Chapter 2 You Find Them When You Need Them

CHAPTER 2 - You Find Them When You Need Them

By the time the song ended, she was already calm. Her tears had stopped. She knew life was going to be tough now without her parents but the song had given her a ray of hope, and strength to go through though times.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes red and swollen from crying. But there was a new light in them, a light that hadn't been there before. She took a deep breath, the lyrics of the song echoing in her mind.

"Even when the rain falls, and the darkness swallows everything, remember that the dawn will come, and the sun will shine again."

And with that, she knew she would find the strength to face the dawn.

............

Ria woke up the next morning only to find herself in a corner coiled up on the floor beside her bed. A song was wafting through the room, bringing her back to her senses.

The memories from last night came rushing like a violent breeze. Her parents were dead, and she is now left with her grandfather as her only family.

The song which comforted her was from a group she found yesterday, Dïadëm. She suddenly remembered a popular kpop saying, "You don't stan them late, You find them when you need them".

"Ria......are you awake?" Someone knocked on her door a few times and asked but did not get a reply.

"I'm awake, you can come in" Her grandfather who was about to go back turned around upon hearing Ria's reply.

As Old Man Zevon walked into the room, the first thing he noticed was his granddaughter curled up in a corner. Grief and pain filled his heart at the sight of this.

He realized that life was really unpredictable. They were still a happy family yesterday, with the house filled with the laughter of his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. But now, the huge house was filled with sorrow and misery. His son and daughter-in-law were no more.

At the thought of this, he felt a surge of emptiness overwhelm him.

He went forward to hug his granddaughter. His heart ached to see his treasured granddaughter like this, so he wanted to comfort and assure her through the hug.

Sure enough, Ria felt a sense of determination at the hug. Her grandfather was the only one she had left, so she had to treasure him. She was determined to cherish and love him more than ever before, never to let him down.

She leaned into her grandfather's embrace as she listened to the comforting lyrics of the song which she had on repeat since the night before.

"Ria.....It's okay" Her grandfather said patting her softly on her back.

"Go wash up and come downstairs for breakfast" Old Man Zevon spoke softly into her ears.

"Okay," Ria's voice was hoarse as she replied.

As soon as Old Man Zevon left, Ria immediately went to wash up. When she went downstairs her grandfather was already waiting for her at the table. She increased her pace and quickly went to have her seat.

As the food was served, she realized that butler Jace and the other maids who were given a day off were back to work. She guessed they must have heard the news as their faces were also filled with grief.

As they ate, no one said anything. Even the workers did not make a sound. She felt frustrated because she wasn't used to the house being this gloomy. She did not like the air of misery that filled the house.

All of a sudden, the ringing of a phone broke the silence in the house. Ria looked toward to sound to realize it was Old Man Zevon's phone.

At the same time, Old Man Zevon picked up the phone and answered it. Ria guessed the call must be very important because Old Man Zevon would never pick up a call at the table unless it was very important.

After a while, he hung up the phone and went to the parlor to turn on the TV. Ria quickly followed after him to see what the matter was. After changing the channel a few times, he got to the news channel.

Ria read the news headlines and was in dismay.

[Tragedy strikes as the ZELLA group mourns the loss of their CEO and his wife in a car accident.]

[ZELLA group: Death of the CEO, who will take over.]

[Speculations of chairman returning as CEO]

[Can a seventeen-year-old manage an international brand such as ZELLA?]

Seeing the news, Ria realized that she had never thought of this before. Since her parents are now dead, she is supposed to take over the company, but she is only seventeen. She had to wait till she was 18 or older to legally manage the business.

Her grandmother always loved drawing and designing. So together with her grandfather, they created ZELLA. It was her grandmother's name, which was also the name of their very own clothing brand. At first, it was only a small clothing brand, but gradually they built it together into a luxury brand.

In the long run, Old Man Zevon also invested in different sectors such as gaming and entertainment.

Today's ZELLA Group consists of three sectors. ZELLA's Style, ZELLA's Game Corp., ZELLA's Entertainment.

Ria still being a student, could not take over the company. All she wanted to do now was to finish her studies and quickly relieve her grandfather of the burden as he was already so old.

Ria was determined more than ever to work hard towards a brighter dawn.