Chapter Two: Behind Her Tears
1089 Words
Sophia hurried home with a smile she couldn’t hide.
For the first time in months, she felt like things were finally beginning to fall into place. She had spent so long searching for a job that she had almost given up hope, but now she had finally been given an opportunity.
She couldn’t wait to tell Lena.
The moment Sophia reached their compound, she opened her umbrella and rushed toward Lena’s door. She knocked twice before pushing it open.
“Lena! Guess what!”
There was no response.
Sophia’s smile slowly disappeared.
She looked around the room.
“Lena?”
Then she saw her.
Lena was curled up on the bed, her back facing the door. Her shoulders shook as quiet sobs escaped her lips.
Sophia froze.
“Lena?”
She quickly dropped her bag and walked toward the bed.
“What happened?”
Lena wiped her face quickly, as though she could hide the tears.
“Nothing.”
Sophia frowned.
“Don’t tell me nothing. You’ve been crying.”
Lena turned away from her.
Sophia sat beside her and gently touched her shoulder.
“Talk to me. What happened?”
For several seconds, Lena remained silent.
Then she finally broke down.
Sophia pulled her into a hug, completely forgetting about the good news she had come home to share.
“It’s okay. Just tell me what happened.”
Lena’s voice trembled.
“It happened on my way back from the university.”
Sophia pulled away slightly.
“What happened?”
Lena stared at the floor, struggling to find the courage to say the words.
“I was attacked.”
Sophia’s heart sank.
“What do you mean?”
Lena took a shaky breath.
“He… he r***d me.”
Sophia went completely still.
For a moment, she couldn’t process what she had just heard.
“Who?”
Lena wiped another tear from her cheek.
“It was a guy who had been asking me out.”
Sophia’s expression hardened.
“The guy you told me about?”
Lena nodded.
“I rejected him several times. I made it clear that I wasn’t interested in him. But he wouldn’t stop.
Sophia gripped her hands tightly.
“What happened that day?”
Lena explained everything through tears. She told Sophia how she had been returning from the university when the man approached her. What started as an argument quickly turned frightening, and despite her attempts to get away, he forced himself on her.
Sophia listened in silence, her heart breaking with every word.
When Lena finished, Sophia stood up abruptly.
“What is his name?”
Lena looked at her.
“Sophia…”
“Tell me his name.”
“He won’t get away with this,” Sophia said angrily. “You didn’t do anything wrong. He had no right to do that to you.”
Lena lowered her head.
“I know, but what can we do?”
That question silenced Sophia.
She wanted to say they would report him. She wanted to promise that she would make him pay for what he had done.
But reality hit her.
They were both young. Lena was still a university student, and Sophia had only just managed to find a job. They didn’t have money or powerful connections.
Sophia felt helpless.
She hated that feeling more than anything.
She sat beside Lena again and held her hand.
“We’ll find a way,” she whispered.
Lena looked at her through tear-filled eyes.
“I’m scared, Sophia.”
“You don’t have to face this alone.”
Sophia pulled her into another hug.
The good news she had been so excited to share no longer seemed important.
Sophia knew one thing for certain.
She wasn’t going to let her best friend suffer in silence.
Sophia remained beside Lena for a while, gently rubbing her back.
She knew her friend was hurting, and somehow, the excitement she had brought home earlier no longer felt important.
Still, there was one piece of good news she wanted Lena to hear.
Sophia took a small breath.
“Lena…”
“Hmm?”
“I got the job.”
Lena slowly lifted her head.
“What?”
“I got the job,” Sophia repeated, this time with a small smile.
For a moment, Lena simply stared at her. Then her face lit up.
“Sophia! You did it!”
She pulled Sophia into a tight hug, forgetting her tears for a moment.
“I knew you would get it. I knew it!”
Sophia laughed softly.
“I was so nervous. I thought I had ruined everything the moment I walked into the office.”
“What happened?”
Sophia shook her head.
“You wouldn’t believe the kind of man my new boss is.”
Lena raised an eyebrow.
“Is he that bad?”
“Worse.”
They both laughed.
Sophia settled back onto the bed and began telling Lena about the interview.
His name was Anderson Stone.
Even the name sounded intimidating.
“He’s a billionaire,” Sophia explained. “And from what I saw today, he doesn’t smile much. He barely showed any emotion during the interview.”
Lena looked amused.
“So your billionaire boss is handsome?”
Sophia rolled her eyes.
“That’s not the point.”
“But you didn’t answer my question.”
Sophia hesitated.
“He is…”
Lena immediately burst out laughing.
“I knew it!”
“Stop it,” Sophia said, laughing along. “He’s just… intimidating.”
She described Anderson as a bitter and constantly irritated man who seemed to have very little patience for anyone around him.
“He looked like someone who wakes up angry,” Sophia added.
Lena laughed.
“Then you’d better be careful.”
“I know.”
Sophia smiled, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about the strange man she would soon have to work for.
Monday suddenly felt much closer than it had before.
Sunday night arrived faster than Sophia expected.
She laid out her clothes for the next morning, carefully choosing what she would wear. She wanted to look professional without appearing as though she was trying too hard.
After months of searching for a job, she finally had one.
She couldn’t mess this up.
Before going to bed, Sophia checked her alarm twice.
“Six o’clock,” she whispered.
She placed her phone beside her pillow and smiled to herself.
Tomorrow would be the beginning of something new.
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