Chapter 1 Such is life

A day in my life, thinking about how life is, looking at the sky so blue and bright while the sun hit my face. All I wished for in that moment was for the smile on my face to remain like that forever, with me lost in my thoughts; all I was thinking about was how everything would be okay.

Still lost in my thoughts, before I could realize, the next thing I knew, I had fallen on my feet.

I fainted, " in her sleep memories of how she lives came to her".

Dera woke up at 5:30 a.m. sharp. Every morning, her coffee brewed while she showered, her heels making sounds as she walked. She is always on her laptop, sending emails and feeding deadlines to her soul. She didn't have time for lunch, friends, or love. Please. That was a luxury for people with spare hours.

No one speaks when the elevator dings.

It's like the office exhales in fear the second the elevator door opens and she steps out - Dera, CEO of Beauty Palace. Sharp heels. Sharper eyes. Her presence slices through conversation, cutting laughter at the throat.

No one dares to make eye contact. Her stare isn't cruel - it's worse. It's cold. Calculating. Like she already knows your secrets and is deciding whether they're worth your job.

She doesn't yell. She doesn't need to.

One raised eyebrow could mean restructuring. A tight-lipped smile? Someone's getting fired. Her words are precise - no wasted motion, no mercy.

People say she wasn't always like this, that once, she was kind.

But something changed the day she took the top floor. Some say it was the betrayal of a partner, others whisper about a hostile takeover that left blood on her hands - metaphorically, maybe.

Or maybe not.

Interns whisper

She once fired a director with a single sentence.

She doesn't blink when she speaks.

She knows everyone's login passwords.

But despite the fear, no one leaves. Because Dera builds empires - and if you survive under her rule, you rise faster than anywhere else. That fear? It's part of the game. A test. And she's the final boss.

One day, an assistant spilled coffee on her reports. Everyone went silent, waiting for thunder.

Dera walked over, looked at the mess, then calmly said, "Bring me a new copy. And don't ever let fear stop you from fixing a mistake.

"back to reality" And when I opened my eyes, I was on a hospital bed". I couldn't figure out what was happening.

A doctor came to check on me, and I was just there staring. I couldn't utter a word, not because I couldn't talk, but there was fear in me holding my voice back.

Flashback: I could recall when my husband (Richard) and I were having a misunderstanding. When I spoke a bad word to him, telling him I didn't need him. I didn't mean to say that to him, and I was never like that. I was just under pressure from the baby we lost and looking for someone to put the blame on. I could have actually said something else, but I didn't realize when that came out of my mouth.

Back to reality, the doctor asked me to call my family because it was a stranger who brought me to the hospital. I was told he signed in as my guardian and took care of the hospital bill before he left. I told the doctor to tell me what was wrong with me since I couldn't reach out to my family right away. The doctor kind of hesitated but eventually told me what was wrong with me, and fear gripped me.

Back at home, Richard was with a divorce paper, looking through it and thinking about how he would present it to his wife. He reflected on their early stage before they became strangers...

Richard and Dera were such a beautiful couple that everyone thought nothing could bring them apart. Richard was such a charming, handsome, cool guy, who was a man of his word; he knew how to handle situations. That was what attracted Dera to him.

On a fateful day, it was just supposed to be a normal day. Dera had just finished her work and was headed home, humming to her favorite song, and the weather was so bright and beautiful.

Her car rolled smoothly through the intersection-green light, no distractions, everything was fine. Until it wasn't.

A silver SUV barreled through the red light and slammed into the side of her car. The sound of crunching metal filled the air, followed by the sharp jolt of panic in her chest.

Dera's hands shook as she opened the door and stepped out, her knees weak but steady enough to stand. Her heart pounded in her ears.

The driver of the SUV, a middle-aged man with a tight jaw and an even tighter ego, stormed over to her.

He said, 'Are you blind?'' Don't you know when to stop? You kids don't know how to drive.

Dera blinked, stunned.

'What? You ran the red light.' 'Don't try to pin this on me, 'he cut her off, voice loud and aggressive, already pulling out his phone to call the cops.

'You're lucky I'm not injured.' Her chest tightened. People were starting to watch. She hated scenes like this. Then another voice cut through the chaos.

'She didn't do anything wrong.' Both of them turned to see a tall guy in a leather jacket, in his twenties, calm but firm, stepping out of a car parked nearby. He had a camera in his hand. 'I've got the whole thing on dash cam. You ran the red,' he said to the man, then looked at Dera. 'I saw everything. You drove through clean.' The man's face flushed, suddenly unsure. 'And if you're trying to intimidate her into taking the blame,' the stranger added, 'you might want to think twice. Lying to the cops doesn't end well.' The SUV driver muttered something under his breath and backed off.

Dera looked up at her unexpected defender, eyes wide. "You seriously caught that on camera?"

He smiled-kind, genuine. "Yeah. Lucky I was behind you. Or maybe... fate."

She laughed, nerves finally releasing. "I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't have to. But maybe let me buy you a coffee after you deal with this mess?"

She stared at him for a beat, then smiled through the chaos. "Deal."

That day, she didn't just walk away from an accident. She walked into something better-something unexpected. And when people asked how she met Richard, she always smile.

'Richard and Dera were a beautiful couple who loved each other dearly.' They were living well, not thinking of what others might say. Dera's parents were rich while Richard's parents were not rich, neither starving. Richard was a lawyer while Dera was a CEO in her parent's company. They were happily married even though Dera's parents were against them.

Dera got pregnant; they were so happy and excited. Dera was looking forward to bringing the baby into the world. Exciting, right? But something unexpected happened. It was a sunny afternoon, and Dera was sitting in her room when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her belly. She thought it was something usual until it became worse. Dera tried getting up, but the pain was too much. She tried calling for help, but it seemed nobody heard her, so she crawled towards the door. Luckily for her, her husband was back and was heading to her room when he heard Dera's voice. He rushed into her room, helped her up, and walked her to the car to rush her to the hospital. Richard was outside the ward, nervous and scared, and sweat was all over him. He was scared, praying, and anticipating. Later, the doctor came out and walked towards Richard.