Cirilla Xanders is a fresh IT graduate whose dream is to become the CEO of her own software company. All the girls in her school envied her because she was every boy’s dream girl. She is beautiful, tall, cheerful, and intelligent. But despite her charm, she came from a poor family, and her mother is sick. She can’t remember her father because he left when she was just five years old, and her mother never talks about him.

Ciri was a scholar at Xavier University, the most prestigious school in the country. Because of her intelligence, she was able to graduate with flying colors. Despite being poor, Ciri still managed to live a good life. From middle school up to university, life seemed easy for her. With her beauty, kindness, and intelligence, she was always admired by everyone.

But life quickly changed after graduation. She applied for a job and got an interview at Gates Inc., the top software company in the country. It had always been Ciri’s dream to work there. She imagined herself creating applications that everyone would download— earning enough to build some savings in the bank for her mom and to fulfill her simple dream of traveling around the world.

Her daydream ended when the secretary called her.

“Ms. Xanders, you can now enter the room.”

As she approached the door, her heart pounded. She was nervous, she wanted this job so badly. It was her first step toward her dreams. She tried to calm herself and whispered, “I got this.” She entered the room confidently, wearing her prettiest smile, but her smile faded the moment she saw who was sitting there.

The man in the chair was Benjamin “Benj” Charlz Gates, the son of the company’s owner. Ciri and Benj had gone to the same school. Back at Xavier University, Ciri was known as the perfect combination of beauty and brains. She had many suitors, but the one who captured her heart was Benj Gates.

When Benj saw Ciri walk in, he gave her a sly smile and said, “Have a seat, Ms. Xanders.”

As he looked at her, he was still amazed by her beauty. He hadn’t seen her for two years since he went abroad to study. Ciri had grown even more beautiful, her sparkling innocent eyes, pointed nose, gentle lips, slim figure, and porcelain skin. He had dreamed of her every night.

“Thank you, sir,” Ciri replied timidly.

“Why should we hire you, Ms. Xanders?” Benj asked.

Ciri was still in shock. She couldn’t believe that the man sitting in front of her was Benj her ex-boyfriend, the man who had patiently courted her since middle school. The man she dumped two years ago, the one she hurt so much. But he was also the man she deeply loved, the one she once dreamed of spending her life with.

Ciri felt uneasy; she couldn’t even look him in the eyes. And at that moment, she knew she had messed up.

“Why should we hire you, Ms. Xanders?” Benj asked.

Normally, that was an easy question for Ciri. But this time, it was different. Her heart was beating faster than usual, her mind went blank, and the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth. After a few minutes of silence, Ciri still couldn’t utter a single word.

Benj grew impatient and snapped in an irritated tone, “Do you take us lightly, Ms. Xanders? This is Gates Inc., and you came here for an interview unprepared? Are you dumb?”

Hearing those words jolted Ciri back to her senses. Benj used to be a gentle and kind man, the person standing in front of her now was nothing like the Benj she once knew. His eyes were filled with hatred toward her.

“Uhm, sir… I believe you should hire me in your company because…” Ciri tried to continue, but she was interrupted by the sound of loud footsteps approaching the CEO’s office.

Tik tak, tik tak, tik tak.

“Who’s dumb, honey?” a woman asked as she entered.

“Why are you here? I told you not to come while I’m working,” Benj replied, clearly annoyed.

“I just dropped by to remind you about our dinner at exactly 6 p.m. And please, don’t be late, honey,” the woman said sweetly.

With a look of disgust, Benj sighed. “Yes. I won’t forget, and I won’t be late.”

Ciri’s nervousness doubled the moment she heard the woman’s voice, that high-pitched, arrogant tone she could never forget. It belonged to Priscilla Bellatrix Gates, Benj’s mother.

Priscilla was a sophisticated, proud, and selfish woman. She came from a wealthy family, and when she married Christian Gates, she became even more famous because of her husband’s name and the Gates Inc. empire. She became one of the most influential women in the country. Having both wealth and status, she grew even more arrogant and cruel. She despised people of the lower class, considering them nothing but parasites clinging to the rich to survive. She would do anything, and everything to protect her family’s wealth, social standing, and especially her only son, Benj Gates.

Upon hearing Priscilla’s voice, Ciri bowed her head low.

Benj turned to his mother and said coldly, “Is there anything else? You can go now; I still have an interview to finish.”

“Alright, I’ll go then,” Priscilla replied, glancing briefly at the applicant. She usually didn’t bother looking at women of lower class, never even a glance, but for some reason, she couldn’t ignore this one.

She looked at Ciri for a moment, though she couldn’t see her face because Ciri was looking down. She noticed her fair, porcelain skin, a complexion as fine as that of a high-class woman, maybe even better. It seemed familiar, reminding her of someone.

But who cares, she thought. She’s just an applicant, a nobody, a parasite.

As Priscilla stepped out of Benj’s office and was about to close the door, she heard Benj’s voice again:

“I’ll ask you again, Ms. Xanders, why should we hire you?”

Priscilla froze. Her eyes widened. She pushed the door open and hurried back inside.

Cirilla felt a bit relieved when Priscilla finally walked out the door. But suddenly—BANG!

It was the sound of a door slammed shut.

“Did I hear that right? Xanders? That Xanders? The Cirilla Xanders?”

At that very moment, Ciri felt like she was sitting on fire. The room was cold, yet her whole body was drenched in sweat. She didn’t know what to do. All she could do was clasp her trembling hands together on her lap. She wished she could disappear right then and there.

Ciri knew Priscilla very well. She was terrified of her, so terrified that she couldn’t even lift her head. She kept her eyes down. Benj noticed that her knees were shaking; he could tell she was afraid.

“Yes, she’s Cirilla Xanders. So, what are you fussing about?” Benj said.

In a loud and arrogant voice, Priscilla shouted, “How shameless you are! You have the guts to apply for a job in our company after what you did to my son?”

Priscilla was furious. She had always despised people of the lower class, and she hated Ciri the most. How could she forget the poor girl who took her son’s heart?

“Shameless woman! Parasite!” Priscilla screamed. Her anger burned so intensely that cursing wasn’t enough. She grabbed one of her expensive high heels and threw at Ciri.

The heel struck Ciri’s head. It was heavy, hard, and sharp. It felt like being hit by a hammer. It hurt, of course it did—but what hurt more was the pain in her heart.

Despite the pain, Ciri didn’t move. She remained seated, head bowed low.

Benj was shocked. He hadn’t expected his mother to be that enraged. It had been two years already, but the bitterness was still there. Yes, he hated Ciri, and maybe she deserved some of it but that hit was too much, and he knew it really hurt.

Ciri didn’t move at all. When Benj looked closer, he saw blood trickling down her head. That’s when he finally said, “Mom, enough.”

Priscilla was like a lioness ready to kill anyone who dared to hurt her cub. She wanted to strike Ciri again and again. But she snapped out of her rage when she heard Benj call her Mom.

Benj rarely called her that, and when he did, it was the only thing that calmed her.

Priscilla took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. Then she started again, her voice dripping with venom.

“What do you want from my son? Did your sugar daddies get bored and leave you? And now you want to hook up with my son again? A slut like you will never be content jumping from one man to another just to survive. Shameless!”

The words pierced deep. It was painful to hear, but Ciri couldn’t blame her. It was her own doing. It was all her fault back then.

“Answer me, you slut!” Priscilla yelled.

The room fell silent for a moment, until a knock broke the tension.

It was Benj’s secretary, Vicky. “Sir, Vice President Brown is here. He said something urgent came up. He’s not available tomorrow and wants to have the meeting now with.”

“Not right now. We’ll do it later,” Benj replied firmly.

But it was too late, VP Brown had already entered the room, followed by his staff, five people in total.

Priscilla, unfazed by their presence, continued shouting. “Did you run out of dirty old men to finance you? Is that why you’re trying to get close to my son again?”

The people who entered froze, shocked by the scene unfolding in the CEO’s office.

Priscilla glared at Ciri again. “Like mother, like daughter, a slut, a parasite, and a homewrecker!”

Ciri chose to stay silent. She didn’t want to make Priscilla even angrier. She could take all the insults thrown at her, but not the ones aimed at her mother. Her beautiful, gentle, hardworking mother.

She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of them. She stood up, her voice soft but steady.

“Sorry for wasting your time, Mr. Gates. It was my mistake to apply for a job here in your company. I’m not qualified to be your employee, because I’m a slut and a parasite. I hereby withdraw my application. Thank you and have a good day.”

After saying those words, she walked toward the door. But before she could leave, the tears she’d been holding back finally fell. She ran out of the CEO’s office, her sobs echoing in the hallway.

She didn’t stop crying until she was already outside the Gates Inc. building.

Earlier that day, she had been so happy, and confident that she would be hired because of her skills and intelligence. She thought this would be the happiest day of her life.

But the day she thought would mark a new beginning turned out to be the worst day of all, an unexpected, painful encounter with two people from her past.