Alessia was seated in the bus, scrolling through her phone. Suddenly, an email notification lit up the screen: she had gotten the job.
"This feels too good to be true," she choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks before she even realized she was crying.
As the initial joy faded, her thoughts darkened. "I should give my ex a visit," she muttered, a bitter smile twisting her lips.
After alighting from the bus, Alessia boarded another, her mind racing with how she would confront Marco . Her heart thudded in her chest as she imagined the look on his face.
Alessia's breath hitched, and her hands trembled as she reached for the door. Closing her eyes, she kicked it open instead.
"Who the hell is that?" Marco 's voice boomed through the office. His scowl melted into a smirk when he saw Alessia standing in the doorway. There, she saw Laura perched on Marco's lap. A derisive chuckle escaped her lips as she watched the scandalous duo.
Marco's mocking smile widened, his nauseating cologne assaulting her nose. "You can join us, Alessia . The more, the merrier. Come, kneel at my feet."
"Oh, I think you're sorely mistaken. I came here to thank you, didn't know I'd be thanking more people."
"Don't pretend like your life got better since you left me. I know no one employed you. You're just a pathetic bitch that needs a man to take her in to survive."
"We both know that was never true, Marco ." This was the man that ruined her mind and self-confidence, she didn't know his words had eaten so deep into her subconscious. Alessia thought she was fine since she wasn't hit as much. Standing before him again, the realization of how much damage has been done struck her hard.
"Can you make it quick? You're ruining my fun time," Laura sneered.
"Sorry, darling, I've never met a trashcan this passionate. I'll go now." Alessia mocked. "Good riddance," She smirked before turning away.
Laura stood up and followed Alessia , who had reached her former office and found all her things gone. Laura, still rushing towards her, was intercepted with a slap.
Smack!
"Alessia how dare you?" Laura cried out, tears streaming down her face.
"I'll only ask once. Where are my things?" Alessia grabbed Laura's right ankle, twisting it behind her back while holding up her left hand.
"Bitch, I don't know."
Marco, hearing Laura's cry, rushed towards them but didn't intervene, not wanting to be caught in a woman fight over him.
"Alessia , if you're still so into me, you can just apologize. Why are you being a nuisance?" He taunted from afar.
Calmly, she dropped Laura's hands and walked towards him. She raised her hand as if to hit him, and while he flinched, she swiftly kicked him, her heel tearing his left cheek.
The impact and shock made Marco step back, his eyes wide as he held his bloodied cheek. Alessia walked away, leaving the duo in the corridor.
Alessia stopped by a quiet corner beside the company e-library. She stooped down, hugging her knees as tears flowed freely. It wasn't the cheating duo that pained her, but all she's lost, mentally and materially. She had some awards, her plants, important documents, her journal, and the clearest family picture in her office.
"You're an asshole, Marco ."
"Child," a familiar frail voice called out. She looked up and saw an elderly man, the janitor she was close to.
"Pa," she called out, standing up and bending to get into the old man's embrace. From her kindness, she had helped this man from being bullied by the employees.Since then, he had always bought her sweets, saying she was like his little daughter when she was 9.
Alessia later found out that his daughter died at that age in an accident, so she always took the sweets, and act freely like a child around him. They became fond of each other with time.
"Poor child, why do you weep so much?"
"Marco , he threw away my things."
"Is that why you weep? Wipe your tears."
She wiped her tears with her arm.
"Let's go. I saw a co-janitor cleaning the office and took all your things."
"Really?" she sobbed, tears running down her face again.
"Don't cry, or I'll cry too."
At that, she stopped crying.
"I'm done for the day, so let's go to my house. I'll give you the best lavender tea you've ever had, straight from my garden to my teapot," he said animatedly, trying to coax her. She took the bait at once, as she loved lavender tea, her mother too had always grown the leaves, and hand brewed it.
It was her first time visiting his house. It was small and sparsely furnished but felt homely.
"Please feel at home. I'll make the tea now and bring it to you."
Soon, the house was filled with the sweet scent of Lavender. The wisps of the tea held her and plunged her into a deep nostalgia.
Her mom always had banana syrup to her tea, she couldn't drink lavender tea without it. Mamma told her that she doesn't know for sure, as she can't remember any part of her childhood, but anytime she drank the Lavender tea, it made her tremendously happy and excited, like she was given a shot of hard drug.
As the tea brewed, Pa brought out all her belongings in two big boxes.
"You'll need a taxi to carry this home."
"This is the first time in 50 years I'm making this special recipe of mine. It was solely for my daughter, with banana syrup in it, she loved it so much. Weird mix, right?"
Alessia's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry, you're my daughter too," he said with an uneasy chuckle.
"Pa, do you have a photo of your daughter?"
"Yes, I do. I took many pictures of her." He pulled out an old album. As she opened it, the baby in the frame looked disturbingly familiar. Their family seemed affluent with the quality of clothes and background.
Her hands shook as she turned each page. "Are you okay?" Pa asked, reaching for her trembling hand.
"I am," she replied shakily, pulling away.
When she reached the final page, she gasped. The faded photograph showed a girl in a white dress, about 9 years old, standing with one hand on her hip and holding a flower with the other, smiling brightly. She glanced at the picture once more.
The girl...was her.