"How could you do this to me?!" A woman's voice, thick with raw fury, pierced the quiet waiting lounge where Ellie was seated, awaiting an interview. The outburst was loud enough to swallow the sound of the ticking clock, which until then had been the sole focus of Ellie's gaze. Consequently, her attention snapped toward the heavy, oak door of the interview room, which stood slightly ajar.
"For heaven's sake, you gave me your word. What's more, you knew Marie is my girl. How could you let it happen?" The woman ranted on with her voice quivering and on the edge of hysteria.
Ellie was stunned. What drama was unfolding inside the interview room? Why the sudden excitement?
"What did you say?" A firm, deep, and icy voice retorted. Ellie involuntarily shivered as a rash of goosebumps filled her already pale skin. The owner of the voice sounded dangerously intimidating and overbearing.
"Mr. Wellington, we have a wedding on—"
"A wedding I can call off any minute if you continue messing with my working hours," the firm voice of Mr Wellington interrupted. His warning sounding more menacing in Ellie's ears than a direct threat.
Oh goodness! Ellie gawked in shock. The judges of the interview were a couple? What a twist, she thought. Why were they even arguing inside the company? Couldn't they have chosen a more amicable place to settle their disputes? Did they not realize this was unprofessional? How could a company as big as Emerson Corporations allow such a turbulent couple to work together?
"W-what?!" The woman's ballistic voice tore through the air. "Mr. Wellington, what are you saying? How could you think of calling off our wedding?" The sheer might of her bellowing vocal cords caused a perceptible reverberation in the lounge.
"What do you really want?" Mr Wellington's husky voice asked after a short and tense truce of silence.
"An explanation. Why Marie? Of all the women, why her? Tell me, why take my best friend."
"It is what it is. Deal with it," Mr Wellington said causing Ellie to gasp in disbelief. The picture of Mr Wellington waving his hand dismissively in the air flashed in her mind. No doubt, his choice of nonchalant words was a dagger of cruelty; he dismissed the woman more casually with the ease of shooing away an annoying fly.
Nevertheless, Ellie was drawn deeper into the conversation and waited with bated breath for the woman's response. But only a deafening silence was heard. The stillness made her curious enough to consider peering inside, but mid-way through the thought, the words of the receptionist flooded her mind like a cassette on replay mode.
"Here, the company is always very strict with time. Make sure to go inside on time, ten o'clock it is. Otherwise an attempt to go inside earlier or later will result in your shot being gone."
Acknowledging this to be a one-in-a-million chance to work with an enlisted company and fearing the cruel temper of Mr Wellington, she buried her primal instincts of gossip. She couldn't risk the opportunity.
Two weeks ago this opportunity descended upon her like a blessing from the heavens and from out of nowhere. At that time, she had received an email from the Emerson Corporations offering her a job interview. At first, She was skeptical about the email, thinking it an online scammer, as she hadn't applied for any jobs since graduating. However, a few days ago, she received a reminder email from the same sender. Curious to know who the consistent scammer was, she researched the sender and was surprised to find it was the official email of Emerson Corporations. There and then She begun making thorough preparation for today's interview.
As it now stood, she couldn't dare to mess the cake. She had to grow somemore patience. Speaking of patience, her eyes traveled back towards the clock; and the minute hand shortlisted five minutes to ten o'clock.
"How can you say that?" The woman snapped back to her senses after the momentary shock. "Is this what I get for loving you?" The crack in her voice sounding more of a physical blow, betraying the fiery temper she had proved to possess.
"Miss Aelholts, we're over!" Ellie noted care-free tone in Mr Wellington's voice.But wait, did he just say Miss Aelholts? Was he referring to the infamous daughter of the prominent Aelholts family?
"Why are you doing this? Is it because you know I love you? Do you—"
"Wasn't I clear enough?" Mr Wellington interrupted, his voice becoming a grinding ice.
"Hephastian, you...what about the marriage contract? You can't literally—"
"The marriage contract that you breached?" He quipped, the impatience in his tone becoming palpable.
Ellie swallowed hard. Did she hear that clearly? A marriage contract? An heiress of the prominent Aelholts family signed a matrimonial contract? Good heavens! Why did did the esteemed daughter of a super wealthy family opt for a marriage anchored on a contract? Didn't they trust each other? How in the world did they even come up with the idea of getting married through a contract? Did the two people inside the interview room possess some loose nuts? They sounded utterly crazy to Ellie.
"Since you want to act ignorant, here, let me remind you of the two conditions of the marriage contract from which you signed. 'First, the marriage contract is between partners not lovers. Therefore, any demand for affection, love or emotional attachment from one or between the partners is to be considered a breach of the contract. Secondly, the parties involved shall whatsoever not interfere with each others personal matters, lifestyle or choices. In the event one party or both parties decide to do so, the contract will become null and void,'" his tone boomed with coldness and alienation. The coldness of his tone was so intense Ellie involuntarily rubbed her arms.
"I did warn you..."
The vibration of the phone placed on a glass table distracted Ellie. It was the alarm she had set after the receptionist's stern words.
Rising from the plush couch, she straightened her dark suit and made sure not a single strand of her raven-black hair, trimmed into a neat bob, was out of place. She picked up her phone and envelope and made for the slightly open door.
"...explain to my father?" The quiet, broken voice of miss Aelholts brought Ellie to a halt right before the door. Well, how could she have forgotten so soon about the couple? Now that she thought about them and the situation surrounding them, how was she to get inside?
"That is your problem. Now, get out!" Hephastian's dark voice dismissed Miss Aelholts.
With the dust about to settle down, and fearing Miss Aelholts would find her standing there while on her way out, Ellie raked her mind fast. She couldn't risk being caught eavesdropping.
"You can't be this cruel."
No sooner had Miss Aelholts spoken than Ellie knocked firmly on the door and said, "May I come in?" She had decided to act spontaneously and ignorant about everything she had heard.
"Get in!" Hephastian responded with a rough, husky tone.
"W-what do you mean?" Miss Aelholts question welcomed Ellie the moment she pushed the heavy, oak door further open.
She stepped inside, and a pair of bewitching, forest green eyes zeroed upon her. The infamous daughter of the Wealthy Aelholts family sized her up with undisguised steam of frustration swirling inside her gaze. The look was oddly familiar to her, similar to the predatory way her ex-boyfriend used to look at her right before he sought trouble with her. At the thought of him, her bones rattled. Was the lady standing before her related or acquainted with him in any way? Is this why she was being offered this job?
"How can we help you?" Miss Aelholts growled at Ellie. The aggression in her voice sounded vividly, and her face wore a sour expression which her light makeup bore no fruit to lighten.
"Sorry to interject, sir and madam. I am Ellie Powell. I have an interview today scheduled at ten o'clock, and I am informed it is to happen here," she eloquently explained, her voice resonating clearly and smoothly inside the room.
"Interject? How so?" Miss Aelholts narrowed her eyes and began to shorten the distance between her and Ellie. "You have been spying on us?" She sounded more convinced about her suspicion that she cast a piercing gaze towards Ellie.
"Madam, what do you mean? I don't under—"
"Save it. How did you arrive at the conclusion you were interjecting, if you hadn't been perking your ears in our conversation?" The fiery Miss Aelholts confronted Ellie. Ellie felt like slapping herself. How could she have so easily sold herself like that!
"Tevin, we are in the company," Hephastian finally spoke, his low voice marking a warning.
"Exactly the point and the reason why she will have to explain to us how and why she was listening to our conversation. Are the walls here not sound proofed?" Silence descended into the room as Hephastian and Tevin duelled with their eyes.
"I will take it from there," Hephastian declared, asserting his authority and taking charge of the room.
Tevin's fiery glare faltered. She let out a frustrated, wounded sound—not quite a sob, but a raw, defeated exhale—and whirled around toward the far window, her shoulders shaking beneath her designer jacket. The air was thick with her frustration, but Hephastian did not spare her a glance.
He turned his full attention onto Ellie, a gesture that felt less like an interview opening and more like a predator focusing on its prey. His dark eyes, sharp and glacial, tracked over her face, her neat bob, and her navy blue suit.
A silence stretched, brittle and agonizing, until a faint, chilling smile touched the corner of his lips—a smile that held no warmth, only recognition.
"Ellie Powell," Hephastian stated, his deep voice carrying a strange, acknowledgement resonance.
Ellie's carefully constructed composure shattered. Why did he sound like he knew her from the mouth of someone else? The thought spun her into dizzying panic, echoing the familiar dread she felt whenever she thought of her ex. Her throat went dry.
"The interview," Hephastian continued, his smile broadening slightly,while his facial features remained hard and cold. "Is over."
The blood drained from Ellie's face. What! Just like that? She thought in denial. She wasn't asked even a single question in regards to the interview. Had she lost the job like that?
She opened her mouth to protest, to beg, to demand an explanation for the job offer that had appeared out of nowhere. But before she could grasp the right words of asking, Hephastian voice came up once again.
"However,"he began while rising slowly from his chair his towering figure screamed with an air of authority and dominance. The thought of him descending from a lineage of royalty pop in Ellie's mind."before you leave it is important we talk about you being here"