The next two days passed in a quiet rhythm.
By now, it had been four days since Luca had started at Aurielle Group. Each day followed the same pattern—long hours at work, then straight to the hospital, and back again. Sleep came in short, broken pieces. Meals were often skipped or rushed. But he kept going.
At the hospital, things were stable.
His grandmother remained weak, but there were no sudden scares. Some days she spoke more, asking small questions about his work, about the city, about whether he was eating properly.
Luca always answered the same way—“I’m fine.” He never let the exhaustion show.
Back at Aurielle, something had begun to change.The work was still demanding. The pace hadn’t slowed. But the sharpness in people’s voices had softened, even if only a little.
On the third, someone had handed him a file and said, “You’ll manage this,” instead of watching over him.
It wasn’t kindness, not exactly.
But it wasn’t hostility either.
People had started to notice.
He showed up early. He didn’t argue. He learned quickly and made fewer mistakes each day. When work piled up, he didn’t step back—he stepped forward.
By the fourth day, he was no longer just “the new one.”
He was… useful.
That morning, when Luca entered the workspace, he paused for a second.
A small table stood near the editing section. Beside it, a simple chair. Nothing special—just a corner space.
“For you,” someone said casually, not even looking up.
Luca blinked. “For me?”
“Yeah. Easier than you standing all day, right?”
He nodded slowly. "Thank you".
It was a small thing.
But to him, it felt like something more.
A place.
Work moved faster after that.
Having his own space meant he could focus better. He organized his files, adjusted the system settings to suit his workflow, and began finishing tasks quicker than before. Sometimes, people even came to him directly.
“Can you fix this color?”
“Check this lighting once?”
Luca always said yes.
Not because he had to—but because he could.
By the end of the fourth day, the difference was clear.
No one was watching him closely anymore.
No one was waiting for him to fail.
They had seen enough.
Late afternoon, as Luca was finishing a set of edits, someone stopped beside his desk.
He looked up.
It was the team leader.
“Come with me for a minute,” he said.
Luca nodded and followed him to a quieter corner of the floor.
For a moment, the man said nothing. He simply looked at Luca, as if thinking about how to begin.
“Your trial period was supposed to be a week,” he said finally.
Luca straightened slightly. “Yes.”
“We don’t usually make decisions this early.”
There was a short pause.
“But you’ve been consistent. You learn fast. And more importantly, you don’t waste time.”
Luca stayed quiet, listening.
“So,” the man continued, “we’re not going to wait for the full week.”
Luca’s fingers tightened slightly at his sides.
“You’re hired.”
The words were simple. Direct.
No ceremony. No buildup.
Just a decision.
For a second, Luca didn’t react.
Then he nodded. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” the man said lightly. “The work doesn’t get easier from here.”
“That’s okay,” Luca replied.
The team leader gave a small, almost approving nod. “Good. Get back to work.”
Luca returned to his desk.
Everything looked the same—the screen, the files, the quiet movement of people around him.
But something had shifted.
Not in the world around him.
In himself.
For the first time in days, the weight on his chest felt a little lighter.
It wasn’t security.
Not completely.
But it was a step.
And right now—
That was enough.
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments