The next morning after quitting her job, Airam snapped a photo of herself standing beneath the towering glass doors of the biggest architectural firm in the country.
The caption was simple, a new beginning, but the image said everything.
Harry saw it almost instantly, as if he had been waiting for the updates Airam posts on her story and feeds.
For a long moment, he just stared at his screen, the glow reflecting off his worried eyes.
Airam… at the firm?
He didn't even know how to begin apologizing, and knowing Airam, he knew she wouldn't make forgiveness easy.
Inside the building, the marble floors gleamed beneath Airam's heels. She sat at the reception for nearly two hours, her fingers tapping lightly on her knee, determination fighting exhaustion.
Then she saw movement. The president of the company walked past with his team of executives behind him, talking briskly, barely looking left or right.
Airam stood so abruptly that the receptionist startled.
She hurried after him, matching his pace.
"Sir, please, just a minute!" she called.
He didn't stop.
So she walked beside him, breath quick, heart pounding.
"Sir, I am Airam Gray. Do you please remember me?" she asked. "You offered me a contract months ago for the Acacia project. I... I turned it down then. Please… is the offer still valid?"
He finally glanced at her, brows raised.
"You rejected my offer. What changed now?" Airam swallowed hard.
"Oh, great, you do remember." Her voice wavered, but she forced it steady. "I'm sorry, sir. Please give me another chance. I won't let you down. I have new insight that I believe will help the project. Please."
Her last word cracked something open in him.
He stopped walking.
The executives behind him nearly collided. The president studied her for a long, thoughtful moment.
"The Acacia project was put on hold," he said at last. Airam knew that she had done her research. "Yes, you can join it. You start tomorrow."
Airam's breath escaped her in a soft, trembling sigh. "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much."
For the first time in days, she felt hope unfurl in her chest, quiet, but alive.
That evening, Airam's family buzzed with excitement.
She told her family the news, promising them that with this new job, no one would lack anything again. Her mother cried softly, still worried about her as the children danced around the room.
Even the walls seemed lighter, as if the house itself could breathe again.
The next morning, Airam stepped into J & J Corporation dressed in confidence, a black suit, matching shoes and bag, and sleek glasses.
The very outfit she had picked out at the mall now fit her like armor.
The secretary smiled politely and directed her to the president's office.
Airam lifted her chin and walked. When she opened the door, her steps faltered.
Sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees, was Harry. But not the relaxed Harry she once knew. He wore a stern, unreadable expression, his eyes lifting slowly to meet hers.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Airam forced her spine straight.
Her confidence didn't leave her, not even now. She walked past him without a greeting, without hesitation, and sat across the president's desk.
The silence between them was thick, awkward, full of unsaid things. Maybe he's here for a job too, she told herself. So keep your cool, Airam.
Keep. Your. Cool.