Thunder sparked outside the dark sky. Harsh rain pitter-pattered against the glass surface of my floor-to-ceiling window.

My heart jumped at the loud booming noise. But my stare never wavered from the drenched city of New York.

Such an untimely rain for Summer weather.

I sighed and moved my eyes to the brightly lit blue screen of my laptop.

It was the only source of light in my dark room aside from the occasional thunderbolts from the sky.

I scratched my left knee covered in pink flannel pajamas and read the lines of my resignation draft.

After a few clicks and edits, I was about to send it to Devon Harrington when someone knocked on the door.

"Sis? You awake?" Yuvan's muffled voice came from the outside.

"Yeah!" I yelled, not looking up from the blue screen.

The door opened with a thud followed by the rattling of a tray.

I glanced at my five-foot-eight brother in gray quarter pants and a dark red t-shirt.

He was carrying a white tray full of lidded goodness.

The mere savory aroma of mac 'n cheese made my whole day hungry stomach grumble loud.

Yuvan chuckled in his half-broken voice, making me glare at him.

Although, that also reminded me of his blooming adolescent period.

That little kid was growing up fast.

"Still not hungry?" Yuvan grinned while putting the tray on the bed beside me.

I didn't respond, only diverted my attention toward saving the mail draft.

Yuvan sighed.

"Sis, what's wrong? You've been hiding in this room since you came back. You can tell me you know?"

I gulped hard, trying to keep those damn tears at bay hearing his concerned tone.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to smile at my brother.

"Nothing, Yuvan. I'm good. It's just a little headache making me oozy."

"You sure?" I didn't miss the slight note of doubt in his semi-broken voice.

"Yeah!" I smiled and took a white ceramic bowl from the tray.

The soft steam was vaporing in the air as I twisted macs with a silver fork.

Yuvan took his bowl and began to eat as well.

"How's school?" I spoke after gulping down the morsel.

"Good." Yuvan twisted macs with a somber look on his face.

Something didn't seem right.

He was smiling minutes ago and now...

I couldn't help but frown and put down the fork.

"Yuvan."

He hummed in response, not looking up at me or eating his food.

"Did something happen in school?"

"Nope!" He grinned a little too wide.

I frowned harder.

"Yuvan, be honest."

"Mom and dad called, you know. They wanted to talk to you but I said you were out."

"Yuvan..."

"Oh, and, Granma also wanted to send olive pickles from her backyard garden. I so couldn't miss out on the chance!"

"Yuvan!"

"They said Manhattan weather-"

I clasped his wrist, making him clamp his mouth shut.

Yuvan averted his eyes from me, licking his lips as his famous sign of nervous breakdown.

I chose to use my words carefully.

"Yuvan, look at me," I grabbed his chin and gently guided his blank face toward me.

The last stage of emotional struggle before he'd burst.

And, the detonator remote was in my hand.

One little push and boom!

I smiled, taking his bowl and fork from his hand.

"Did something interesting happen today?"

I twisted macs and pressed the fork full of morsel before his pursed lips.

"Knock. Knock." I nudged the fork a few times against his stubborn mouth.

With a frown and a soft click of his tongue, Yuvan took the food in his mouth and began to chew.

Another thunder boomed outside, startling us at the same time.

A brief moment of silence.

A short while was spent staring at each other.

A sudden burst of laughter made us roll over our stomachs.

"Goodness! That was one heck of a jump scare!"

Yuvan shook his head with a grin, his chest still vibrating as an impact of our laughter session.

"Yeah..." I chuckled softly, flicking off a stray tear from my left eye.

Yuvan sighed, straightening up his posture to sit well and continue eating.

A soft smile graced his lips as he slowly got back to his normal self.

Silence engulfed us once again, leaving only the soft tinkering of our forks and drizzling sound of rain outside.

I was on my last bite when Yuvan dropped his fork on the empty bowl.

"A boy in our class was being bullied by seniors this Friday."

I stopped chewing and looked up wide-eyed at my brother.

"Finish eating, Sis. It looks gross!" Yuvan curled his lips down at me with a frown.

Gulping down the food quickly, I dropped my empty bowl on the bed to sit cross-legged.

Ready to get fully immersed in his story.

Yuvan sighed and looked out at the showering downpour.

"He failed to complete one of the senior's homework so they jumped on him after-school."

"That's sad."

"Yeah..." Yuvan nodded. "I was going out after being done with my detention-"

"You got detention!"

"Sis..."

"But-"

"I got late to our first class. Mrs. Morris from Math isn't much merciful. You know that."

I backed down as Yuvan glared. But he decided to continue afterward.

"Anyways. So, I was walking down an empty corridor and found Jason lying on the floor with those seniors beating the shit out of him."

"Language, Yuvan."

"Sorry. Then, I got angry and so angry that I had to do something about those bas-bullies."

"And, what did you do?"

He shrugged with a smirk.

"I brought a broomstick from the janitor's closet and beat them up."

"What!" My eyes bulged out. "Why'd you do that? What about informing the principal? Yuvan, this is a serious offense to fight in school."

"And, what about hurting an Innocent?" Yuvan deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Where were the authority members when one of their students got TC last month for complaining against those senior gangs?"

I couldn't say anything to that. Only furrowed my brows deep.

"They do nothing for us, Sis. So, one of us had to take things into our hands."

"You could get into trouble for this."

"Don't care. I know I did the right thing."

I raised my brows, tilting my head to the side.

"Yeah? So, taking revenge for injustice is right these days?"

"Taking revenge to avenge someone is not wrong, Sis. Not as long as you fight for justice."

"And, how do you determine justice by doing wrong just like them?"

"Sometimes, Sis, being wrong is the only option to set things right."

"Forgiveness is a great virtue, Yuvan."

"Some people just don't deserve that. They learn through only one lesson. Revenge."

I sighed.

"This is a dangerous and impulsive attempt, Bro. You can't just go out and act just because you feel right. There are certain procedures to maintain if you want to seek justice."

Yuvan frowned hard as he looked down.

I let out a deep breath after realizing I had finally gotten through to him.

With that thought, I smiled and opened my laptop.

I had an e-mail to send after all.

I couldn't work at a company where my honest efforts and skills weren't honored. Not after trying so hard for years.

My white cursor arrow hovered over the red 'Send' button. Just one click and-

"I don't think revenge always needs to be an act of impulse."

My hand froze in place as I snapped my wide eyes up at my somber-looking brother.

His deep gray eyes were cold as they stared at me.

"One could take revenge by taking measured steps and cold calculations. That's the best form of avenging someone and bringing justice to the sufferer. Don't you think, Sis?"

✯✯✯

Black heels clicked loud on the polished white tiles as I walked inside the showroom the next day.

I went to the reception area on my right and found Hailey sitting on her chair behind the counter as usual.

Her pink lips were pursed tight as she was typing something on the black computer. She looked up just as I walked up to her.

"Hey, Mira. Good morning."

She offered me a quick smile before pushing up her glasses and going back to her typing

"Morning, Hailey."

I dragged a blue employee attendance book from the table to me and scrawled my name on today's entry page.

This was one of the few old-school employee control methods in this showroom.

Reminded me of my high-school roll call times.

The thought brought a faint smile to my face as I turned around.

My eyes caught a black metal door far ahead of me — especially, that glossy silver nameplate was adorning the smooth dark surface.

'Sawyer Jade Ronnes
Sales Manager
Trexon Automobiles'

A soft sigh escaped my lips and I turned to walk to the counters.

I was about to turn left when my body collided with a sudden tall, crimson wall.

With a gasp and a glare, I looked up only to find a wide-eyed Sawyer watching me with his parted thin, dark red lips.

I schooled my features into a blank expression and stepped back.

"Sorry, Sir."

With a side step, I walked away while an intense pair of certain honey-gold eyes burned my back.

For the next few weeks, I felt Sawyer's looming presence breathing down my neck.

I felt his kneen eyes watch while I was showing a middle-aged lady client the features of a red Range Rover.

I felt him gawk from the sides while I was laughing and sharing homemade casserole with my colleagues.

I felt him drill holes in my back from afar while I was shaking hands with a handsome young client; sealing the deal of purchase.

He was everywhere!

In each corner of the showroom as he kept his eery eyes focused on me.

I didn't have the chance to know why, though. Rather, I didn't want to despite my burning curiosity. I seldom talked to Sawyer.

Not even work issues could make me face him. I didn't leave any option either.

With my improving skill in communication and persuasion as a saleswoman, I didn't leave any room for complaints.

And, Sawyer being Sawyer — a flexible boss but had no teeth to praise someone — never even bothered about that.

Honestly, I was glad about this arrangement.

After the way he had played with me regarding that Devon issue, it was a must that I kept my distance.

For the safety of my sanity.

For the security of my heart that feared the 'Trust' word.

Sawyer was walking bad news for me.

One evening, I was walking out of the showroom after a long day when a familiar deep, raspy voice called out from behind.

With my dead tired body and unwilling mind, I turned around to face Sawyer.

His polished black shoe thudded on the white tiles as he strode toward me.

I suppressed a sigh and forced my back to straighten up.

"Yes, Sir?"

"We need to talk."

My brows furrowed slightly at those words.

What was left there to discuss?

I rummaged through my mind for possible causes.

"Is it about taking over Mina's noon shift? Look, Sir, her father fainted at the job today. It was an emergency-"

"No, Hayes."

My heart jumped at his rumbling, grave deep voice.

Sawyer's intense honey-gold eyes bored into my frantic gray ones.

"It's about that day."

❤️ Uh-Oh... Trouble in Paradise, it seems.

What does Sawyer have to say about that fateful day? Was he there to rub chili on the still fresh wound?

Hey fieries,

Here's an early update of the week. Do let me know about your speculations regarding the chapter. How did you find it? Boring or entertaining?

I'll be eagerly waiting to hear from you guys.

So, see you all in the next chapter. Till then, take care of your mind, body, and soul.

Love,
Sabrina ❤️