Chapter 9
1299 Words
I arrived at my apartment later than I expected.
The moment I stepped inside, I set my bag on the table and stood still.
The apartment was beautiful.
Spacious.
Elegant.
The kind of place people spent years working to afford.
Yet, despite its luxury, it didn't feel like home.
Maybe because home was never about walls or furniture.
It was about the people waiting inside.
My gaze wandered across the unfamiliar space.
The carefully chosen décor.
The modern furniture.
The city lights glowing beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Everything belonged to a new life.
A life I still wasn't sure was mine.
My eyes drifted to my phone.
There was one person I wanted to hear from.
Someone who had known me long before Aurelius Group.
Before Headquarters.
Before everything had suddenly changed.
Mother Margaret.
I found her number and called.
The phone rang several times before she answered.
"Hello?"
The familiar voice immediately eased the tightness in my chest.
"Mother Margaret."
A warm laugh answered me.
"Elena."
Just hearing my name made me smile.
"How are you, my child?"
"I'm fine."
"You sound tired."
I laughed softly.
"You always know."
"I've known you since you were a baby. I know when something is troubling you."
I sat on the sofa and closed my eyes, letting the comfort of her voice wash over me.
Sister Margaret had been the first person to hold me.
The first person to choose me.
She had found me when I had no name, no family, and no explanation for why I had been left alone.
"I have news," I said.
"Oh?"
"I was transferred."
A brief silence followed.
"Transferred?"
"To Aurelius Group Headquarters."
Her voice brightened instantly.
"Elena, that's wonderful."
"I don't know if I'd call it wonderful yet."
"Why not?"
"Everything happened so quickly. The promotion, the apartment, the salary... it feels like I'm living someone else's life."
She laughed.
"Sometimes blessings arrive before we're ready for them."
That sounded exactly like her.
"I'll be able to send more money now."
"Elena..."
"I mean it. I know the orphanage always needs something."
"The children are doing well."
"I know. But there's always another expense."
She sighed fondly.
"You've always worried about everyone except yourself."
"Because I have people worth worrying about."
Before she could answer, excited voices filled the background.
"Is that Elena?"
"Give me the phone!"
"No, me first!"
I smiled without realizing it.
"Are the children there?"
"They heard your voice."
A second later, David's excited voice came through.
"Elena!"
"Hi, David."
"Did you really get a new job?"
"I did."
"Is it a big office?"
"Very big."
"Bigger than your old one?"
"Much bigger."
"Do you have your own desk?"
"Yes."
"Wow!"
Another child interrupted.
"Do you have a boss?"
"Yes."
"Is he scary?"
Julian Grey's image flashed into my mind.
His calm expression.
His unreadable green eyes.
The quiet authority that seemed to fill every room he entered.
"Sometimes."
The children burst into laughter.
"You have to tell us everything when you visit!"
My smile faded.
When you visit.
I had left the orphanage years ago for university.
Work had taken me even farther away.
Now Headquarters had placed even more distance between us.
"I will," I promised, though I wasn't sure when.
After speaking with the children a little longer, Sister Margaret returned to the phone.
"They miss you."
"I miss them too."
Her voice softened.
"Elena..."
I knew that tone.
"What is it?"
"Your records."
The warmth inside me faded.
It was a subject we rarely discussed.
"We still haven't found anything."
I looked down at my hands.
"After all these years?"
Sister Margaret sighed.
"When I found you, you were only a newborn."
I listened quietly.
"I was traveling to a prayer retreat in the mountains with a group from the church. We stopped near a place the locals considered sacred."
She paused briefly, gathering her thoughts.
"Then we heard you."
I frowned.
"Heard me?"
"A cry."
Her voice softened.
"A loud cry echoing through the mountains."
I could almost picture it.
"The others were afraid. They believed the place shouldn't be disturbed."
She paused.
"But I couldn't ignore a baby crying."
A faint smile touched her voice.
"So I went to look."
I held my breath.
"And there you were."
"Alone?"
"Alone."
Her answer was quiet.
"You were lying there completely naked. There was nothing with you."
I swallowed.
"Nothing?"
"No blanket. No basket. No note. Nothing that could tell us who you belonged to."
She fell silent for a moment before continuing.
"There was something unusual."
"What?"
"You were clearly a newborn... but there was no cord stump."
My brows knitted together.
"No cord stump?"
"No."
"I had never seen anything like it. But at that moment, none of it mattered. All I saw was a baby who needed someone."
I closed my eyes.
"No one saw who left me?"
"No."
"Not even a clue?"
"Nothing."
She sighed.
"I searched everywhere I could. I contacted the authorities and checked every record available."
Her voice grew heavy.
"But we never found anything. No birth record. No information about your parents."
"And my birth mother?"
She was quiet for a moment.
"We still haven't found her."
The answer was gentle.
"I sometimes wonder if she ever looked for me."
"I don't know, my child."
The honesty stung.
"But whatever happened," she continued softly, "you are loved."
I smiled faintly.
"I know."
After we ended the call, the apartment felt strangely quiet.
My stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten.
Too tired to cook, I ordered dinner from a nearby restaurant.
While I waited, I wandered through the apartment, taking in details I'd barely noticed before.
The sleek kitchen.
The polished floors.
The expensive artwork.
Everything looked elegant.
Everything still felt unreal.
When the food arrived, I ate alone at the dining table.
Afterward, I headed to the bathroom.
The bathtub was enormous, more luxurious than anything I had ever used.
I sank into the warm water and closed my eyes.
Just a few days ago, I had been living in a modest apartment, carefully budgeting every expense.
Now I was soaking in a bathtub that probably cost more than all the furniture in my old place combined.
It didn't feel real.
When the water cooled, I climbed out, changed into an oversized T-shirt and shorts, and plugged my phone in beside the bed.
I made a mental note to stop by the grocery store after work tomorrow.
Ordering food every night wasn't a habit I wanted to start.
I switched off the bedside lamp.
Sleep came slowly.
Too many thoughts filled my mind.
The orphanage.
My new position.
The mystery surrounding my past.
And Julian Grey.
Eventually, exhaustion carried me into sleep.
The dream returned.
I stood once again inside the large bedroom.
Golden patterns stretched across the walls, glowing softly beneath the warm light.
He was already there.
Waiting.
I had never seen him arrive.
He simply existed, standing in the same place every time.
His long black robe draped over his broad shoulders, parting slightly to reveal the hard muscles of his chest.
I tried to see his face.
As always, it remained hidden.
He walked toward me.
Slowly.
Confidently.
Every instinct told me to move.
I didn't.
His hand rose and gently cupped my cheek.
A shiver ran through me.
Not from fear.
From something I couldn't explain.
He leaned in.
And kissed me.
The kiss was slow.
Gentle.
Unhurried.
As our lips met, the blur hiding his face began to fade.
My heart pounded.
Green eyes.
Dark hair.
Julian Grey.
My breath caught.
The man who had appeared in my dreams for years...
Had the face of my new employer.
Before I could ask why...
Before I could speak...
The dream shattered.
- Writer
