One

Sharon sat on the sidewalk bench crying silently. As if on cue, the rain starts to fall heavily. “ Why!? Why!!! What have I ever done to deserve this!!!,” she soliloquized angrily. She is not crying because she feels like a failure,

She is crying because she has been staying strong all alone… Staying strong for a very long time that the tears can’t help falling this time around.

Earlier that day**

Sharon stared at the letter on her desk in despair. Who will she ask for help now? Her brother Benedict who is also the CEO is not even an option right now cause he totally hates her guts.

She stared at the dismissal letter again. Why has life always been unfair to her? She looked at her chubby reflection in the mirror. It’s not her fault that she was born this way.

Ever since she was young, it must have been pretty obvious to everyone that she looks and behaves differently from her family. Her mother Lena was a hot model in her prime and is currently a well-known fashion designer.

She is the perfect description of slim and sexy. The perfect genes Sharon didn’t even inherit any, her sister Sheila is the one that takes after their mom. Sheila has those sexy blue eyes that seem to make men go mad about her. She is slim, beautiful and has the perfect hourglass figure.

Something Sharon can’t even dream of having in years to come. Unlike Sheila, Sharon is the direct opposite. Even though she’s the older daughter, she is the shortest in the family.

Unlike the females in their family, Sharon is chubby. She has brown hair and eyes. The only thing she inherited from her father. She doesn’t have Benedict’s intelligence or Shelia’s beauty and charisma. She has always been an introvert from a young age.

She sighed and breath in deeply before holding the letter. “I have to at least try pleading. This is my only source of income. I can’t lose this now” she thought and walked out of her office.

Heading to the manager’s office, she prayed silently hoping he would have sympathy for her. As soon as she knocked she heard his voice. That voice that always sent shivers down her spine.

Do you know the kind of shiver I’m talking about ? Not the good part of shiver, like the one you feel when you are in love.

It’s the bad one. You know when you are afraid of someone and you shiver in fear. That’s the shiver I’m talking about. Sharon walked into the office with a pleading expression. The manager looked up and smiled showing his dirty dark-brown teeth.

Everyone is well aware of how badly her family treats her so they treat her anyhow. They don’t show her respect the way they do to Sheila. Sheila is like a queen while she is seen as a nobody.

“ I see Sharon, you got the letter, right? I’m sorry about what happened. You are one of our best employees and the company is sad to see you leave,” he said still smiling.

Sharon knows he isn’t saying the truth. Who will be sad to see her leave? No one, absolutely no one. The most happiest person would be Benedict.

He has been looking for ways to dismiss her. Shouldn’t brothers be trying to protect their younger sisters so why is her own different?

Yes, he protects Sheila like a mother hen does to her chicks. Sometimes she wonders if they are really her siblings. There’s that silent voice in her mind asking over and over again,’ Am I adopted?’

“Sir, I haven’t done anything wrong to deserve this letter. Please sir, you should reconsider. You have just said it yourself that I’m one of your best employees. Do you really want to let me go?,” she asked sadly.

The manager stood up exposing his protruding belly that wasn’t obvious before when he was sitting. He walked closer to Sharon and put his chubby hands on her shoulder slowly caressing her.

Sharon swallowed feeling very disgusted. “ I gave you an option few years ago but you rejected it. If you had accepted, I would have been able to save you now,” he said.

Sharon thought of years ago when she joined the company. Then she was naïve and very sensitive. It had upset her a lot when people said bad things about her body size and her brother didn’t even try to defend or protect her.

She had yet to accept then that Sheila was and would always be everyone’s favorite. The manager unexpectedly defended her then. He stood up for her and she felt safe that at least someone cared about her.

Until she found out about his real motive. He was a pervert. An old stinky pervert who enjoyed luring new female staffs and taking advantage of them.

“Sir, please take your hands off me. I didn’t accept your offer years ago and I surely won’t accept it today. You know it’s rude to touch an engaged lady impolitely, Mr Jean,” Sharon uttered shrugging his hands off her.

Mr Jean stared at her feeling a little bit stunned. For the first time since Sharon joined the company she said his real name. What happened to her calling him sir?

He felt slightly irked and annoyed. He just gave her another chance to reconsider but she blatantly refused. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with an outcast anymore.

Someone whom family doesn’t even care about. He only wanted to help her before but she has proven stubborn over and over again by rejecting his kind offer.

“Then Miss Sharon we have nothing to say again. Go to the financial department and collect your last paycheck. Then get the hell out of this company!,” Mr Jean raised his tone while saying the last statement.

Sharon didn’t say anything thinking it was really a mistake to come to him in the first place. She just turned around and left. Mr Jean looked her huge backside swaying sideways as she left then licked his lips with a lustful look.

Sharon suddenly stopped as she touched the door knob. She turned around and didn’t miss the lustful look on Mr Jean’s face. She walked towards him feeling even more disgusted.

“Why have you come back?,” Mr Jean asked grumpily. He was enjoying watching her backside sway seductively but she suddenly turned around interrupting the show.

Sharon walked to his table and picked up a heavy book. She then went back to him and said,“ I’ve always wanted to do this.”

Before Mr Jean could ask what she mean, she lifted the book and hit it on his potbelly. He screamed out in pain. Ouch! Obviously he didn’t see that coming.

Sharon dropped the book and walked out haughtily. Mr Jean struggled to say,“ You are fired!” Sharon turned back to look at him and then smirked. “I know. You can’t fire me twice,” she said before leaving the office.

He then frowned remembering what just happened. People say beauty without brains but to him Sharon doesn’t have any. No beauty no brain. How dare she do this to him!? He would have made her regret it if he wasn’t in so much pain.

“Here it is,” the lady said throwing the paper check at Sharon. She had to bend down to pick it. She blushed out of embarrassment not feeling surprised since this is what she face at the company almost every day.

‘Maybe I should be glad I’m leaving,’ she thought. ‘Then you’ll feed on air, right?,’ her subconscious replies making her frown at the painful reality.

‘Jeez I have to start thinking of how to pay my bills. Maybe I should take up Cherry’s offer on writing a story online for money,’ she thought silently as she walked out.

Just before she could reach the entrance, she bumped into someone and a briefcase fell down. “Bch! Can’t you watch where you are going!?,” Sharon looked up as soon as she heard the person’s voice.

It’s Benedict. He bent down and picked up his suitcase. Before she could say anything, he spoke,“ I hope you got the letter bch. Don’t ever come back to this company ever again. I know you can’t survive without this company.”

She swallowed the apology that was about to come out from her mouth and looked at him angrily. “I can do without this god damn company!,” she replied angrily.

Benedict looked at her surprised cause she has never spoken back to him before. She has always been quiet no matter how he and Sheila bullied her. It seems like it’s another lady standing in front of him. Where is the Sharon he knew ?

He chuckled and retorted,“ I seem to have forgotten that you got yourself a rich boyfriend. Are you gonna run to him for help now that you have no job? Aren’t you scared that he might dump you.”

Sharon look at him angrily and spat out,“ He’s not as unreliable as you!” She can tolerate anything against her but she won’t tolerate a single bad word said against Aiden.

He’s the only one that has been there for her. She turned around to leave and heard Ben say,“ Don’t come back here crying for help.”

“I won’t,” she answered and left.

Getting to the company’s garage, she sighed frustrated at the sight of all the luxurious looking cars and only her own standing out as an eyesore.

As she was about to walk to her car, she saw Benedict’s new Porsche parked in secluded spot. She walked to the car and smirked as an idea clicked in her head.

Looking around, she found a stone big enough to make satisfying damage. Then she walked to the car and hit it severally making a dent in his car.

Satisfied at the state the car is in, she hurriedly dropped the stone faraway from the scene and rushed to her car. She brought out her phone to check for messages and was surprised to see no message from Aiden.

As she was wondering why Aiden didn’t call or text her, she remembered what she had just done. “ Gosh! Silly me. It’s better I leave before someone come out,” she muttered. Then she zoomed off.