Chapter 5: Survival
537 Words
The next morning, Sumayah arrived at work, her eye bags were obvious she barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw two futures, one uncertain and poor, the other secure but suffocating. Neither felt like freedom.
She settled at her desk, forcing herself into routine.
Emails. Schedules. Calls. Normal tasks that grounded her, even as her thoughts wandered.
At 9:15 a.m., Omarion walked in, he looked as composed as ever but something in his expression had hardened overnight.
Determination, sharp and unyielding.
“Good morning, sir,” she said, keeping her voice steady.
“Sumayah,” he replied, pausing at his door. “A word.”
Her pulse quickened.
She stood up and followed behind him with lots of fear in her.
They both walked in, Omarion walked toward his desk. Inside his office, the air felt heavier than usual.
“Have you decided?” he asked without preamble.
She folded her hands tightly in front of her. “No sir.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “You have less than forty hours now.”
“I know.” She whispered.
Silence stretched between them.
“Why me?” she asked suddenly.
The question seemed to catch him off guard.
“You gave me practical reasons,” she continued. “But that’s not the whole truth.”
Omarion studied her for a long moment.
Finally he broke the awkward silence. “Because you’re strong.”
She blinked. “Strong?”
“You survived things most people wouldn’t,” he said. “I read your file.”
Her stomach twisted. “But you had no right to read the staffs file.”
“I needed to know who I was trusting.”
“And what did you end up realizing ?” she asked quietly.
“A woman who doesn’t break easily,” he said. “I need that.”
Something in his voice made her chest tighten not pity, not admiration, but respect.
It unsettled her more than arrogance ever could.
“And what about you?” she asked. “Do you break easily, Mr. Hills?”
A faint, humorless smile touched his lips. “I don’t have the luxury.”
For a moment, they stood there, not boss and secretary, not strangers but two people standing on different edges of the same storm.
“I’ll give you my answer tomorrow,” she said finally.
Omarion nodded once. “Tomorrow, then.”
As she turned to leave, his voice stopped her again.
“Sumayah.”
She looked back.
“I apologize for reading your files, and If you say yes,” he said quietly, “I will keep every promise in that contract.”
She held his gaze for a long moment.
“I hope so,” she replied. “Promises are always the easiest things to break.”
The day went by so fast and it was time to leave, she looked through his office and saw how stressed and exhausted he looked.
She packed her bags and headed home thinking all the way back.
Tomorrow was a decision about the kind of life she was willing to live and for the first time in years, Sumayah Smith felt truly afraid of the future.
- Writer
