Chapter 1 A Job Offer

• “Are you sure about this, Eve?” Brandon removed his glasses and looked at Eve with a furrowed brow. “This is a big shot for you.”
• “I know, Brandon. But I can’t. You know I’m getting married next week.”
• “Yes, of course I know. And I appreciate you didn’t take leave until three days before your wedding. I value your dedication. That’s why I’m giving you this important assignment.”
• “I love my job,” Eve replied, beaming as she glanced at her editor-in-chief. What she just said was the truth; she did love her job very much. Being a journalist had been her dream since childhood, and she got to meet many important people because of it. She had interviewed so many high-profile individuals that only a handful of lucky people could ever meet.
• “This is Lucas Atwood, for fucking's sake, Eve.” Eve widened her eyes in surprise as she heard Brandon swear. “You know him, don’t you?”
• Eve sighed deeply. “Of course, I know. He’s a wealthy businessman from the small country of Servaxia, with significant influence in the IT and food industries, and he’s the tourism magnate of his country. Rumor has it he is the wealthiest man alive.”
• “Don’t forget the crucial fact,” Brandon added. “He’s very difficult to meet, let alone interview. Not a single journalist has ever gotten a photo of him.”
• “Maybe because he’s ugly,” Eve joked, but Brandon didn’t laugh. “Or maybe because he’s old,” Eve added with a shrug.
• “I’m old, Eve,” Brandon replied with a flat expression. Eve responded with a grin.
• “I still don’t understand why the esteemed Mr. Lucas Atwood would agree to be interviewed by us,” Eve said later.
• “It’s because he just built a factory and a hotel in our country. The scale of his projects is so large that they’ve employed a significant amount of labor and are capable of generating substantial revenue for the country.”
• “But why us?”
• Brandon glanced at his buzzing phone. “I don’t know what criteria his people set. All I know is when the country opened the opportunity to interview Lucas Atwood, I applied through the newspaper queue. They selected us.”
• “That’s odd.” Eve placed her hand on the edge of the table and pushed her chair back. “But I’m really, really sorry. I really can’t. After getting married, we’re going straight to the Maldives for a week.”
• “Must be nice marrying into wealth,” Brandon remarked with a chuckle and a wry smile.
• “Hey, I used to be rich too,” Eve retorted. Then Brandon’s gaze turned sorrowful.
• “What happened to your father, I still—”
• “Stop,” Eve interrupted Brandon before he could reopen the deeply painful wound she had been struggling to keep closed for the past three months. “He’s dead. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
• “He was a good guy. Your father.”
• Eve picked up her bag, which she had hung on the chair’s armrest, and slung it over her shoulder. “And so are you,” she replied, winking. “You can ask another journalist to interview him.”
• “Yes. Seems like I don’t have any other choice.” Brandon nodded, exhaling deeply. “Congratulations on your wedding.”
• “No, no. Don’t say it now,” Eve protested as she walked towards the door. “Congratulating someone before the wedding happens will bring bad luck.”
• “You still believe in stuff like that, huh?”
• Eve replied with a grin before waving and leaving Brandon’s office.
• She was about to greet the secretary sitting at the desk outside Brandon’s office when her phone rang with a special ringtone. Without needing to see the caller ID, she knew who was calling her.
• “Hi, babe,” greeted Eve. Her face immediately lit up upon hearing her fiancé’s voice.
• “Hi, honey,” Mason replied. “Are you done meeting with Brandon?”
• “Yes. I just left his office. Why?”
• Mason didn’t answer her question right away. Eve frowned as she heard his breaths sounding strained. “Babe? You okay? Where are you?”
• There was a choked sound, then Mason answered, “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just—just finished working out. So I’m a bit tired.”
• “Should I come to your place instead? We can still cancel the restaurant reservation.”
• “No!” he quickly refused. “I’ve had the restaurant booked since last month. It would be a shame if we didn’t dine there.”
• Eve heard another sigh, then she heard a faint groan before the call disconnected.
• “Hello? Hello? Mason?” Eve pulled her phone away from her ear. She was walking towards the elevator and stopped right in front of it.
• As she was about to call Mason again, a message came through on her phone.
• Hi, honey. Sorry, the call got disconnected. See you at the restaurant in half an hour.
• Eve quickly replied to the message.
• Are you okay? What just happened?
• She waited, tapping her fingernails against the side of her phone. Her eyes repeatedly glanced at the elevator, watching people come in and out. She couldn’t get into the elevator because her phone signal would become weak, and it made her uneasy. She needed to know what happened to Mason before she could continue her journey calmly.
• Nothing. Olive just bit my foot and startled me. Seems like she wants to play.
• Olive was Mason’s adorable dachshund.
• Eve breathed a sigh of relief and replied to his message.
• Oh. Thank God. Okay. See you. Luv you.
• After knowing Mason was okay, Eve hurried to the basement where her car was parked.
• She took out the key from her bag and pressed the button to unlock her car, but nothing happened. She tried again, but still no luck.
• “Damn old car,” she muttered irritably before inserting the key into the driver’s door lock.
• Her father’s death three months ago had taken away all the happiness Eve knew. Not only did she lose her affection, but she also lost her rights in her home, her childhood home, which her stepmother and stepsister now controlled.
• They gave her an old car, told her to sleep in the attic with the mice, and only allowed her to eat leftovers.
• Previously, her stepmother had tried to force her out of her job, but Brandon, who was her father’s friend, visited their home and threatened to report her mother to the police if she dared to imprison her.
• It’s not that Eve was helpless and couldn’t leave that house. But the house was hers, her family’s. She couldn’t just let it go and allow someone like her stepmother to take control.
• With Brandon’s help, she was looking for a way to take back the house from her stepmother and stepsister.
• She had so much hope for this marriage. Mason was the only person who faithfully stood by her side, and the thought of living with someone she loved in a house filled with so many memories kept her going.
• She believed all this would soon pass, and she could live happily according to her dreams.