Chapter 4

"Cony and Jane are getting married next month," I muttered as I read the message from Selena. I laughed maniacally, feeling that this was bound to happen.

No wonder those two shameless people are getting married soon. I wouldn't be surprised. Because it would have been more surprising if Jane hadn't picked up the scrap I'd thrown away. That's natural. 

She likes worthless things.

Then I texted Selena back with a smile, "What a lovely pair of snakes." And put my cell phone back into the bag. Afterwards, I looked at the streets, which were quite crowded. The little thought of how they didn't think about my feelings when making this decision still felt a little suffocating.

Looking back, I was the one who put in the most effort for the family. But now look at the advantage for me. But it's no big deal, I'll get up again and leave that pain behind. They were no longer something that could stand in the way of my dreams and path.

I gave a slight nod and encouraged myself. "I can do this. It's so easy." Despite the fact that, up to a week passed from the time I left home, I still couldn't get a job.

I needed more money to survive. My money was already running low and I wasn't sure how long it would last. "Let's save money, and get a job so you don't starve to death."

Since a long time ago, I've been struggling to manage my finances and my savings. Even though I was doing such hard and gruelling work, what I got was never worth it.

Caring for the family company requires excellent skills and a keen eye for opportunities. If father had treated me right, I would've had a lot of savings from my salary. I served there, and at first, I didn't feel anything from father's behaviour that was so different. But after everything that happened, I just realised it. Suppose my father treated me like someone else. And now that I was no longer working there, I had to look elsewhere.

When I thought about it, I immediately felt regret. "Why did I try so hard, huh? Damn it, I should have done something corrupt or laundered money and bankrupted the Dennison family if I knew I'd be dumped like this."

Yes, I should have done that first. It's too late now. The name Dennison is no longer part of my last name. In fact, it felt so useless because I couldn't use it to get a job either. That name does not affect me whatsoever.

But then I shook my head and took a deep breath. "Don't waste your energy cursing something useless. Let's focus, you need a job to survive."

And that's when, like a miracle, an email came in. With curiosity and a fast-beating heart, I quickly looked at it. Listed at the top of the email was the name of a well-known company, Terra Nova Industries.

My hand quickly looked at the contents of the email reply from the company I had sent the job application. And as the page opened, I could feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

"Wow, an interview call!" I squealed happily. I felt so enthusiastic about this. Because this big company is strict about penetrating, I got a reply to take the test there.

With my heart still beating fast, I reached back for my phone and

scrolling down the screen. "When should I come for the test?" I asked in a small voice.

The moment I found it, my heart suddenly dropped to my stomach. Heartburn hit me at the wrong time. I felt weak and drained, half groaning as I looked at the date. "It's today, in an hour."

Now, I didn't have much time. I immediately went to the bathroom and prepared myself as best I could. There was no time to complain. I had to push through everything before me to get up and make my family regret it.

Damn, I remembered that I'm not part of their family anymore now.

After finishing preparing quickly, I went straight to the skyscraper, half an hour away by taxi. Although it could have been reached by taking the bus, it would have wasted more time, and I might have missed the opportunity.

Once I arrived at the Terra Nova Industries building, I squinted slightly as I looked at the top of the building. The very top was utterly invisible, covered by the overhead sunlight.

After taking a deep breath repeatedly, I finally entered and went straight to the receptionist. I saw the woman on guard smiling sweetly and bowing slightly. "Good afternoon, Miss. How may I help you?" he asked kindly.

I nodded, then took out my cell phone with the test notification sent via email. "I got a call for a test. Where should I go?"

She checked my phone and then gave a slight nod. "Yes, Miss. You can go up to the fifteenth floor and wait in the test room on the left side of the elevator." She showed me where the elevator was and also directed me to the place you were looking for.

While paying attention to the woman's direction, I nodded in understanding. "Ah yes, I see. Thank you very much." And just like that, I walked straight into the elevator and pressed number fifteen. As the elevator doors closed, my heart started beating rapidly again.

I took repeated breaths to calm myself down. "Relax, everything will be fine. Right after that, the elevator doors clinked and opened quickly. After adjusting my posture and smiling, I walked out and headed towards the left direction, which the receptionist had indicated earlier.

When I arrived, I was immediately greeted by a woman who had just come out of the room I was in. The woman looked up at me. I smiled formally. "Good afternoon, Lea Dennison, who got the test call today."

The woman looked at me briefly, seeming to remember something before nodding. "Ah, you just came in? Come in, it's your turn."

Hearing that, I felt a little more relieved. Turns out I wasn't too late despite having to speed up the trip quickly. An hour's notice made me catch my breath again upon arriving here.

And the moment I was invited to sit down, my knees became trembling. The woman sat down in front of me and placed several pieces of paper in front of me. "The time is sixty minutes."

And that was it before the woman wearing a short skirt walked out of the

Room. I blinked a few times, finding a series of numbers filling the paper before me. Rasnaya, this made no sense. "Finally, I got a taste of taking this test after a long time of only giving it to prospective employees in the company."

After an hour had passed and I had completed all the assigned tasks, I quickly went home and rested in the flat. I caught my breath many times, trying to think positively if I would pass here. I had taken this test when I was still working at the family company. But still, it wouldn't guarantee that I would succeed in getting into another company.

"Yeah, I should still look for another job before there's any certainty from Terra Nova," I said as I slurped down the freshly cooked instant noodles. It's already the second day after my surprise test. But to this day, there has been no email notification whether I was accepted or rejected.

Still with my mind wandering, an email arrived on my phone. Without expecting much, I reached over and read the notice that came in. Suddenly, the first word that appeared made me choke and cough.

"Ugh, that hurts," I muttered and then grabbed some water and gulped it down. Then, I reached for my phone again and searched for the email once more. "Congratulations, you have met the qualifications to become one of the staff in our company."

Immediately, I jumped with joy. A company as big as Terra Nova had accepted me, and that meant I wouldn't be unemployed anymore. Then, after screaming and jumping up, I came back closer and read the entire notice.

"Tomorrow's the first day of work," I muttered and continued swiping through the phone screen. And then, I was again stunned and squinted to confirm what I had just read. "CEO's secretary?"

I tried to recall the cover letter I'd sent out back then. "It feels like I'm applying for management?"

That left me confused and silent for quite a while. But then I shook my head. Ignoring her and taking a deep breath. "Whatever the job is, it doesn't matter. I can handle this."

The next day, I left for the morning with a bit of nervousness. I even re-did my appearance in the mirror, to make sure I didn't make any mistakes on my first day of work. After making sure everything was fine, I went to the office. As soon as I did my face ID in front of the main door, I walked up to the thirty-fifth floor. The highest floor was the room of Terra Nova's CEO.

I knocked on the door and walked in. Just then, I saw a man sitting with his back to the door. I couldn't see his face at all, but I was sure that he was the leader here. Then, without wasting any time at all, I immediately bowed respectfully. "Good morning, sir. I'm Lea Dennison, your new personal secretary."

Then, the chair turned, and the CEO looked at me thoroughly. I immediately put on my best smile before stiffening at the sight of his face. At that moment, I immediately took a step back with a surprised look. My heart seemed to stop beating, and I held my breath involuntarily.