Like any ordinary office, the room was filled with the bustle of activity.
The sound of keyboards echoed back and forth. Some employees walked around carrying documents, while others were busy at their respective computers.
No one had time to concern themselves with other people's lives.
Including me.
"Ma'am, this month's marketing report is finished."
"Put it on my desk."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Ma'am, the production permit for the new product still hasn't been issued."
"Contact the relevant party. If there are any problems, schedule a meeting."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Ma'am, the meeting with the landowner has been moved up to eleven."
I stopped the hand that was signing several documents.
"Eleven?"
"Yes, ma'am."
I glanced at the clock on the wall.
There was still time.
"All right. Get all the files ready."
"I've already prepared them."
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Good job, Cindy."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Cindy returned to her desk.
She was my secretary.
Not a perfect one. Sometimes she still organized documents incorrectly, forgot to bring certain things, and had even nearly sent a report to the wrong company once.
But I knew one thing.
She had ability.
That was why I kept her on when other companies wouldn't even give her a chance.
Cindy only needed someone willing to see her potential.
And after working with me for years, she had grown far more than I ever could have imagined.
"Ma'am."
I looked up.
Cindy stood in front of me holding a lunch box.
"Eat first."
"I'm not hungry yet."
"You said that two hours ago."
"I'm still not hungry."
"Then just eat a little."
I stared at her for a few seconds.
"Why are you acting like somebody's mom?"
"Because if I don't remind you, you might forget that humans need food."
I chuckled.
"All right."
I took the lunch box.
Cindy smiled in satisfaction.
"Don't forget to drink some water, too."
"Yes, Ms. Cindy."
"Don't tease me."
I laughed again.
No matter how busy my work was, at least there was still someone willing to remind me to do simple things like eat and rest.
Maybe that was why I had never truly thought of Cindy as just my secretary.
She had become a part of my life.
That night, after all my work was finished, I was finally able to sit in peace.
No meetings.
No reports.
No calls from clients.
For the first time that day, I had some time to myself.
I picked up my phone and looked for something to read.
Somehow, my finger stopped on a story on NovelSpace.
The title was pretty interesting.
I read the synopsis.
A woman named Xana Syifanazia who was married to a successful businessman named Fito Ditio Rafrendra.
It sounded ordinary enough.
Until I read about the affair.
Her husband had another woman.
His family supported the relationship.
Her children even loved that woman more than they loved their own birth mother.
And in the end...
Xana chose to end her life.
I frowned.
"Seriously?"
I kept reading.
The farther I got, the more irritated I became.
"Why not just get a divorce?"
I swiped the screen.
"Why stay with someone who clearly doesn't respect you?"
I kept reading while shaking my head.
Not because the story was bad.
If anything, it was because I was too caught up in it.
I even punched my pillow several times out of frustration with the characters' decisions.
"Oh my God, Xana..."
I let out a long sigh.
"If I were you, I would've left from the start."
I went back to reading.
Until I finally reached the part where Xana ended her life.
I fell silent.
There was something strange about reading about someone's death, even when that person was only a fictional character.
I stared at the screen for a long time.
Poor thing.
But even so, I still didn't understand.
How could someone feel that they had no choice but to die?
I turned off my phone's screen.
"If I were Xana, I'd definitely find a way out."
I didn't know why those words came out just like that.
Maybe it was because I was used to solving my own problems.
As far as I was concerned, as long as you were still alive, there was always a way forward.
At least...
that was what I'd believed all this time.
The next day, I went back to work as usual.
Meetings.
Documents.
Phone calls.
More meetings.
Everything went as usual.
Until lunchtime.
I was reading several reports while eating a piece of bread Cindy had bought for me.
"Ma'am, don't read while you're eating."
"Just a second."
"You haven't really rested since yesterday."
"I'm fine."
Cindy sighed.
"If you get sick, don't blame me."
I smiled faintly.
"Yeah."
I went back to reading.
But a few seconds later, my throat began to feel strange.
I stopped chewing.
I coughed.
Once.
Twice.
Breathing became more and more difficult.
"Ma'am?"
I tried to stand.
My body suddenly lost all its strength.
The lunch box fell to the floor.
Crash!
"MA'AM!"
Cindy ran over.
I tried to answer, but my throat felt like it was burning.
I was suffocating.
My vision began to blur.
My hand gripped the desk.
"Cindy..."
"Yes, ma'am! I'm here!"
"I..."
I couldn't even finish the sentence.
My body collapsed.
The voices around me began to sound faint.
Someone called an ambulance.
Someone tried to help me.
And Cindy...
Cindy kept calling my name.
For the first time, I saw panic on her face.
The hospital.
The sounds of medical equipment came from somewhere in the distance.
I didn't know how much time had passed.
My body felt lighter and lighter.
Strange.
As if all the sounds were slowly moving farther away.
I tried to open my eyes.
I couldn't.
I wanted to say something.
I couldn't.
As my consciousness faded, one thought crossed my mind.
I wasn't done living yet.
There were still so many things I wanted to do.
So many places I wanted to visit.
So many things I wanted to build.
I hadn't even gotten the chance to reply to Cindy's message.
Then everything went dark.
I don't know how long I remained in the darkness.
There was no sound.
No light.
No pain.
Until finally...
"Madam..."
A woman's voice reached me faintly.
"Madam, please open your eyes."
I furrowed my brow.
Madam?
Who was she calling?
My hand felt heavy when I tried to move it.
Then my eyes slowly opened.
Blinding white light.
An unfamiliar ceiling.
The smell of medicine.
A hospital?
I tried to sit up, but my body felt incredibly weak.
"Madam!"
The middle-aged woman beside the bed immediately began crying with relief.
"Thank goodness you're awake!"
I stared at her in confusion.
"Are you all right?"
I wanted to answer.
But before I could say anything, the woman called me by a name that made my entire body freeze.
"Madam Xana..."
I fell silent.
Xana?
Impossible.
I turned toward the glass window on the side of the room.
And there...
An unfamiliar woman was staring back at me.
A face I knew.
The face I'd seen on my phone just last night.
The face of a woman who should have already been dead in the story.
I touched my own cheek.
The woman in the glass did the same.
My breath caught.
I knew this face.
I even knew how this woman would die.
This was Xana Syifanazia.