His Obsession: His PA

chapter 2

Everything That Still Worked Didn’t

Grief doesn’t have to announce itself when it’s done being loud, It just settles like still waters, but underneath it, a rushing current.

By the time Monday morning came, the ache in my chest had dulled into something very heavy and constant, like a weight I had learned so hard to carry without complaint. I dressed quietly, avoiding mirrors, avoiding my stepmother’s watching eyes, avoiding my sister entirely, their presence males my stomach churn.

Work was supposed to be by safest zone, a home away from home, a place I feel untouchable.

It had always been my escape the one place where effort mattered more than bloodlines, where I was Amelia the employee, not Amelia the inconvenience or Amelia the selfish.

I clung to that belief as I stepped into the dingy diner, inhaling the smell of coffee and grease as it wraps itself around me like familiarity. Orders shouted from the kitchen, Plates clattered, Life moved forward, Much indifferent to loss.

Good.

I tied my apron tighter and got to work, something I’m very used to.

For a few hours, it almost worked.

“Table seven’s asking for you princess.”

I glanced up, heart lifting just a little.

“Already?”

The hostess smirked. “Looks like you’ve got fans.”

Smiling to my self, I wiped my hands on my apron and headed toward the booth by the window. Fans oh please I whisper to myself.

Then I stopped.

He was sitting there relaxed, comfortable, smiling in a way I hadn’t seen in weeks, even months. What is this?

And beside him…

My sister.

Her hand rested casually on his arm. Her laughter was low, intimate, not practiced. She leaned in close, whispering something that made him grin like Cheshire cat.

The room tilted, almost losing bearings, suddenly my legs felt like jellies.

For a second, I wondered if grief was finally making me hallucinate. I must be dreaming.

Then my sister looked up and met my eyes.

She didn’t flinch.

She smiled, that kind of smile that tells you it’s over.

Something inside me went very still.

I walked over slowly, my body moving on instinct while my mind struggled to keep up. Knuckles white from clenching my note pad and pen.

“Amelia,” he said, standing abruptly. “This isn’t....”

I raised a hand.

I wasn’t interested in explanations.

I reached down, untied my apron, and folded it neatly before placing it on the table between them.

“I hope you’re happy,” I said quietly. “Because this is the last time you see me.”

My sister tilted her head. “You’re overreacting as usual”

I looked at her, then really looked, Perfect hair. Perfect makeup. Perfect confidence, everything about her was just perfect.

“You’ve been taking things from me my whole life actually so it’s nothing new,” I said calmly. “Congratulations. You can keep him too, y’all look good together too.”

I turned and walked away before either of them could touch me.

I didn’t cry tough girls don’t cry.

At least, not yet.

“Amelia.”

My manager’s voice stopped me near the back.

“We need to talk in my office”

The words hit harder than the betrayal, what’s the problem?

He wouldn’t meet my eyes as he spoke. Budget cuts. Restructuring. Something about Staff reduction. He used all the right words the kind that sounded clean and unavoidable.

And I listened, just like I always do.

Nodded.

Signed the paperwork.

By the time I stepped outside, the sky felt too wide, too empty, too dark for my liking.

In one day, I had lost my relationship and My job. My last illusion of stability.

“ Ha!”, I laughed softly at the absurdity of it.

Of course.

I didn’t go home right away.

I walked.

Past shops I couldn’t afford anymore, Past the lives that didn’t look so broken from the outside, Past reflections I barely recognized or could see.

My phone buzzed.

Amanda: Where are you?

Amanda: And Don’t lie.

I sent her my location not having the energy to argue.

She found me sitting on a bus stop bench, staring at nothing, just how my life felt right now.

She didn’t ask questions.

She just hugged me.

“I knew something like this would happen Baby” she said fiercely. “ That’s why I got you babe, I already submitted an application for you.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Hayes Paradise,” she said. “Administrative role, PA opening. You’re more than qualified for it, see as a fresh start type s**t if you know what I mean.”

I almost laughed.

“That’s my sister’s agency.”

“So?” Lila snapped. “You don’t shrink because she exists, you shine because you can. The world does not revolve around her, plus we both know you deserve the lime light..”

I hesitated.

Everything in my life had taught me not to want too much, Be contented with what you have, even if it’s little.

But stubbornness rose anyway,

“Fine,” I said. “If they reject me, they reject me. All I know is I put in effort. Thank you Mandy” I say, pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

That evening, the house greeted me with silence.

My stepmother barely glanced up when I told her I’d lost my job.

My sister laughed.

“Maybe if you weren’t so dramatic,” she said sweetly.

I just went to my room and shut the door. And again I let myself cry deep, ugly sobs that left my chest burning and my eyes swollen.

Not because of him.

Not even because of her.

But because everything I believed I could rely on had failed me and it hurt so deeply.

All I knew was this, Nothing I loved had been real. And if love was a lie, then maybe survival was all I had left.