5
1077 Words
The auditorium was still buzzing when Elena finally realized what had just happened.
Alexander.
The new CEO.
The man she had insulted only a day earlier.
And now the entire company was looking at him like he was untouchable.
Elena sat frozen in her seat while people around her stood up, clapping and whispering excitedly.
“Wow, the new CEO is so young…”
“He looks very handsome…”
“I heard he’s extremely strict…”
But Elena wasn’t hearing them properly.
Her mind kept replaying everything.
And then the previous morning—how she had looked at him with disgust and called him a man like the rest of them.
Her stomach twisted violently.
Beside her, Liv leaned closer.
“Elena,” she whispered urgently, “are you okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”
Elena swallowed hard.
“I know him,” she said quietly.
Liv blinked. “You know him? Like… personally?”
Elena hesitated.
Too much had happened in too little time.
“Yes,” she finally said. “Unfortunately.”
Liv frowned deeply. “Elena… what kind of ‘know him’ is this?”
Elena gave a small, bitter laugh without humor.
“The worst kind.”
Liv looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but the announcement on stage pulled their attention away again.
Alexander stood at the center of the stage now.
Completely calm.
Completely in control.
Like nothing in the world could shake him.
His voice filled the hall.
“I am Alexander Vale, the new Chief Executive Officer of Hartwell Corporation.”
The room erupted into applause again.
Elena didn’t clap.
She couldn’t even move properly.
Because every time she looked at him, she remembered how he had looked at her in that mansion.
And worse… how she had treated him that morning.
When the meeting finally ended, people started leaving the auditorium in groups, still talking excitedly about the new CEO.
Elena stayed seated.
Liv noticed immediately.
“You’re not moving?” she asked.
Elena shook her head slightly.
“I have to talk to him.”
Liv’s eyes widened. “Talk to him? Elena, after everything?”
“I don’t have a choice.”
That sentence alone silenced Liv.
Because she knew Elena well enough to understand that when she said she had no choice… it meant she was desperate.
Liv grabbed her wrist gently.
“Then I’m coming with you.”
Elena shook her head quickly.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Elena looked down.
“Because this is already humiliating enough,” she whispered. “I don’t need anyone watching me beg the man I insulted.”
Liv frowned but didn’t argue this time.
“Then at least let me wait outside.”
Elena gave a small nod.
“Okay.”
Then she stood up.
And walked out of the auditorium alone.
—
The CEO floor was nothing like the rest of the company.
It was silent.
Cold.
Too clean. Nobody came up to this part of the building unless it was for very serious issues.
Every step Elena took on the marble floor felt louder than it should have been.
Her heart was beating fast again.
Too fast.
She stopped in front of the large glass office door.
Inside, she could see him.
Alexander.
Sitting behind a black desk, going through documents like nothing in the world mattered except paper and numbers.
Elena lifted her hand.
Paused.
Then knocked softly.
“Come in,” his voice said immediately.
She stepped inside.
The door closed behind her with a quiet click.
Alexander didn’t look up at first.
That alone made her feel small.
Very small.
“Elena Hart employee file 304,” he said calmly, still reading.
She froze slightly.
He already knew her file number?
Finally, he looked up.
Those gray eyes met hers.
Cold.
Unreadable.
Elena swallowed hard.
“I came to apologize,” she said quickly.
Silence.
He leaned back slightly in his chair, watching her without speaking.
Elena forced herself to continue.
“Yesterday morning… I was rude to you,” she said. “I said things I shouldn’t have.”
Still nothing from him.
Her hands tightened nervously.
“I was angry,” she added. “Not at you. At everything happening in my life. I took it out on you, and that wasn’t fair.”
Alexander finally stood up.
Slowly.
Like he had all the time in the world.
He walked toward the window, hands in his pockets.
Elena watched him carefully, unsure if she was making things worse or better.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated quietly.
A pause.
Then his voice came.
“You’re done?”
Elena blinked. “Yes.”
Another silence filled the room.
Tension sat between them like something heavy.
Alexander turned slightly.
“What do you want?”
That question made her heart jump.
This was it.
She stepped forward carefully.
“I need a loan,” she said. “For my brother’s surgery.”
Alexander’s expression didn’t change.
“How much?”
She told him.
The number filled the room like a weight pressing down on everything.
For a brief second, something flickered in his eyes.
But it disappeared quickly.
He walked back to his desk and picked up a pen.
Elena’s chest tightened.
Was it that easy?
Was he actually going to help her?
She stepped forward slightly.
“Please,” she added quickly. “I’ll work for it. I’ll do anything. I just need time to pay it back.”
Alexander stopped writing.
Silence.
Then he looked up again.
“Elena,” he said calmly.
Hearing her name from him made her freeze.
“Yes?”
He placed the pen down slowly.
“I’ll approve it.”
Relief hit her instantly.
Her shoulders dropped.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”
But he didn’t smile.
He didn’t soften.
Instead, he leaned back in his chair again.
“On one condition.”
Elena paused.
“What condition?”
Alexander stood again.
This time, he walked slowly toward her.
Each step made her more nervous.
He stopped right in front of her.
Close enough that she could feel how much space he naturally occupied.
Then he said it.
“Marry me.”
Elena blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Like her brain refused to understand the words.
“…What?” she whispered.
Alexander didn’t move.
“I said marry me.” He repeated.
- Writer
