Chapter 3

Two weeks in S City passed like sand slipping through fingers—fast, cold, and leaving behind a dry sense of emptiness. The light rain that afternoon wrapped the narrow window of their apartment in a layer of vapor. In the small kitchen that smelled of damp wood and leftover boiled noodles, Aurely stared at her bank passbook, which now showed a bare minimum balance.

The twenty thousand dollars from Room 809 had flowed smoothly into Leo’s university administration account and Mia’s school treasurer. The debts that had once suffocated them were now loosened, providing a desperately needed artificial breath. Yet, every time Aurely remembered the numbers that settled those bills, she felt as if she could re-experience the rough friction of the gray silk sheets against the inner skin of her thighs, which had been left bruised.

"Sis."

The call shattered the silence. Leo stood at the kitchen doorway, leaning against the wooden frame whose paint had already peeled off. The nineteen-year-old young man stared at his older sister with a deeply furrowed brow, his pair of eyes narrowing in sharp, searching inquiry.

"That money, Sis. Where did it come from?" Leo asked, his voice sounding heavy, laden with the suspicion of a young man who was beginning to understand the harshness of the world. "There is no social foundation in S City that disburses tens of thousands of dollars in aid in less than twenty-four hours without collateral. Tell me the truth. You didn't do something dangerous, did you?"

Aurely turned her body around slowly, forcing the calmest smile she could form on her slightly pale face. Her heart beat rapidly, hammering against her chest cavity with a painful rhythm.

"I've told you many times, Leo," Aurely lied, making her voice as soft as possible to cover the tremor of her sudden social phobia awakening. "It was a special educational aid program from the Lentera Foundation. They have an emergency fund for high-achieving students who are at risk of dropping out. I had to sign a few commitment documents, that's all."

Leo took a step closer, gripping the edge of the wooden dining table tightly until his knuckles turned white. "If I find out you sold yourself or borrowed from loan sharks for my college—"

"Leo!" Aurely cut in, her voice rising an octave, slicing off her brother's sentence before that bitter reality could be uttered by someone else's lips. She held her brother's broad shoulders, looking at him straight on. "Look at me. Your sister isn't that stupid. Just focus on your exams, understand? Let the financial matters be my responsibility."

Leo remained silent for a long moment, searching Aurely’s eyes for a trace of a lie, before finally letting out a harsh exhale and turning to leave the kitchen without saying another word.

Aurely slid onto a dining chair. She felt her chest, which felt tight. Memories of how Charlie Ralph gripped her wrists above her head, pinning her body beneath his heavy dominance, suddenly flashed so vividly. Her skin felt hot, as if Charlie’s rough fingers were creeping along her ribs again tonight. Her body seemed to still harbor the raw passion forced upon her by the man—an erotic yet repulsive physical memory for her sanity.

A loud knock on the front door shattered those agonizing, dirty thoughts. A few moments later, Sonia, her only close friend who knew a little about Aurely’s financial troubles, stepped inside with her hair half-damp from the drizzle.

Sonia tossed her imitation leather bag onto the worn sofa, then sat across from Aurely with eyes shining wildly. In her hand, she held a job vacancy flyer printed on premium glossy paper.

"I have a long-term way out for you, Ly," Sonia said without beating around the bush, her voice a whisper yet sounding extremely excited.

"A permanent job. Executive administrative staff. The base salary is triple the standard in S City, not including full medical benefits for your entire family. This could fund Mia's schooling until graduation."

Aurely line-frowned, touching the paper brochure. "A salary that large just for an admin position? Sonia, what company provides this kind of luxury in the middle of a crisis?"

Sonia leaned forward, gazing at Aurely with an expression that turned intense and full of warning.

"The salary is indeed huge, Ly. But the big boss is a predator," Sonia whispered, her voice trembling between horror and admiration. "Charlie Ralph. The sole owner of RC Beauty. Drop-dead handsome, an alpha male type who can make your knees go weak just with his gaze. But rumor has it, behind his office doors, he treats women like disposable tissues. Cold, possessive, and merciless if you make a mistake even by a millimeter. Do you dare?"

Hearing that name mentioned, the blood throughout Aurely’s body seemed to freeze instantly. Her heart pounded so loudly that she feared Sonia could hear it. The name of the man who had taken her purity in Room 809 now echoed back, demanding entry into her life once more.

"Charlie... Ralph?" Aurely murmured softly, her throat suddenly feeling as dry as a desert.

"Yes. The Lion of S City," Sonia replied with a quick nod. "He rarely recruits new people into his inner circle, but his personal assistant just suddenly resigned last week—there are rumors the woman couldn't handle the pressure... or perhaps his physical temptation. How about it? This job is extremely competitive, but with your brilliant academic resume, you have a great chance if you can stand facing his aura."

Aurely stared at the brochure in her hands with a blank gaze. Her body suddenly shivered intensely as she remembered how Charlie’s lips devoured hers completely, how his mint-scented breath blew into the curve of her neck, leaving behind a scorching trace that had not even fully faded from her skin.

Going there meant feeding herself back into the predator's lair.

However, she glanced toward Mia’s closed bedroom door, hearing the faint sound of her younger sister diligently memorizing school lessons. She also thought of Leo, who needed to complete his undergraduate thesis without the burden of new debts. The reality of S City was cruel; dignity could not buy rice, and the purity that was lost would never return. If she had to enter that golden cage once more to ensure her siblings lived decently, then she would do it.

"I will apply," Aurely said firmly, cutting off the doubt inside her own head. Her eyes glinted with cold determination. "I don't care how terrifying the man named Ralph is. I only need the job, not his heart."

Sonia looked at her with a mix of relief and anxiety. "Good then. At least prepare to train your mentality, Ly. Facing Charlie Ralph directly requires no ordinary courage."

That night, when the entire apartment had fallen asleep in darkness, Aurely sat in front of her old laptop. She opened her personal email inbox to check the application file she had sent a few hours ago through the online portal Sonia had shown her.

A new notification appeared at the top of the softly glowing blue screen.

Aurely held her breath, her cold fingers pressing the click button on the mouse.

A formal interview invitation letter opened before her. In the upper left corner of the electronic letter, a gold shield logo overlaid with a black rose was printed very clearly and sharply:

RC Beauty Headquarters — Office of the Chief Executive Officer.

The interview was scheduled for tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. Below the letter, a small note from the personnel department was attached: The final interview phase will be led directly by Mr. Ralph.

Aurely leaned her back against the chair's backrest, feeling a cold sensation spread from the nape of her neck down to the tips of her feet. The predator had apparently spread his net once again, and this time, Aurely was stepping inside voluntarily.

TO BE CONTINUED ....