Chapter 3. The Ghost Of His Past
1045 Words
Around noon.
That was when she finally noticed the headache building.
She still hadn’t eaten, yet she hadn’t stopped working.
And as she stared at her screen—
“Lunch?”
She turned.
A woman was standing beside her cubicle, smiling.
“Ah—sorry?”
“Let’s eat,” she repeated, her tone slightly amused.
“You look like you’re about to pass out any second.”
Crystal blinked and checked the time.
It was already lunch break.
“Ah… yeah… sure…”
She stood up, her body still a bit stiff.
“By the way,” the woman said as they walked, “I’m Mia.”
“Sir Dino’s secretary.”
Crystal nodded. She remembered her—the one who oriented her yesterday about her role as personal assistant.
“I’m Crystal,” she said after a moment.
Mia smiled.
“I know.”
Crystal frowned slightly.
“You’re the new PA who survived yesterday.”
“…Survived?”
Mia laughed—but it didn’t sound like a joke.
“Girl… congratulations.”
Crystal slowed her steps a little.
“Is it really that hard…?”
Mia glanced at her, a mix of pity and amusement in her eyes.
“No one told you?”
“Told me… what?”
Mia took a breath.
“That most of Sir Dino’s personal assistants…”
A short pause.
“…don’t make it to the second day.”
Crystal couldn’t hide her surprise. But thinking about what she went through yesterday, she couldn’t even question it.
“Some resign on the first day,” Mia continued.
“…because of his attitude?” Crystal asked softly.
Mia nodded.
“He’s a perfectionist, yes. But it’s more than that.”
They entered the pantry, ordered food, then found an empty table and sat down.
They ate in silence at first.
Until—
“He wasn’t like this before,” Mia said, breaking the quiet.
Crystal looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
Mia looked hesitant, as if deciding whether to say it or not.
But in the end—
“He had an ex-fiancée.”
Crystal’s heart skipped.
“…Okay…”
“They were about to get married.”
She paused mid-bite.
“Everything was prepared. Perfect.”
Mia’s voice softened.
“But on the day of the wedding…”
She paused.
“…the woman didn’t show up.”
Crystal felt cold.
“She left him.”
Silence.
“She ran away with another man.”
Something tightened in Crystal’s chest.
She didn’t know Dino personally… but she could feel the weight of that pain.
“And after that…”
Mia sighed.
“That was it. He changed.”
“How?”
“He became colder. More distant. More… ruthless.”
Crystal stared at the table.
So that’s why.
That’s why he speaks like that.
Like he has no emotions.
Like he doesn’t care if he hurts people.
“He doesn’t trust anyone anymore,” Mia added quietly.
That hit Crystal.
Because she felt it too.
The way Dino looked at her—like he was searching for mistakes.
Like he was waiting for her to fail.
“You know what’s the weirdest part?” Mia added.
Crystal looked up.
“…his ex-fiancée…”
A brief silence.
“…was also his personal assistant.”
Crystal swallowed, taking a sip of water.
“What?”
“And…” Mia looked straight at her, “…she looks like you.”
Everything seemed to stop.
“That’s a joke… right?” she forced out.
But Mia didn’t smile.
“Same height.”
“Same eyes.”
“Same aura.”
Crystal’s chest tightened.
Like a puzzle suddenly clicking into place.
His harshness.
The pressure.
It wasn’t just about work.
It was—
She reminds him of someone he lost.
And not just lost… but someone who left him.
“No wonder…” Mia muttered.
“No wonder what?”
“Why he’s harder on you than everyone else.”
That hit Crystal directly.
Not because she wasn’t good enough.
Not because she lacked skill.
But because—
She looks like the woman who broke him.
Crystal let out a breath.
“That’s so unfair,” she said softly.
“Very,” Mia replied. “But that’s who he is now.”
They ate quietly again.
But Crystal could barely eat.
“So…” Mia smiled, “are you staying?”
Crystal looked at her.
She remembered Dino’s words.
“If you can’t keep up, resign.”
She took a deep breath.
Shook her head.
“I won’t quit.”
Soft—but firm.
“Good,” Mia said.
“But just a warning… it’s going to get worse.”
“Worse?”
“Way worse.”
Crystal let out a small laugh.
“Welcome to reality,” Mia said as she stood up.
“Or… welcome to Sir Dino.”
—
When Crystal returned to her desk, something felt different.
This wasn’t just a job anymore.
There was a reason why he treated her this way.
Dino didn’t dislike her—
Not because she was Crystal.
But because—
She looks like the woman who broke him.
She took a deep breath.
Closed her eyes for a moment.
Then—
“I’m not her,” she whispered.
“I’m not the woman who left you.”
She slowly opened her eyes.
And if she had to prove that—
Every single day—
She would.
—
Inside Dino’s office—
He sat on his swivel chair.
He wasn’t reading the file.
He was staring at the glass wall.
Where he could see Crystal.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
“…Tsk.”
He shook his head.
But he couldn’t get it out of his mind—
Her face. Her eyes. Her aura.
And that stubborn look.
“…Let’s see,” he muttered.
“…how long you’ll last.”
But behind that coldness—
There was something he had been suppressing for a long time.
And slowly—
It was coming back.
—
And if Crystal is a reminder of the woman who once broke Dino…
Will she be the next one to pay the price?
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