I walked into the office with my headphones on and a smile on my face.

Today was the day.

For the past three weeks I had done everything required for the promotion. Performance reviews. Client feedback. Recommendation letters. Endless meetings. Endless overtime. Endless nights staring at a screen until my eyes burned.

I had earned this.

Hell, even Raina wrote me a recommendation letter without me asking twice, and convincing Mr. Zedd to do the same had surprisingly been easy. Which honestly shocked me because the man treated compliments like they physically hurt him.

Still, I had everything I needed.

I was ready.

And I was definitely getting this promotion.

Or so I thought.

The office buzzed with its usual rhythm when I stepped inside. Phones ringing. Keyboard clicks. The low hum of conversations blending together into corporate white noise. Someone in accounting laughed too loudly near the coffee machine while two interns rushed past carrying stacks of files like their lives depended on it.

Same building.

Same people.

But today everything felt lighter.

I dropped into my seat, logged into my computer and started going through my morning tasks. Emails first. Client revisions second. One of the junior designers needed help fixing a layout for a marketing campaign so I spent fifteen minutes walking him through typography spacing and colour hierarchy while he nodded like I was explaining nuclear physics.

By noon I had already finalized two client presentations and responded to three separate emergencies that somehow became my responsibility despite not technically being in my department.

Typical.

Around one in the afternoon my office phone rang.

"Brian wants to see you."

My stomach flipped instantly.

This was it.

I leaned back in my chair slowly.

Promotion meeting.

My heart started beating harder than it should have.

I tried not to smile too much walking to his office because I didn’t want to look desperate, but inside my head I was already calculating things.

Better salary.

A bigger apartment eventually.

Helping mum more comfortably.

Maybe finally taking a vacation for once in my life.

Maybe—

"Ethan, my man!" Brian said the second I stepped inside. "Sit."

Something about his tone felt off immediately.

Too rehearsed.

I sat down slowly.

Brian scratched the back of his neck before sitting opposite me. Papers were scattered across his desk but none of them looked organized enough to be important. He kept avoiding eye contact too.

My stomach tightened.

"So..." he started awkwardly. "The thing is... I honestly don’t know how to say this."

That feeling got worse.

Brian exhaled heavily.

"You didn’t get the promotion."

For a second I genuinely thought I heard him wrong.

"What?"

"I’m sorry, Ethan."

The room suddenly felt hotter.

"Brian..." I stared at him. "You said it was practically mine."

"I know what I said."

"You literally told me there was nobody else being considered."

"I know."

"Then what happened?"

Brian shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Head office reviewed everything and..." He hesitated. "They decided against it."

"Why?"

He looked down at the papers on his desk.

"They think you’re missing leadership skills."

I blinked once.

"What the hell does that even mean?"

"I’m just telling you what they told me."

Leadership skills?

Leadership skills?

I worked myself to death in this company.

I trained new employees.

Handled difficult clients.

Fixed disasters created by entire departments.

Stayed overtime without complaint.

Pulled in major contracts.

And now suddenly I lacked leadership skills?

It sounded like bullshit because it was bullshit.

"But you stood up for me, right?" I asked slowly.

Brian looked up too quickly.

"Of course I did."

His voice cracked slightly.

Tiny.

Almost unnoticeable.

But I caught it.

"You did?" I asked again.

"Let’s not start throwing accusations around, Ethan. You’re my guy."

Nervous.

He sounded nervous.

And right there I knew.

He didn’t fight for me.

Maybe he never intended to.

Maybe promoting me threatened somebody above him.

Maybe keeping me overworked and underpaid was simply more convenient.

Whatever the reason was, I suddenly felt stupid for believing hard work actually mattered here.

After everything I had done for this company.

After every night I skipped sleep.

Every weekend sacrificed.

Every client rescued.

This was what I got?

Leadership skills.

I laughed once.

Cold.

Humourless.

"No need to explain further, Brian."

He frowned slightly.

"I quit."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Ethan—"

"I’m done."

He stood up immediately.

"No no no, you can’t quit."

"Oh yeah?" I stood too, anger rising so fast I could barely control it. "Why the fuck not?"

"Ethan calm down—"

"No." I slammed both hands against his desk hard enough to shake the coffee cup beside his monitor. "I work day and night for this place. I survive on shit pay. I don’t get vacations. I pull in clients and don’t get half the credit I deserve."

My voice was louder now.

I didn’t care.

People outside the office were probably hearing every word.

"Why the hell do I even bother?!"

Brian looked genuinely startled.

"Ethan—"

"I quit," I repeated.

The silence after that felt massive.

Then I grabbed the office door.

But before leaving, I stopped.

Turned back.

"You know..." I said quietly, "it’s such a shame I considered you a big brother."

And then I walked out.

Nobody stopped me.

Not Brian.

Not HR.

Nobody.

I cleared my desk in less than ten minutes.

One cardboard box.

Years of work reduced to a box.

Funny how life worked.

By the time I got home my anger had burned itself into exhaustion.

I went straight upstairs to my room and dropped face first onto the bed.

My head kept replaying the conversation over and over.

Leadership skills.

Bullshit.

Complete bullshit.

A knock interrupted my thoughts.

"Who is it?" I asked tiredly.

"Ethan, it’s mum."

I sat up immediately.

"Mum? Come in."

The door opened gently.

Grace stepped inside wearing her house cardigan, her expression already worried.

"Hey hon," she said softly. "I saw you walk in earlier. You seemed upset."

"You saw me?"

"I was in the kitchen getting water." She walked closer. "What’s wrong sweetheart? You know you can tell me anything."

Yes.

I know.

But if I told her I lost my job she would panic herself sick.

And after everything with her health recently, I couldn’t do that to her.

So I smiled instead.

Fake.

Weak.

But enough.

"Nothing mum. Just a bad day at work."

She narrowed her eyes immediately.

"You sure?"

"I’m fine."

"Ethan..."

"Mum." I laughed lightly. "It’s not the first bad day and definitely won’t be the last."

She studied me carefully for a few seconds.

Then sighed.

"You know it’s my job to worry about you."

I smiled faintly.

"No. It’s not your job anymore. I’m not a kid."

She burst out laughing softly.

"You’ll always be a kid to me."

Then she kissed my forehead exactly the same way she used to when I was little.

"Go take a shower," she said. "You’ll feel better. Then come downstairs and eat lunch with me."

"Yes mum."

"I love you."

"I love you too sweetie."

She left the room quietly.

And somehow that made me feel worse.

I took the shower exactly like she suggested.

And annoyingly enough, she was right.

She was always right.

The hot water helped calm me down a little.

By the time I came downstairs lunch was ready.

Nothing fancy.

Just grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Simple homemade food.

The kind that reminded you life wasn’t completely falling apart.

We ate together while she talked about a movie she’d watched earlier that morning and I mostly just listened.

Afterward I insisted on cleaning everything up.

I had just started washing the dishes when my phone rang.

Raina.

I answered immediately.

"Hey."

"Hello Ethan!" she said brightly.

The second I heard her voice my chest loosened a little.

"Hey Raina."

There was a pause.

Then:

"Are you okay?"

Damn.

"You sound different."

"I’m fine."

Lie.

Complete lie.

But she let it slide.

"So," I asked quickly, changing the subject, "how did the visit with your grandfather go yesterday?"

"It went well," she said. "Everything concerning that issue is resolved. Or... I hope it is."

Something about the way she said that caught my attention.

Resolved.

Not fixed.

Not over.

Resolved.

Like a temporary bandage over something dangerous.

Before I could ask more she interrupted.

"What about you? I haven’t seen you since yesterday. I miss you."

That made me smile despite everything.

"I miss you too."

"Oh yeah?" I could practically hear her grin through the phone. "Then how about you come over tonight? I’ll cook dinner and we can... you know."

Her tone dropped slightly near the end.

And my brain short-circuited instantly.

"I’d like that."

"Good. I’ll finish streaming before eight."

"I can’t wait."

"Bye Ethan. I love you."

My chest tightened.

"I love you too."

The call ended.

And for the first time all day I genuinely smiled.

Time moved fast after that.

Before I knew it the clock read 7PM.

I got dressed and stopped by a supermarket on the way to Raina’s place.

I picked up a bottle of expensive champagne and stared at the price for a second.

Well.

I didn’t have a job anymore.

Might as well let loose tonight.

I paid and drove to her place.

Yuki opened the door after my second knock.

Same unreadable expression.

Same energy like human interaction personally offended her.

"Yuki," I said. "Always a pleasure."

Pure sarcasm.

She ignored it completely.

"She’s waiting in the dining room."

Then vanished like some emotionally unavailable ghost.

I walked toward the dining area holding the champagne.

"Hey! Yo—"

I stopped mid sentence.

Raina stood near the dining table wearing red lingerie beneath a loose silk robe that hung open just enough to destroy my ability to think properly.

Her hair was straightened tonight, red strands falling smoothly over her shoulders. The robe barely covered her thighs and every movement revealed flashes of red lace underneath. Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she walked toward me slowly.

The exposed curve of her neck.

The visible line of her cleavage.

The dangerous confidence in her eyes.

Good lord.

"Hello Ethan," she said softly.

I forgot every word in the English language.

"My God," I finally muttered.

She laughed quietly.

"Well at least you can still speak."

Then she stepped closer.

Close enough for her perfume to hit me.

Warm.

Sweet.

Intoxicating.

She looked up at me through those crystal-like eyes.

"Do you wanna eat?" she asked.

And something told me she wasn’t talking about dinner.

"Yeah," I answered immediately. "Hell yeah. I’m starving."

Her smile deepened.

Then she kissed me.

Right there beside the table.

Hard.

Hungry.

Like she’d been thinking about it all day too.

The champagne nearly slipped from my hand.

I barely managed to place it down before both of my hands found her waist.

God she smelled incredible.

Her fingers slid into my hair while my mouth moved against hers again and again until thinking became impossible.

Somewhere during the kissing we bumped into plates on the table.

A fork clattered loudly onto the floor.

Neither of us cared.

I pushed dishes aside to make space while lifting her onto the edge of the table and she laughed breathlessly against my mouth before wrapping her legs around my waist.

The robe slipped further open.

My heart nearly exploded.

I kissed her neck.

Slowly.

And the soft sound she made almost killed me on the spot.

Her fingers worked open the buttons of my shirt while I pushed the robe from her shoulders completely.

Jesus Christ.

Red lace.

Soft skin.

Every inch of her looked unfairly beautiful.

"Ethan..." she whispered against my ear.

I kissed her again immediately.

Harder this time.

Needier.

Weeks of tension and stress and longing pouring into every movement between us.

At some point we stumbled toward the bedroom still kissing, still laughing breathlessly between touches and tangled limbs.

Clothes disappeared piece by piece along the way.

Her heels hit the floor first.

Then my shirt.

Then the robe.

The room felt warm.

Dimly lit.

Intimate.

And for the first time since leaving that office earlier today, the weight in my chest disappeared completely.

Because right now there was only her.

Only Raina.

And the way she looked at me like I was someone worth loving.