Ayla tensed.
That voice…
Her eyes hesitantly followed the driver as he grabbed the money and got back into his cab to drive off.
Stiffly turning to face her 'savior', she kept her eyes lowered and promised, "Just give me a moment to go up, sir, and I'll return your money."
She didn't need to look into his face to know who it was.
She had seen this face almost every day for nine years in her past life. And besides, he was friends with that douchebag, Silas.
Anyone who was friends with that douchebag was no better than him.
Back then, she tried her best to suck up to him, knowing it'd make Silas happy. But in this life, she vowed to keep things strictly platonic for as long as possible until she divorced Silas.
She waited, ears open for a response, but he was just as she remembered: barely saying a word to her.
Thinking back to the final moment before she died, her eyes dimmed murderously, only now recalling that he had stopped her when she tried to reach Silas and Elena Simmons.
Seeing how calm he was about the whole thing, he must've known her husband had gotten back with his mistress the entire time.
Rather than say something to support her, he heartlessly ordered her to go upstairs and pack.
"Ayla, the manager won't be returning to work today, so as assistant manager, you have to take care of the client's order due tomorrow by tonight!" A shrill voice suddenly broke through the growing, awkward silence.
Recognizing it was the same person who screamed at her earlier through the phone, she naturally raised her eyes toward the balcony on the third floor—where she met the gaze of a fuming lady who looked a tad bit older.
Oh. That's who she was.
Lyana Bergens.
Lyana was about five years older than her and had joined Gentile Studio three years before her.
She was hardworking, but mostly grumpy. Hence, when Ayla made assistant manager after just two years at the studio, the other staff assumed Lyana would have it out for her.
Lyana, however, didn't change even after the position skipped her. She remained grumpy and blunt, commenting on anything and everything she didn't like.
Once, when she saw Silas slap Ayla outside the office, she tried to intervene. But foolishly, Ayla had called her out, warning her to mind her loveless life and stay out of hers.
After that day, Ayla nursed a grudge toward Lyana as she had her enough of her pokenosing and invasion of privacy.
Furthermore, she spent enough time listening to the whispering in the office which eventually got into her head and made her believe Lyana only had it out for her because the promotion skipped her.
Ever since then, she made it hard for Lyana to work with her. Eventually, the woman couldn't bear the hardship anymore and resigned.
Thinking of the cruel things she'd said and done, Ayla's lips twitched in sheer disgust at who she was in her past life.
It wasn't until her seventh year of marriage to Silas that she heard Lyana had made it big at another studio.
She'd given a tribute—though she hid Ayla's name, she mentioned how she saw potential in a colleague younger than her and tried to help nurture her all to no avail.
"You're not a model. Why are you standing so still?"
Lyana's sharp words suddenly cut through her reminiscence, snapping her back to reality to see the woman shifting uncomfortably under her lingering stare.
Ayla chuckled and raised a hand to wave.
"Coming!"
Then she rushed forward, brushing shoulders with Ezra Hale as she did.
She raced to her office and began rummaging through her drawer for money.
After searching for almost a minute and didn't even see a coin, she remembered something and paused.
This was one of the broke phases of her life.
At the start of the year, Talia Dawson, having the approval of her son, made her give away most of her salary every month.
She claimed it was for safekeeping, but Ayla never saw that money again and eventually, it became a norm. Whenever she was late, Talia would rain abuses on her.
The little she had left went to cab fares for work. Most times, it was barely enough. But she didn't want to sound like she was complaining, so she never did.
Turning to the calendar on the table, she exhaled in relief, realizing the month was ending in a few days.
"The studio isn't located at your desk, Ayla."
Like a ninja, Lyana had crept up without her hearing footsteps.
Luckily, this had already happened in her past life, so she expected it this time and wasn't as startled as she used to be. Nor was she offended by the interrogation.
"Give me a moment, Lyana," she sighed softly, turning to leave the studio again.
Behind her, Lyana's pupils constricted in disbelief.
Where was the irritation?
Downstairs, Ezra Hale still stood right where she left him.
Rubbing the back of her back, she smiled forcefully, "Mr. Hale, can I refund you in a few days' time?"
Ezra Hale stared into her face stoically, his eyes as void as ever, before he nodded calmly.
A relieved sigh instantly escaped her lungs, but the next second, her brows furrowed worriedly, "I know how close you are with my husband, but can you do me the favor of keeping this a secret from him?"
At the mention of husband, his jaw ticked, and he slid both hands into his pockets—to hide how tightly he clenched them.
His sweet, naive girl.
She still referred to that bastard as her husband, with no idea that her life was about to change for the worse from this very moment forward.
As if ruining her life wasn't enough, those monsters still killed her.
When he saw the truck after hearing of her death, his first and only thought before everything went black was being reunited with her.
So when he woke up in his office thirty minutes ago and found out he could move freely, the first thing he did was look for her.
Imagine his relief when he came to her workplace and saw it was nothing but a bad dream.
She was nothing like they described her to be. Her head wasn't caved in, nor were her legs and hands twisted in unnatural positions.
Her belly wasn't burst open either. She was fine. Healthy. Just like he remembered.
If this wasn't divine providence to right his wrong, he didn't know what was.
This was his second chance to stop being a coward.
Her husband was a fool anyway. As long as he got her to see it sooner, she'd live.
He'd make certain she lived a long and healthy life. With him by her side.