I fell silent as I listened to Ethan.
“If I offered you a job at AURELIA GROUP... would you be willing to accept it?”
His words kept echoing in my mind.
AURELIA GROUP.
A massive company known by almost everyone.
And now, the man who owned that company was offering me a job.
I was just an ordinary woman.
I didn’t have an impressive degree.
I didn’t have any remarkable experience.
Just a few days ago, I’d still been worrying about how to get the money for Mom’s medical expenses.
“Why me?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Ethan looked at me.
“I already told you. Because you deserve it.”
“But I only helped someone.”
“It wasn’t just that.”
His gaze sharpened.
“A lot of people saw the accident. A lot of people heard that child calling for help.”
He paused for a moment.
“But you were the only one who acted.”
I fell silent.
I had never considered what I did to be anything special.
At the time, I’d only thought...
There’s a child who needs help.
And I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t seen it.
“I don’t hire people out of pity.”
Ethan’s voice was firm.
“If you work at my company, you’ll earn your salary because of your abilities. Not because of what happened yesterday.”
I looked into his eyes.
For the first time, I felt that this cold man truly respected someone.
“May I ask what kind of work I’d be doing?”
“Administrative staff in the corporate development division.”
I was slightly surprised.
“I don’t have any experience in that field.”
“You can learn.”
His answer was brief.
“But I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you.”
Ethan stared at me for several seconds.
“People who are afraid of disappointing others are usually more responsible than people who are overconfident.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
His words made me feel a little more confident.
At last, I nodded.
“I accept the job.”
Ethan merely gave a small nod.
“Starting tomorrow.”
That night, I returned to the clinic where Mom was being treated.
My steps felt lighter.
For the first time in a long while, I was bringing good news.
“Mom...”
The woman lying in the bed opened her eyes.
“Maya? You’re home?”
I smiled as I sat down beside her.
“I got a job.”
Mom’s eyes immediately lit up.
“A job?”
I nodded.
“At a major company.”
Mom smiled with relief.
“Thank goodness.”
Her hand closed around mine.
“I always knew you were a strong girl.”
I lowered my head to hold back my tears.
All this time, I’d tried to look like I was doing fine.
But the truth was, I was tired too.
I was scared too.
But I had no choice except to keep holding on.
The next morning, I stood in front of the AURELIA GROUP building.
I looked up at the towering structure stretching toward the sky.
This place was different from the world I’d known all my life.
People walked in wearing expensive clothes.
They talked about business, projects, and investments.
Meanwhile, all I had was a simple bag, and I was wearing clothes I’d already worn several times.
I took a deep breath.
“It’s just a workplace.”
I tried to calm myself down.
As soon as I entered the building, several pairs of eyes turned toward me.
“New employee?”
“Probably.”
“What department?”
I pretended not to hear them.
I was used to people judging others by their appearance.
A short while later, a woman approached me.
“You’re Maya?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“I’m Clara from HR.”
She handed me several documents.
“Here’s your ID card and information about your job.”
“Thank you.”
Clara smiled warmly.
“You’re lucky to have been accepted here.”
I gave her a small smile.
“Because of my abilities?”
Clara hesitated before answering.
“I honestly don’t know. Mr. Ethan is usually very selective.”
I immediately fell silent.
So everyone knew Ethan was the one who had chosen me?
Upstairs...
Ethan stood by the large window in his office, gazing out at the city.
“What do you think?” Surya asked.
“About Maya?”
Ethan nodded.
Surya smiled.
“She’s different from the people who usually come to this company.”
“She’s not chasing profit.”
“That’s exactly what makes her interesting.”
Ethan said nothing.
He didn’t understand why he was paying so much attention to that woman, either.
He usually didn’t care about other people’s lives.
But Maya was different.
That woman possessed something that was hard to find.
Sincerity.
Meanwhile...
In a luxurious house, Adrian watched the news about Maya again.
This time, he saw a photo of Maya being briefly interviewed by a reporter.
The woman he had once believed had no future...
was now under the protection of one of the country’s biggest businessmen.
His hands clenched into fists.
“Maya...”
For the first time, Adrian felt afraid.
Not afraid of losing someone.
But afraid to realize...
that he had lost a woman who was truly precious.
And without realizing it...
Maya’s meeting with Ethan Aurelius had just become the beginning of the greatest change in her life.