pped out of her daze and turned to see Sebastin

ssion on his face. "Are you alri

sound more confident than she felt. "Sorry

was pale, her eyes wide with terror. She l

Sebastine asked again, his h

the road again, but stopped herself before she asked him if he'd seen

ng her hesitation. "Are you shy

what he was talking about. Yesterday had been a regular

ou sent me a late-night text, a question to be precise. So, I'm here, getting you

d, her eyes wide. She had no i

confusion. Had she really forgot

started to say, b

the bus. As she sat down, she stared out the windo

She felt confused and disoriented, as though her mind had been jolted out of its usual routine. She had never experienced any

nding the passengers flying out of their seats. Those stand

l?" one of th

to kill us?" a

ically. "I'm sorry, everyone. A cyclist

and muttered in response, but

the jolt that had unsettled her. Something felt off about her memories. She remembered leaving the house, choosing whether to get coffe

tion striking her. She rummaged in her pocket

last night was still there, and it was horrifying. "I've been crushing on you since you started w

heek. She couldn't believe she had actually sent that mes

texted him somehow. That would explain the message, but it didn't explain how the message

catch it. It was too late - the cup shattered

stinging with the smell of cof

d shoes and wet jeans, feeli

the woman sitting next to her. The woman was staring at her

d, her cheeks flushing

till staring at Aria with an un

ved to have an excuse to get out of her seat. She hurried off

Media, she saw Oprah standing there, pacin

led out, waving

to meet her. "Have you checked...

said. "If you ask someone out and they

hat's not really the point," she said, before noticing the tim

get inside, now!" She grabbed Oprah's a

tumbling to keep up. "I ha

ad joined the company a year ago, and she had been in constant competition with Aria ever since. Ari

ld of Aria's hand as

asked, look

ffice," Oprah said qui

rah bit her lip and whispered in her ear,

anger rising in her chest as she looked at

isa asked, stepping in

nd tightened. "Come on, l

But last I checked, you weren't a candidate for the

smile. "That's a question I'd rat

e air was thick w

up to the rooftop

ad idea," Aria

but she didn't voice her objections. Instead, she l

replied. "I'll meet

ator with Lisa. The two women stood

–

ched the rooftop, her hands on her h

Well," she began, a touch of pride in her voice, "I worked my way up. I pulled strings

Lisa the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She took a deep breath, trying to st

ed out, but her voice trailed off as Aria

e caught sight of the Editor-in-chief's offic

confront the Editor-in-chief. She marched to the office door and threw it open with a bang

or-in-chief began, b

ripped off her ID badge and flung it on the floor. "That's for w

ef's eyes boring into her back. She didn't care - she was done wi

he th