"All right boss, let's just go to your office tonight. We'll just take care of the reports left," Teodore said before waving goodbye to Astreille and Xord.
Xord nodded without emotion before pressing the elevator button to close it.
Astreille waved goodbye to the four guys outside before the elevator finally closed. He immediately turned to Xord after that.
"S-You're just in the office tonight?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah, we need to do some stuff, we need to stay up all night," the young man replied softly to him.
The girl was dazzled by what she heard. "Do you want me to help? It's okay for me to stay awake because I'm used to--"
"No, we can handle it. You can go home later, Astreille," the young man snapped at him.
She could have done nothing but nod at the man's decision. He was still backing away slightly when it suddenly turned to him while posting anger on his face.
"What did you just say? Are you used to staying up? Why?" its angry question.
The girl did not immediately respond in shock. Xord pulled her gently to get off from the elevator. When he stepped into the office, the young man immediately confronted him, nothing changed in the expression he was wearing.
"K-Cause, they used to always give my t-jobs at the agency late. Then there's always a lot, p-but I'm used to it so--"
"And they're paying you 100 thousand for that?"
Hands trembling, he nodded.
"Bullshit."
The girl stiffened to her feet when her boss hit the table hard. "You're letting them do this to you? Astreille?"
"W-I can't do anything even if they torture me. B-Besides, I have debts to pay."
"Debts? You really have to let those rascals torment you?" he said with his clenched jaw.
The woman's eyes immediately watered before she nodded slowly. "I n-need to, m-mama owes them a huge amount so I have to endure all that. E-Even until now, I need to pay for it," she explained crying.
"You don't have to pay them, Astreille. I've paid them double since you worked here. Ephraim lied to you when he said that he'll transfer the 1 million to his account, you don't have to worry about the payment anymore since it's already paid. " The girl's eyes widened at what he had revealed to her.
She can't process what he said inside her mind properly. He seemed stunned by what he heard.
His mother owed that agency billions, and the man paid double. The thing it did for him was too much!
"W-Why?" she asked while crying. "Why do you have to pay my mother's debt? Why do you have to pay all the Hospital expenses for my uncle? What do you really need, Xord? What do you really need from me? My brain is in a mess because You're so smart with me, you're spending money even though it's not your responsibility. Is this some part of your tricks to manipulate me? After all the helping you're doing, do I have to do something in return? "
She saw how anger took over his eyes after she said those words. But he wouldn't take them back, he wanted to be clear why it treated him like this.
"Because I want to."
"That's not even a good reason to start with! B-Why are you so complicated? Why do you always torture me because I'm weak?" she said while sobbing continuously.
She fears that there may be a reward for the help it does. No one even treated her this well, aside from Jezreel, no one else was doing this to her.
"I'm not asking for anything in return, Astreille. Stop crying," the man replied softly.
She wiped her tears gently. "I just want to make sure you're not one of them. A lot of people have gone through my life who have done nothing but abuse my stupidity. So k-if you're one of them, it's like Have mercy, t-just stop me. "
She was about to enter her office when Xord pulled her arms in a gentle way. He confronted her before covering both of her cheeks wet with her own tears.
Xord carefully wiped her tears away before kissing her gently on the forehead.
"I want to kill those assholes who made you feel this way, baby. Whenever I see you, you're always surrounded by suicidal thoughts and doubts. I hate seeing you in this vulnerable way. No matter how much I love seeing your beautiful face whenever you cry, I still don't want to see you cry because of the white people who make you look weak. You're beyond amazing for me, Astreille. " The girl sobbed even more at what the young man said to her.
No guy ever said that to her. This was the first man to make her look like she wasn't weak.
Astreille can't help herself but to hug the man infront her. The man retaliated firmly but firmly with a careful embrace.
"Hush now, baby, stop crying."
"I'm so-sorry, I'm just scared, eh. I'm just scared because you're so kind to me, I'm afraid that maybe you're just laughing at my stupidity. It's very hard for me to keep up with tall people . I feel like I don't care because I'm stupid. " She can't breathe properly while saying those words.
Every caress of her boss made her more affectionate. He even stuck his face in her neck before he gently kissed her there.
"You're not used to these things around you, Astreille. You are fucking innocent but you are not dumb. I mastered the field of hacking when I was 6 years old but look how great you are. So you can keep up with me so where You're not fucking weak, you're not dumb, you are a wonderful person. Let people see it, but you have to take the lead, appreciate yourself first and stop doubting your abilities. "