Everyone knew I was struggling financially. Melissa and Orion had always been aware of my situation abroad, so when they threatened me, they were playing on my weakness. But I refused to give in.
Melissa seemed surprised by my response. That night, we parted ways on bad terms. For the next few days, I was consumed with job hunting, only to be rejected after every first round of interviews.
It wasn’t until a young interviewer hesitantly confessed that this was all Ms. Cheng’s doing that I realized what was happening: Melissa didn’t want me to get a job. She was determined to force me back overseas.
I stood there, stunned, before thanking the interviewer for telling me the truth. As I walked out of the building, my phone buzzed. It was a message from the hospital.
I’d scheduled an appointment the night before to get some antidepressants. During my session, the doctor told me my condition had worsened and recommended I consider more frequent counseling. It wasn’t the first time a doctor had said something like this. It seemed my depression was only getting worse.
As I left the clinic, I glanced at the prescription instructions when I suddenly bumped into someone around the corner.
“I’m sorry…” I muttered, looking up to find Orion standing in front of me, with Melissa right behind him.
Orion’s brow furrowed, like he had no intention of talking to me, and was about to walk away. But then he noticed the medicine in my hand.
“Yara, what are you doing at the hospital?” he asked, his eyes locked on the prescription box. I quickly shoved it into my bag, avoiding his gaze.
“I just caught a cold,” I lied, “Came to pick up some medicine.”
Melissa chimed in smoothly, “Yeah, the flu’s been going around.”
But Orion didn’t seem convinced, still staring at my bag. I dropped my head, feeling the weight of his gaze, and hurried down the stairs.
I hadn’t expected to run into Orion. Back when I actually wanted to see him, he was always too busy. Before I went abroad, I could count on one hand the number of times we met in person. Most of the time, he only sent the occasional message.
After I left, I didn’t hear from him at all.
But now, after I’d returned, just when I didn’t want to see him, I ran into him.
I’ve been battling depression for a long time. At my worst, I suffered from severe physical symptoms and even considered ending it all. But I always pushed through.
When I got home, Uma was waiting for me in the living room. She hadn’t slept well the night before, so I decided to put her to bed early. But just as we started to drift off, I smelled something burning.
At first, I thought it was just the neighbors cooking something wrong, but as the scent grew stronger, I realized something was seriously off.
I jumped out of bed and rushed to the window, only to see thick smoke rising into the sky.
