All Chapters of The CEO I Vowed To Hate (English): Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

ELISHA POVI knelt in front of my parents' graves, gently tracing my fingers over their names carved into the marble.Three days. It had only been three days. Yet it already felt like an eternity since I last heard their voices."Mom... Dad..." I whispered, forcing a smile despite the tears filling my eyes. "I don't know how to start over."A lump formed in my throat. "I've always had the two of you beside me. Every dream I had... every plan... you were part of all of them."My voice trembled. "Now I'm standing here alone."The wind gently brushed against my face, as if answering me. "I wasn't ready."I laughed weakly through my tears. "You didn't even leave me instructions on how to survive without you."Silence answered me."I know you're probably worried about me."I wiped away my tears. "So don't. I'll cry today."m I'll cry tomorrow. And maybe for a long time after that. But I promise..." I looked at their gravestones. "I'll protect everything you worked so hard to build. I won't l

CADEN POV "None of the applicants meet the company's standards." I closed the last résumé and tossed it onto the desk. "Did you even review these properly?"The HR officer lowered his head. "I-I'm sorry, Sir. We checked every application. They all met the minimum qualifications."I leaned back in my chair. "Minimum qualifications and Guevarra Corporation's standards are two different things."Silence."If anyone can replace my secretary just because they have a good resume, then my company wouldn't be where it is today.""I understand, Sir.""No, you don't." I pushed the stack of resume toward him. "They look good on paper. But paper doesn't tell me how they'll react under pressure.""I'm sorry, Sir.""Your apology won't improve the quality of applicants." I looked at him coldly. "You may leave.""Yes, Sir."The door closed.I massaged my temple.Finding competent people had become harder every year.Skills could be taught.Character couldn't.My phone rang."The last applicant has a

ELISHA POV The next morning, when I arrived at the company, I overheard several employees whispering about me. "Have you heard the news?" "What news? I went home early yesterday." "Our CEO praised his new secretary." "Really? That's so unusual." "Right?" "How did that happen?" "No one knows... unless there's something going on between them behind office hours." One of them suddenly noticed me. Her eyes widened in panic, and she quickly nudged the others. Too late. Now they wanted to stop talking after I'd already heard everything? Typical toxicity. I walked straight toward them. "If you're going to talk about me, at least make sure I don't hear it, especially if you don't have the courage to say it to my face." "Elisha..." "Oh? Do you still have something to say? Since I've already heard everything, why don't you finish what you were saying? Go ahead. Say it right here in front of me. Don't be cowards." "Elisha, we were just talking," one of them insisted. "You think

ELISHA POVOur meeting lasted much longer than expected, so it ended late.Dark clouds covered the sky.The moment we stepped outside, rain poured heavily.I laughed."What perfect timing."Even so, I continued walking."Stop, Elisha."I turned to look at my boss."Why?"He opened the umbrella he was holding."You'll get sick."I sighed before walking toward him.I couldn't help wondering about the way he had been acting lately.He had been unusually kind to me.When we were almost back at the hotel, a motorcycle suddenly sped past in front of us, splashing muddy water all over us.At first, I gasped.Then I immediately burst into laughter when I saw the expression on my boss's face."Damn it! Who the hell is that? This suit is expensive!" he complained, which only made me laugh even harder."Why are you laughing, Elisha?"I quickly covered my mouth when he spoke."Sorry, Sir. Just look at your face.""It's not funny.""You really can't avoid people like that. They don't pay much atten

ELISHA POVI walked into Caden's office and placed the documents I had finished on his desk."I hope that's the last of it," I muttered.He looked up at me. "What do you mean?""I'm just saying... you might suddenly give me more work again, and I'll end up staying here until midnight."He simply shook his head with a faint smile."Sir, can I ask you something?""What is it?""Why did you hire me? I mean... a lot of people applied, and I know some of them probably deserved this position more than I did.""Hmm. Why, indeed?" He pretended to think. "If they deserved your position, then why didn't they pass?""Because you're too strict?" I guessed."Nah. That's too shallow of an answer. I've told you several times that this company follows certain standards. Anyone can fit the position, but not everyone can deliver the quality of work we expect.""Oh, come on! You made my life miserable for almost a month.""I just wanted to see how far you could go and whether you'd last. What you went th