Chapter 1

"2 Gordon Ramsay steaks and a glass of red wine."

I took notes on what the customer said. Gordon Ramsay's Steak It's easy to spend a lot of money on them. They aren't concerned with the cost as long as they get what they want.

When am I going to be the one sitting in that expensive chair, just waiting for the food?

To process their order, I repeated their order first before saying goodbye.

I work as a waitress in a fine dining establishment. Despite the fact that I did not graduate, I was able to gain a work here thanks to the help of a friend. I am truly grateful to that person; because of him, we will have money to cover our daily expenses.

"Another wealthy person who will spend a lot of money on a single meal," Judy said as she reviewed the menu I gave.

"Gillian, the manager is calling you," my colleague said as he approached me. Judy, who had heard, looked at me.

Did I do something wrong again?

Our manager was the one who made me suffer during my two months here. I'm not sure why she's so upset with me, but I believe it's because of Jake. His former boyfriend's name is Jake, and some have told me that Jake is the reason our manager hates me.

I couldn't help but gasp. If that's the case, I'd say she's extremely immature. I already have a lot of problems, but she just added to them because of Jake? If she still loves Jake, she should tell him! But it's no longer my concern if Jake doesn't really want her!

When I entered her office, I found her lying on the sofa. 

“Ma'am, did you call me?” She sat up and looked at me wickedly. I haven't done anything yet, but the way she stared at me, it's like she wants to start a fight.

I can say she's beautiful, but her attitude is not. When she saw something she didn't want, she immediately fired someone. I wondered why, until now, she has not made a way to fire me.

“You seem late earlier.” My forehead furrowed.

“1 minute--" she stopped what I was going to say. Damn! If only I wasn't thinking about this job, and how it was important to us.

“I don't care! One minute or a second. Still, you are late! And you know that I don't tolerate those kinds of attitudes!” She said while staring at me so bad.

I know that. It's her excuse to get rid of me. Very childish! Calm down, Gillian.

“Ma'am, sorry.” I said, but she just laughed as if insulted.

“I'll give you one last change. If you're even a one-second late, you're fired!”

The world is so unfair. Why not just make people equal? 

I was tired lying in my bed when I got home. I'm on a night shift, so I'm even more tired. I wish I could sleep in the morning, but no. Furthermore, I have a responsibility.

“Sister, are you there?” Even though my body ached, I stood up to open my door for my sister.

“Oh, Nica? Why?” I asked her.

We are three siblings. I am the eldest, Nica is the second, and our youngest is Zaji. My mother died when she gave birth to Zaji, and my father had a leg amputated when our youngest brother was two years old.

I can’t say my life is unlucky because I am thankful that I have a brother, sister, and father who love me. Even though our lives have been like this, I am happy because of them. They are my strength. I will do everything for them.

“I'm sorry, Sister. I wanted to avoid asking you for money, but I really need it for school.” I laughed because of what he said. My sister is very shy, but she's sweet. 

I sat on the bed as she entered the bedroom. She also sat on the bed. I got my wallet to the side and opened it.

“Just say it if you need money, Nika. That's why I'm working for us. How many do you need? ” I ask.

He scratched his head and snorted.

“That's the reason, sister. You work for us; you’re always tired.” I touched her hair.

Nika is 10 years old, but she seems old enough to think. Maybe because she realized early on the hardships of life. Nica and I have a big age gap, I'm already 23. Zaji is already 5 years old now.

I finished my work earlier at the restaurant at 5, and I only slept for an hour before I got up to prepare breakfast.

Nika will go to school, so I have to prepare breakfast early.

After I came out, I found my dad struggling to cook rice, so I ran towards him.

“Dad!” I quickly and gently grabbed his arms to make him sit.

“What? I can do it. It's just simple work.” He said. I frowned.

“I know, Dad, but I can do it too.” I said.

“Just go to sleep first. I'll be there. You're tired from work.” He said.

He would have approached the sink again, but I frowned at him.

Even if I'm tired from work, if my family is like this, it's okay.

“Don't strain yourself too much. At least once, enjoy yourself. You also can't have a boyfriend because you always think about us. I'm starting to think that you will never have a boyfriend.” Despite my frowning face, he was still able to joke.

Boyfriend? I do not need that. It's just a headache.

“Dad, what do you think of me? Do you think I can't have a boyfriend?” I also said jokingly.

“Wow. My daughter is fighting. "Perhaps not just one, but several, will be your boyfriend."He laughed at the same time, so I also couldn't help myself to laugh.

Even though we are poor, we are still happy. Even though I am struggling, I am happy because they are my family.

It was morning again, I went to the market to do the morning work. Even though Dad is disabled, he can still take care of Zaji. So, that's a big relief for me.

“The muse of the market is here again." I laughed at the joke of the fishmonger in the market. They always joke that, they say, I'm not supposed to be here because modeling is a better and nicer job for me. I laughed because I knew they were just joking.

When I put my bag on the chair, I immediately tied my hair. The salary here is small, but it also helps with the expenses, so I put up with it.

I sell here in the morning, but in the afternoon I am replaced by the real owner. I'm not alone in the morning, I'm with the owner's son. Well, he's my best friend.

“Good morning?” I said to Yunard while fixing my hair. He just glanced at me and came over to tie my hair. He really used to tie my hair.

“So sweet!” Diva teases while cleaning the fish.

“Stop it, Dive!” I laughed while shaking my head.

If I'm the muse in the market, Yunard is supposed to be my escort. That is what they said.

Yunard and I have been friends for a long time, so we are really close to each other. He also brought me here when I said I was still seeking employment. At first, he didn't want to because I was so tired from my night work, but he couldn't do anything.

“How many hours did you sleep?” He asked and went back to what he was doing.

“One hour.” I simply said, but he looked at me with a sigh.

“That is the reason you shouldn't work in the morning. You're making yourself too tired.” He said.

“If I can't make it anymore, I'll stop. But now I can still do it.” I simply said that I had already started what I was doing. He never spoke again.

I just keep on persuading everyone to buy it. We sell meat and frozen foods.

“Mister. What about you?” I asked the man who was passing by. When I heard, he stopped and stared at me after looking at the goods.

“How much is a kilo of meat?” He asked.

I politely answered his question, but my blood boiled the next time he asked.

“How about you, Miss. How much are you?” I let go of the plastic bag I was holding and was ready to scold him when Yunard suddenly spoke.

“Bro! If you have no respect, don't come here.” Yunard said hard, so I grabbed his fist that was now ready to punch.

Diva also looked at the other side, and I noticed that she called our male colleagues in the market. 

“Why? Is this your girlfriend?” The man laughed.

I can already feel the anger of Yunard. What Yunard doesn't want is to insult me. He was like my older brother when I was busy pretending to be a mother to my siblings. He will protect me. That is always what he said.

“Someone is insulting our muse. Is that you?” From the side, Brother Din is there. One of the elderly in the market spoke while holding a stick.

Behind him were two of his companions, also holding the same stick he was holding.

Problem solved. The man left quickly for fear of being hit by a stick.

Before getting away, Brother Din shouted at the man not to come back and look for another market. I am deeply grateful for what he did.

What happened next went well, I thought it would be okay until the end of the day, but... I was wrong.

I answered the call from Nika with a smile, but... It gradually disappeared because of what she said.

“Sister... We ran Zaji to the hospital.”

Because of her crying voice, my knees weakened.