Illusion or Reality

Chapter 5

Is all of this real? Is today really her lucky day? She didn’t just pass the selection process—she was immediately appointed as the CEO’s Personal Secretary!

A smile of relief spread across Grace’s face. She quickly rose from her chair and bowed respectfully. “Thank you, sir.”

The head of the selection committee merely responded with a brief nod. “You may leave.”

Still wearing a smile that refused to fade, Grace stepped out of the executive office.

The double mahogany doors closed tightly behind her. Grace glanced to the right and to the left. The hallway seemed deserted; there was no one there.

Suddenly, a small laugh escaped her lips. She did a little jump for joy. “Starting next Monday, I’ll be working full-time!” she whispered enthusiastically.

To celebrate this small victory, she decided to buy her favorite ice cream. Spending a little money today wouldn’t make her go broke overnight, since she already had a job lined up. Her spirits soared.

The sound of a key turning accompanied Grace’s footsteps as she entered her apartment. She neatly placed her shoes on the rack, making sure to lock her bedroom door again. The woman then flopped down onto the worn-out sofa while enjoying the ice cream cup she’d just bought.

“Ah! Chocolate flavor never disappoints,” she murmured contentedly.

Finally, she could once again enjoy this simple pleasure. It wasn’t a matter of how expensive the ice cream was, but rather her absolute need to cut back on every penny of her spending amid her current financial crisis.

Within minutes, the ice cream in her hand was completely gone. Grace stared at the empty container, furrowing her brow. “Why did it go so fast?” she complained softly.

She didn’t feel satisfied, even though this was her third serving. She didn’t know what her taste buds were made of; once they found just the right sweetness, her mouth seemed to refuse to stop chewing.

Grace forced herself to stand up. “Never mind, I’d better take a nap now. My feet feel like they’re about to fall off after walking all day,” she thought to herself.

In the past, she was used to traveling everywhere in a private car with a driver. But now, she had to rely on her own two feet to save on transportation costs. It was only natural that her muscles were protesting.

Grace lay down on the bed, stretching out her aching legs. Suddenly, her eyes widened. She just remembered one crucial detail—she hadn’t checked her work schedule yet!

Hurriedly, she reached for her phone on the nightstand, typing “Sterling Group” into the search bar to check the official operating hours of that giant corporation.

Her eyes scanned the screen. It clearly stated that the company’s workday began at eight in the morning. Grace nodded in understanding.

Wait a minute.

Something didn’t sit right.

Grace tapped her index finger against her chin, trying to piece together the fragments of her logic. What had she missed?

As soon as her brain pinpointed the inconsistency, her eyes widened in shock. “What?! Eight in the morning?! That’s exactly when my first class starts!”

Grace roughly rubbed her forehead, then ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. How could she not have realized this sooner?! If only she’d realized it during the interview earlier, she might still have been able to negotiate an afternoon shift with the hiring committee.

Her body went limp. Her hands hung limply as her head slammed back into the pillow.

But negotiating a schedule with a company like the Sterling Group? That thought was even crazier. Just making it through the selection process as an ungraduated student was already an unbelievable miracle. Daring to ask for flexible working hours like top executives would be sheer audacity. It was just like the saying, “You’ve been given a heart, but you’re asking for the whole heart.”

Grace kicked the air in frustration before her movements finally came to a halt. A melancholy gaze once again clouded her eyes.

“Should I take a leave of absence from college? Maybe this really is my destiny. After all, I desperately need the paycheck from that company. If I insist on continuing my studies, how will I pay for tuition, rent, and my daily meals?”

Silence filled the small room. Grace hugged her pillow tightly. Sleep seemed to be her only escape right now. Slowly, she closed her eyes, letting a single tear roll down her temple. Her circumstances were forcing her to make a painful, grown-up decision.

***

“Hey, do you really want to marry her?” asked a man who had just entered the room, his suit looking neat and classy.

“Of course. Didn’t I already tell you, I’ve been longing for her. She’s the first woman who’s ever made me fall head over heels. In my eyes, she’s the embodiment of true perfection,” said the man, sitting comfortably on the sofa. His gaze drifted into the distance, a faint smile lingering on his lips.

“It’s up to you. But remember my warning: don’t make the wrong choice. This decision of yours will have a huge impact on my life, too,” the man in the black suit emphasized as he walked up the stairs.

“She’s an innocent girl. I guarantee my choice won’t be wrong. I really like her!” exclaimed the man on the sofa, raising his voice slightly.

***

“Grace, we’ll be there in a few minutes. We’re sorry we had to leave you alone in a house this big,” said a woman’s voice on the other end of the phone.

Grace held her cell phone between her ear and shoulder. Her left hand poured hot water into a mug, while her right hand was busy stirring her favorite cereal.

“It’s okay. This was my decision, too. Tomorrow I have to compete in the national Olympics finals, so I really can’t come visit Grandpa and Grandma.”

Grace picked up her phone again, then strolled leisurely toward the glass window. “Oh, and please remind Father to drive carefully. It’s pouring here—the roads must be really slippery.”

“Sure, sweetie.”

A warm smile lit up Grace’s face as she sipped her cereal. This sweet, warm drink was indeed perfect for enjoying in the bone-chilling cold. But the very next moment, that smile faded. The screech of tires grinding roughly against the asphalt suddenly rang out shrilly from the other end of the line.

“Watch out, Father!”

Her older brother's panicked scream was followed by a deafening clang of metal colliding.

The cup in Grace’s hand slipped from her grasp, shattering into pieces on the floor. Both of her hands now clutched the phone, trembling. “Father! Mother! Brother! Can you hear me?!”

Silence.

At the scene, chaos reigned. The Clarke family’s prized navy-blue luxury car had been reduced to an unrecognizable wreck by the head-on collision. The metallic stench of blood and the acrid smell of leaking fuel mingled in the air, enveloping the unconscious bodies trapped inside the twisted metal.

Time seemed to slow down, before a massive explosion finally shattered the night. The sound wave from the blast traveled through her phone’s speaker, making Grace’s blood run cold instantly.

“Father! Mother! Brother!” she screamed hysterically.

Grace’s breathing was ragged. Her body jerked violently. She sat up abruptly on the bed, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Cold sweat drenched her temples.

That dark dream never failed to haunt her nights. It crept in mercilessly, shattering what little peace she had left.

Grace clenched her own hair tightly. “Arrrgh!” A scream of frustration escaped her, followed by a heart-wrenching, shattering sob.

She couldn’t forget it. For the rest of her life, she would never be able to erase that memory. The most tragic fragment of her suffering seemed to confirm that she was indeed not destined to taste happiness, neither in the real world nor in her subconscious.

Grace buried her face between her knees. She felt so lonely. So utterly alone. And above all, she felt an overwhelming sense of fear.

“God, please… send someone to pull me out of this darkness,” she cried silently, her sobs growing more intense.

Grace stood frozen, staring at her reflection in the worn mirror in her room. The clock’s hands pointed to nine o’clock at night. As Dave had threatened yesterday, she had to go to the nightclub to retrieve the necklace her mother had left her.

Her heart was pounding wildly with anxiety. She had never set foot in a nightclub before. Her knowledge of such places was limited to what she’d read in fiction novels.

A string of worst-case scenarios played out in her head. What if she couldn’t get out of there? What if Dave had deliberately set a trap to destroy her? Considering how recklessly that young man had barged into the women’s restroom, anything terrible could happen.

Still, she couldn’t let Dave run off with the necklace. It was the last memento her late mother had left behind before she took her final breath.

Flashback

The steady beep of the heart monitor broke the silence of the all-white ICU room. The strong scent of medicine and antiseptic solutions filled the air. But what made Grace’s heart race was the fear that the machine might suddenly emit a long, unbroken beep.

Grace stared at her mother’s body, covered in bandages and bloodstains. Tears streamed down her face, unstoppable. Her heart was shattered into a million pieces. Just a few hours ago, she had come to terms with the fact that her father and older brother had died on the spot from burns caused by the explosion. Fortunately, her mother had been thrown from the vehicle before the explosion occurred. However, her current condition was just as critical.

Grace clutched her mother’s cold hand tightly, then kissed it repeatedly. “Mom, why was the life-saving surgery stopped? Everything will be okay. We’ll be out of this hospital together soon.”

The middle-aged woman, mustering what little strength she had left, raised her hand and wiped away the tears streaming down her daughter’s cheeks. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”

Grace shook her head vigorously. “If you promise to get better, I promise I won’t cry anymore.”

Grace’s mother merely smiled weakly. Slowly, her left hand reached into her pocket—where a nurse had managed to retrieve something—and pulled out a diamond necklace. She placed it in the palm of Grace’s hand, then clasped her daughter’s hand tightly.

“Take good care of this, sweetheart…” The woman coughed, and a drop of fresh blood seeped from the corner of her lips, sending Grace into an even greater panic.

“I don’t have much time left. Take good care of this necklace.”

Grace gently embraced her mother, as if afraid that the embrace might shatter her. “No. Don’t say things like that. Just wait—I’ll go get the doctor right away to continue the surgery. You have to stay alive with me!”

A sincere smile returned to her mother’s pale face. “Someday, you’ll find your true family, sweetheart.”

Grace roughly wiped away the tears that kept streaming down her face. “You’re my family! How can you say that, Mom?!” she protested, frustrated as she watched her mother’s condition grow weaker by the minute.

“I’m so proud of you, Grace.”

Her mother’s hand, which had been caressing Grace’s cheek, slowly slipped down to the side of the bed. At the same moment, a long, shrill beep from the heart monitor pierced the air, signaling a flat line that no longer held a pulse of life.

Grace shook her head in panic. “No! Mom! Wake up!” She shook her mother’s shoulders desperately. “Mom!!!” she screamed heart-wrenchingly, embracing the body of the woman she loved most as her sobs filled the entire room.

Flashback end

Grace quickly wiped away a single tear pooling in the corner of her eye. That painful memory always came uninvited whenever she felt cornered.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself. She had to get that necklace back from Dave tonight, no matter what!

Grace looked at her reflection once more. Her outfit wasn’t too bad. She’d paired a long-sleeved shirt with baggy jeans. Most importantly, her clothes were modest and covered her up well. No naughty guys would be tempted by her appearance at the club later, right?

“Let’s hope so.” Grace could only pray that everything would go smoothly and that she’d make it back safely.