THE NIGHT WE RUINED EVERYTHING

Chapter2

Chapter 2

Ariana started her first day carrying all the embarrassment from her first meeting with Damien Vale. The entire night she had prayed she would never see him again. Unfortunately, life clearly hated her.

Ariana spent the whole elevator ride trying to convince herself not to quit. Twenty-four floors, and she was still considering it when the silver elevator doors slowly opened, revealing a massive office floor covered in glass walls, polished marble floors, and quiet conversations. Employees walked around confidently with tablets and expensive coffee cups in their hands.

Everyone looked rich, elegant, and perfect. Ariana suddenly became painfully aware of her old shoes and worn-out bag. She adjusted her blazer nervously and stepped out carefully.

“New intern?” Ariana heard a voice behind her.

She quickly turned around. A blonde receptionist stood there, smiling politely. Her makeup was flawless, and her fitted navy dress probably cost more than Ariana’s monthly rent. The receptionist handed her a folder.

“Conference Room B,” she said warmly. “The executives are waiting.”

Then she walked away gracefully.

Ariana blinked in confusion. “Executives?” she whispered to herself. Her stomach dropped instantly. “I thought interns weren’t supposed to meet executives.” Anxiety crawled up her chest.

Maybe this was normal. Maybe this company worked differently. Or maybe her bad luck had simply followed her here. Taking a deep breath, Ariana tightened her grip on the folder and walked. She pushed the glass doors open slowly.

Immediately, her eyes landed on him: Damien Vale.

Her heart pounded painfully against her chest. He sat comfortably at the end of the long conference table, scrolling through documents as if he owned the entire universe. Which, technically, he almost did. The expensive black suit he wore today made him look even more intimidating. His sleeves were rolled slightly above his wrists, revealing a silver watch that flashed beneath the bright office lights.

His eyes lifted slowly toward her. And then came that same annoying smirk.

“Well,” Damien said lazily while leaning back in his chair, “looks like the scholarship girl survived.”

A few people around the table laughed softly. Others stared at Ariana with curiosity.

She wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole.

Heat rushed to her face instantly. For a second, tears burned behind her eyes. But she refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of him.

Ariana swallowed hard and walked farther into the room. She pulled one of the chairs back quietly, preparing to sit down.

“Don’t touch that chair.”

His voice came out cold and heavy. The room instantly became silent. Ariana slowly looked up at him. Damien crossed his arms casually.

“You’re an intern,” he said calmly. “You can’t sit there. Your class probably can’t afford chairs like that.”

A few people laughed again. Her fingers tightened around the chair. Every word felt like a slap across her face. But Damien wasn’t done.

“I have a special chair for you,” he added with a smirk.

Then he turned slightly. “Security.”

One of the guards near the door stepped forward immediately. “Get the chair.”

The security guard nodded and left the room. Ariana stood frozen while everyone watched her silently. She could feel the humiliation spreading through her body like fire.

A few moments later, the guard returned carrying an old wooden chair. A cheap one. The type used in storage rooms.

Damien looked pleased. “Perfect,” he said.

The guard placed the chair at the far end of the table.

“From today,” Damien continued smoothly, “whenever we have meetings, you sit there. I don’t want you rubbing your cheap clothes against company furniture.”

The room exploded with quiet laughter again. Ariana felt completely humiliated.

“Now sit,” Damien ordered.

For a moment, she thought about walking out. She thought about throwing the chair at his head. She thought about quitting immediately. But then she remembered her mother. The bills. The house they lost. The sacrifices she made just to get here.

So silently, Ariana sat down.

She stared at the table while people occasionally whispered and laughed under their breaths. The entire meeting became a blur after that. Numbers. Charts. Business discussions.

None of it stayed in her mind. All she could hear was Damien’s cruel voice repeating itself inside her head: _Your class can’t afford chairs like that._

By the time the meeting ended, Ariana couldn’t take it anymore.

Before anyone could stop her, she quickly gathered her things and rushed out of the conference room. Her chest felt tight. The humiliation followed her down every hallway.

She reached her small desk near the corner of the office and collapsed into the chair. Then finally, she cried. Quietly at first. Then harder.

She bent her head onto the desk while painful tears slid down her face. “I can’t do this,” she whispered shakily. “I just can’t.”

The office slowly became quieter as employees started leaving for the evening. But Ariana stayed there. Exhausted. Broken. Embarrassed.

At some point, while crying, she accidentally fell asleep with her head resting against the desk. When she finally woke up, the office was dark.

Panic rushed through her immediately. Ariana grabbed her phone quickly: 9:30 PM.

“Oh no.” Her eyes widened. Then she noticed thirteen missed calls from her mother.

Her heart dropped instantly. She hurriedly stood up and started gathering her papers, shoving them into her bag carelessly. “I’m dead,” she muttered nervously. Her mother must have been worried sick.

Ariana quickly wiped her face and adjusted her clothes before rushing toward the exit. Then suddenly— footsteps. Slow. Heavy. Coming closer.

Ariana froze. A shadow appeared near the hallway. And then she saw Damien. Of course it was him. He walked toward her calmly with both hands inside his pockets.

“Look who’s still here,” he said coldly. “No place to stay, so you decided to sleep in the office?”

Ariana glared at him immediately.

“I don’t care what you think of yourself,” she snapped, “but just know I work for your company, not for you.”

For the first time, Damien looked slightly surprised by her boldness.

Ariana quickly tried to walk past him. But before she could leave, his hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. She gasped softly and turned back toward him.

His grip wasn’t painful. But it was firm.

“Be in my office tomorrow by 7 AM,” he said.

Ariana frowned immediately. “Why?”

A slow, dangerous smile appeared on Damien’s face.

“If you want to survive here, sweetheart,” he said quietly, “you’re going to need training.”

Ariana yanked her hand away from his grip.

Then without another word, she turned around and walked away as fast as she could. But even after leaving the building, Damien Vale’s voice still echoed inside her mind.

And somehow…

that terrified her more.