Chapter 17
Drogen froze as the realization hit him. Why was he nervous? Was something wrong with him? He cleared his throat awkwardly to hide his embarrassment.
"Anyway, how did you deal with the person?" he asked, changing the subject.
Natasha shrugged nonchalantly. "I told him I didn't care anymore and that he should stay away. Trust me, he won't bother me again."
He nodded, his expression unreadable...but he was actually relieved.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Drogen called out.
The woman Natasha had encountered earlier in the bathroom entered, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. She rolled her eyes at Natasha before walking past her and approaching Drogen with a confident catwalk.
"Sir, here's what you asked for," the woman said, handing him a stack of files.
"Alright, you can go," Drogen replied sharply, taking the files without looking at her
The woman hesitated, her eyes narrowing slightly as she turned back toward Natasha. "Sir, who's she?"
"She's going to be my secretary from now on," Drogen said, his tone casual but firm.
"What?!" Natasha and the woman exclaimed simultaneously.
"Sir, am I getting fired?" Alice asked, her voice tinged with disappointment. Her name was Alice.
"No. I'll have you replace Thompson," Drogen replied.
A delighted smile spread across Alice's face. "Really? Thank you so much, sir!" she said, bowing deeply in gratitude.
As Alice turned to leave, she flipped her hair deliberately in Natasha's direction, the silky strands brushing past Natasha's face. Natasha's fists clenched at her sides as her temper flared. She wanted nothing more than to yank off that stupid hair of her's but she just inhaled as she tried to calm her self.
As soon as Alice left, Natasha turned to Drogen
"When did I agree to become your secretary?" she demanded.
He leaned back in his chair, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Why do you seem upset about a promotion? I thought you'd be thrilled about the promotion."
Natasha hesitated, "Alright, fine. I admit I'm happy. But why me? You could've picked anyone." he had nothing to gain from making her his secretary, and besides , he could have chosen anyone.
"You just happened to be available," he replied with a shrug, though the faint glimmer in his eyes suggested otherwise.
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Right. Just my luck, I guess. So when do I start?"
"Right away," he replied, his voice leaving no room for argument.
Natasha didn't argue any further and just told him she had to go get her things from her previous work office, as she was stepping out, she bumped into the guy she had screamed at earlier...the man frowned upon seeing her and just brushed past her.
"Hey wait...." She called out, jogging after him.
He turned to he with a questioning gaze
"Look, I'm sorry about earlier," she said, trying hard to sound as sincere as she could. "I was having a rough day."
His expression softened marginally. "Is that how you treat everyone when you're upset?"
Natasha winced. "I know I was wrong. I really am sorry."
He sighed. "Apology accepted. But next time, maybe lay off the insults about my accent."
A flicker of guilt crossed her face. "Fair enough. Now that we are on good terms, let's have a fresh start, I'm Natasha Thorpe. And you are?"
"Billy Anderson," he replied, shaking her outstretched hand.
The moment their hands touched, Natasha froze as a vivid memory surged through her mind. She saw Billy—no, someone who looked like Billy—lying in her arms, blood pooling from a wound in his chest.
"Heather…brother?" she blurted out without thinking.
Billy's brow creased. "Uh, it's Billy. You okay?"
Natasha quickly shook her head, forcing a strained smile. "Sorry, I got confused. Nice to meet you, Billy." She hurried away, her heart pounding.
Once she was alone Inside the elevator, her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor, tears stinging her eyes. The memory replayed in her mind—Heather's pale face, her whispered plea.
"Don't trust him, Lilith. He's not who you think he is..."
"Did he do this to you?" Natasha—or rather, Lilith—had asked in a trembling voice.
Heather's bloodied lips trembled. "I-I don't know… They said he was leading the rebellion."
"Drogen would never," Lilith had cried, clutching her brother's dying body. "He's not that kind of person. Please, Heather, don't leave me!"
Heather's voice weakened. "Promise me… you'll kill him… End this war… You're the only one who can…"
Heather's body went limp in Lilith's arms, and her anguished scream echoed in the memory.
Natasha quickly snapped out of her memories, it seemed like her memories of her past life were slowly coming back...as for the reason why, she had no idea.
And Drogen was also mentioned in this piece of memory, which meant that this present Drogen was definitely the same man in her dreams.
What was their connection in the past, she had a lot of questions that needed answers ir she might go insane.
Natasha soon arrived at the office and Gracie was the first to walk up to her
"Nat, you're back...where did he take you?" Gracie asked
"Hey, do you believe in past lives and reincarnation?" Natasha asked bluntly, her face pale from overthinking.
"What's with the sudden weird question?"
"Tell me, do you believe?" Natasha pressed further
"Well, my grandma was a shaman so yeah, I do, i believe in supernatural things, past lives, ghost, grim reapers, angels, demons, anything beyond human comprehension" Gracie replied as she dramatically counted with her fingers.
"You're saying your grandma was a shaman? Then when I told you about the time I saw death, why didn't you believe me? I was literally balling my eye in frustration when you didn't believe me."
"Well, Because humans can't see death until they are about to die and you were obviously fine so i thought maybe you were joking or something, and besides, you just broke up with Chris, so i thought it was just your way of coping with the breakup. You know, delusions and hallucinations" Gracie said, chuckling but Natasha didn't seem to be intrested in jokes
"Gracie, take me to your grandma"
"Huh, why?"
"I need her to check something for me," Natasha said, her voice firm but laced with urgency.