did you get home safely?" Sam asked as soon as the call got connected.

"Let me talk to him," Grace muttered as she gently took my phone. "Sam, you know Ily is innocent about intimate things despite her age, right?"

I felt my face warm up, realizing the meaning of the words my colleagues told me to say. "Oh, my goodness!"

"Yes, I know," Sam replied, his voice trancing while trembling lightly.

Grace explained my situation to Sam and said with a firm voice, "I trust that you didn't misunderstand what she said earlier about the sweet pudding."

With a momentary pause, Sam stammered, "I... Yes... Of course!"

"Good! Good night then." Grace ended the call without allowing me to talk to Sam, and even if she did, I would just hang up right then and there.

The retaliation of lying about a boyfriend shook me, but I couldn't call Sam right away. Just as Grace mentioned, I am stupid about things related to intimacy or even dating, though I'm not entirely innocent. It's just that Grace and I grew up under the care of the nuns, and we never had any experience with the opposite gender aside from having a friendship with Sam, nor did I like the thought of having any. I dislike reading romantic novels, unlike Grace, and I do not believe in fairytales.

It was also my first time bonding with mixed-gender colleagues and drinking with them, mingling, and getting to know them because I had no time for such things before I started working at Ainsley Enterprise. I used to have multiple jobs, making it hard for me to even have any other relationships other than those I already had.

I once dreamed of having my own family and living a simple life as a mother and a wife, but I had long buried the thought after convincing myself that family is nothing but one's privilege. An orphan like me should never get jealous of others just because they have relatives who care and help them in any situation. I already accepted the fact that I would never be a part of any family and that the home doesn't always need to shelter blood-related individuals, but people who could care for and help one another, just like the friendship between Grace and me.

"Let me take a break; I haven't taken a good nap since a week ago," Grace mumbled as she lay down on her bed.

I chuckled silently, but I had no idea if she saw it. "Good night, Grace."

"Night night, Ily," she whispered as she yawned and closed her eyes.

It was nearly midnight, but I knew that Grace was just being considerate and having to stop writing just so I could go to sleep peacefully without disturbance. She used to write throughout the night, only sleeping in the morning and waking up at noon. It had already been her routine since the first day she began writing. She's such a sweet friend, but quite overprotective sometimes. Our ages are not that far apart; she's just three months older than me, but she acts like an older sister most of the time.

I wanted to pat her head and cuddle her just like we used to do when we were young, but I didn't want to disturb her sleep as she had already been exhausted after days and nights of writing her manuscript. I remained awake for a bit despite the silence and hushed buzz of the fan before finally convincing myself to call Sam first thing in the morning and finally dozing off.