It has been a year since Cayenne started working as a receptionist at the Clover Hotel, situated in the bustling heart of A City. The position was originally designed to operate on a mandatory rotating shift schedule, but she had practically begged her manager to assign her permanently to the graveyard shift. Though walking the quiet, dimly lit streets at midnight was notoriously dangerous for a young woman, it was the only logical solution she could devise to maintain her nocturnal employment while continuing to work at a local café during the day. She had no alternative; she had to work for her family, or else they would surely perish in this relentless world.
"You didn't change your shift again?" Kyle, her eighteen-year-old brother, asked softly as he watched her prepare for her evening duties early in the night. "Sis, I can already work. Why not give up your night job and let me work instead?"
"No, you can't. You have to focus on your study. Don't worry about me." Cayenne smiled gently, reaching out to rub her brother's unruly curly hair with affection. "Make sure to do your home works."
Kyle and Luiz nodded their heads obediently, though their eyes reflected a heavy, shared concern. Inside the cramped, minimalist apartment room, only the three of them resided. They had no father to rely on or take care of them, and their mother had been hospitalized indefinitely due to a severe case of tuberculosis. Cayenne Ardolf was the eldest among the three siblings. She had just turned twenty-three years old last month and carried the heavy burden of being the sole breadwinner of the family. Kyle was the second child, currently navigating his freshman year in college as he pursued a Bachelor of Education major in Mathematics. Luiz, the youngest, had just turned sixteen years old last week and was struggling through his years as a senior high school student.
Witnessing how endlessly hard-working their elder sister was, the two boys studied with absolute dedication to repay her sacrifices. Kyle frequently sought opportunities to work part-time somewhere in the city, but Cayenne firmly refused every single suggestion. As a protective sister and the primary adult, she refused to let her younger brothers suffer the same unfair fate she had endured. She had been forced to abandon her own dreams and leave college without finishing her degree after her mother was admitted to the hospital.
Instead of continuing her studies, Cayenne chose to sacrifice her future to sustain her family. Her routine was a brutal cycle of labor: she worked as a waitress in a busy café during the day from nine in the morning to six in the evening, and as a cashier in a convenience store during nighttime from nine in the evening to six in the morning—that was, before she finally secured her current position as a receptionist. The brief intervals between shifts were the only precious moments she could rest before the grueling cycle began all over again. During the weekends, her schedule offered no relief; she worked as a private tutor in the morning and a baby sitter in the afternoon. On occasions when extra money was needed, she took on manual labor, washing dirty clothes for neighbors or selling banana cue and other street snacks around their neighborhood. She had been working tirelessly for almost five years just to sustain her brothers' daily needs, keep up with rent, and pay for her mother's exorbitant hospital bills and medication.
Stepping away from her brothers, she rummaged through her small, worn wooden cabinet and pulled out a delicate piece of paper she had been carefully keeping. It was deeply creased, dusted with age, and had turned a bit yellowish around the edges over time. It was the letter that Jillyanna Madrigal had given her a year ago. That small note of genuine encouragement was the primary reason she kept moving forward despite the crushing weight of her daily difficulties.
"I still have two hours before the shift start," Cayenne muttered softly to herself. She folded her freshly ironed uniform and placed it carefully inside her canvas bag before grabbing an old, faded down jacket. The season had officially changed, and the evening air was getting colder outside. Across the room, Kyle and Luiz were sitting around their small wooden table, doing their assignments quietly under the dim light of a single bulb.
"Are you leaving now?" Kyle raised his head from his thick mathematics notebook and asked her.
"Hn. I'll leave early while it isn't very late yet. I can take a short nap in our lounge before my shift starts so it would be fine." Cayenne responded calmly before lacing up her worn shoes. "Make sure to wake up early tomorrow."
"Hn. We will keep an alarm." Kyle stated reassuringly, watching his sister open the creaky door and leave for work. Once the sound of her footsteps faded down the hallway, Kyle turned his attention to his younger brother. "Luiz, did you pass the scholarship exam that you took last week?"
"The result will be out tomorrow." Luiz informed his brother in a hushed tone. Unknown to Cayenne, the two of them were secretly taking competitive scholarship exams behind her back. The money that she painstakingly earned and handed to them for tuition fees was carefully saved in a secret bank account in case of an absolute emergency. Cayenne remained completely oblivious to their actions. While she spent every waking hour worrying for them, her little brothers were equally terrified and worried for her health.
Meanwhile, at the luxurious Clover Hotel, Stefan was currently staying in the penthouse suite on the topmost floor of the massive building. It was his private personal space whenever he felt the need to stay in City A. He had deliberately chosen not to buy his own residential house, firmly believing there was no point in buying one when there was no one waiting to live in it with him.
"Sir, your father called and was asking if you will be coming to spend your birthday with them," his secretary, who double-duty as his personal bodyguard, asked respectfully from near the entrance.
"Nope. I don't want to celebrate it." Came Stefan's cold and short answer. He did not even turn around to face his employee. "I've got nothing scheduled for the rest of the night. You can go home now."
"Thank you, sir. Be careful always." The man bowed his head deeply and left his master alone in the vast, silent room.
Stefan had learned to trust no one after the traumatic death of his older brother fifteen years ago. Since that horrific incident, he had been suffering from severe, agonizing insomnia. Over the years, even high-proof alcohols and heavy prescription sleeping pills no longer worked for him. On rare occasions, he could manage to fall into a short nap, but within minutes, he would be jolted awake by violent, vivid nightmares.
The lingering image of his brother, dying tragically right in front of him, had haunted his psyche for years. Stefan logically understood that he might not have been the direct physical cause of the tragedy, but the guilt consumed him nonetheless; if Stefan had not woken up that night, or if he had not cried out in terror and shouted for help, his brother would never have rushed to his rescue and died in his stead. Stefan was the one who was supposed to die that night, but his elder brother had courageously taken his place in the shadows.
His parents might not have openly voiced their resentment to his face, but Stefan knew deep down that they were secretly blaming him for the catastrophe. The smart, kind, honest, and amazingly talented child they had cherished was dead because of him, leaving behind the wrong son. For years, Stefan had tried his absolute best to excel in everything he touched, yet his parents never once praised him or acknowledged his effort. Realizing that no one in his immediate family truly cared for him, he decided he might as well leave their domain entirely.
Entirely on his own, he strived brutally hard to achieve the vast wealth and power he held right now. He studied relentlessly to accomplish his ambitious goals without accepting a single cent or ounce of help from his parents.
"If I had died that night, I wouldn't be this lonely. I wouldn't be alone." He murmured bitterly, staring out the floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the glittering city lights stretching across City A. "Why do I have to live and suffer?" He questioned no one in particular, his voice swallowed by the sheer expanse of the empty suite. He possessed unimaginable sums of money, yet not a single soul genuinely cared for his well-being. Women were merely after his money and status, while men were constantly maneuvering to exploit his business empire. No one genuinely wanted to become real friends with him. The only individual who had ever been authentic and true to him was Travis Madrigal and few other people in the man's circle.
Ever since they had met during their undergraduate years in college, the two had maintained a unique bond; they made sure never to cross each other's personal lines, but they were remarkably honest with each other's opinions. It was also Travis who had stepped up to help him through critical moments without ever asking for anything in return. Because Stefan was a deeply conscientious man beneath his cold exterior, he had insisted on giving Travis a minor share in the one and only hotel branch he personally owned in B City.
Travis never meddled with Stefan's aggressive ways of handling business deals, and Stefan extended the exact same courtesy in return. It was their unspoken way of showing mutual respect to one another.
"I will have another long night," Stefan mumbled gloomily to himself upon seeing the late time displayed on his luxury wristwatch. Realizing sleep would elude him once again, he stepped over to the wall and pressed the intercom button, which directly routed his voice to the staff room down on the ground floor. "Bring me the best wine we have." That was all he commanded before abruptly turning off the intercom.
Down in the staff area, Manager Dan scampered away frantically to retrieve the exact high-end bottle their notoriously demanding boss required. Right on time, Cayenne had just finished changing into her crisp front-desk uniform and was about to head out to begin her duties in the main lobby.
"Cayenne, bring this to the top floor."
"Huh? Top floor? Isn't that..."
"Go now or that boss will fire all of us!" Manager Dan interjected hastily, pushing the beverage service cart into her hands.
Cayenne found herself holding the handles of the cart, which held an expensive bottle of vintage wine resting in a polished silver bucket of ice. She had been severely startled by her manager's frantic outburst, and now that she was actively on her way up to the infamous demon's lair, her hands were shaking nervously against the metal frame of the elevator.
It was the first time she had ever been instructed to deliver something directly to the exclusive top floor, and her heart was beating uncontrollably fast. She could never forget the terrifying manner in which he had harshly scolded her on her very first day at work. That miserable day was also the memorable occasion when Jillyanna had stepped in and came to her rescue.
Arriving at the grand double doors of the penthouse suite, Cayenne took a deep, stabilizing breath to steady her trembling hands.
'Knock! Knock! Knock!'
A few moments later, the heavy door swung open. Stefan stood in the entryway, looking down at her. Cayenne forced herself to maintain composure, offering a faint, professional smile. "Good evening, sir. This is the wine that Manager Dan told me to bring." Her soft and low voice was barely loud enough to carry across the threshold. In reality, her heart was pounding so wildly against her ribs that the sound roared louder in her own ears than her actual spoken words.
Stefan evaluated her for a brief, tense moment before stepping aside. "Come inside and pour me a drink."
Cayenne froze, virtually rooted in her place as her eyes widened in shock. "Sir?" She blinked her eyes rapidly up at him, entirely uncertain if her mind was playing tricks on her.
"I told you to come inside and pour me a drink. What are you still doing there gawking like a fool?" His words were sharp and undeniably harsh, but Cayenne consciously chose not to take them to heart. She had worked in customer service long enough to know that she would inevitably encounter difficult, arrogant people like him in her line of work.
Suppressing her anxiety, she carefully pushed the metallic cart past him into the incredibly spacious, lavishly decorated room. She unclasped the wine bottle, uncorked it with practiced ease, and poured a precise, generous portion into a crystal glass. Holding the base lightly, she handed it over quietly to him, remaining utterly unsure as to what she was expected to do next in his intimidating presence.
"Uhm..is there anything else you need, sir? If none, I will go back to my work," Cayenne asked with extreme politeness, desperately trying to ensure she did not accidentally step on a hidden landmine.
Stefan took a slow sip of the expensive liquid and looked at her coolly. "Come and join me for a drink."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't drink while working. It's against the rules for employees here."
"But I am the boss. I made the rules and I can break them whenever I want to."
Cayenne was left completely speechless, stunned beyond belief by his arrogant logic. She genuinely did not know how to handle an unexpected predicament like this, nor did she want to risk offending her powerful employer and getting terminated. Gathering her courage, she looked at him dead in the eye and spoke firmly. "Sir, I don't want to be rude but, I applied to work as a receptionist not to become someone to warm your bed."
Stefan looked directly at her, his lips curling into a cynical, dark smirk. 'Stop playing like an innocent virgin,' he thought to himself with deep ridicule, assuming her reluctance was merely a calculated act. Nonetheless, he kept his cynical opinion to himself. "I don't need you to warm my bed. Just accompany me for a drink."
Left with absolutely no choice, and acutely aware that she could not afford to lose her job and jeopardize her family's survival, Cayenne reluctantly reached for the cart, picked up a second glass, and poured another serving of wine for herself.