Leo greeted me at the door. I picked him up and sat down on the couch. My mind kept racing—what was Chak doing at my place? Did he think I didn't live alone?

  And then it hit me. Of course. He must have thought that Lun would answer the door.

  But why? Why would he want to talk to him?

  After a while, I took a shower and cooked some noodles. Once I finished eating, I went to bed. The night passed quickly.

  In the morning, I got up, fed and cuddled Leo, then put on a white long-sleeve shirt, gray pants, and a gray blazer. I grabbed my bag and left for work.

  I greeted my colleagues, made myself some coffee, and went to Chak's office to continue inputting data into spreadsheets.

  He wasn't in yet.

  Thank god.

  If he had been here already, I would've been a nervous wreck.

  After some time, I stood up to get a glass of water. Just as I reached the door, it suddenly swung open.

  Chak stepped inside.

  My heart jumped, and I instinctively took a step back.

  His cold gaze scanned me from head to toe.

  "In a hurry?" he asked in a low voice.

  "I was just getting some water, sir," I said nervously.

  "If you're going, bring me coffee too."

  "Yes, sir," I nodded and hurried past him.

  In the break room, I grabbed a bottle of water and made him coffee.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Calm down, Niran. It'll be fine.

  I took a deep breath and returned to the office. My hands were slightly trembling as I carefully set the coffee down in front of him.

  Then I went to my desk and tried to open my water bottle.

  The cap wouldn't budge. I tried harder—nothing.

  Of course, Chak noticed.

  "Niran, where are your muscles? Give it to me," he said with a hint of amusement.

  I felt my face heat up.

  "No need, sir," I mumbled.

  His gaze turned icy. "Don't argue, Niran."

  Reluctantly, I handed him the bottle. He opened it effortlessly on the first try.

  "You need to try harder," he said as he handed it back.

  "Thank you," I whispered and took a few sips.

  I could feel his eyes on me.

  Why is he watching me?

  I quickly put the bottle down and focused on my work.

  ---Two hours later---

  Chak's phone rang.

  I looked up and noticed a faint smile on his face as he answered the call.

  A woman's voice came through the speaker.

  "Hey, Chak! We just wanted to say hi!"

  I took a sip of water—

  And nearly choked when I heard a child's voice say:

  "Daddy!"

  I coughed violently, my throat burning.

  Chak's sharp eyes landed on me.

  Wait… what?! Chak has a son?!

  "Ton, how are you? Are you having fun?" Chak asked.

  "I'm good! It's great here! But I have to go now. Bye!"

  "Bye, Ton," Chak replied, his voice unusually gentle.

  "Malai, I have work to do. I'll call you later," he added before hanging up.

  He turned back to me, watching closely.

  "Niran, are you alright?"

  "Yeah, yeah," I muttered and forced myself to focus on my screen.

  But my mind kept repeating that tiny voice over and over again.

  Daddy.

  ---

  A few hours passed before Chak spoke again.

  "How far along are you?"

  "Almost done," I replied.

  "Good. When you finish, take these files home and complete them there. It's clear that my presence bothers you."

  "Sir, that's not true!" I said quickly, but his gaze remained cold.

  "Oh? Interesting." He leaned back in his chair.

  What's interesting? I wondered.

  "When you're done, send them to me for review."

  "Yes, sir," I mumbled and got back to work.

  ---Thirty minutes later---

  "I'm finished, sir," I said softly and stood up.

  "Alright," he said indifferently, without even looking at me.

  I packed the files into my bag, but I had the strange feeling he was watching me.

  Slowly, I glanced back—

  But he was staring at his screen.

  "Goodnight, sir," I said and left.

  ---On the way home---

  I couldn't stop thinking about Chak's family.

  When I got home, I cut up some fruit and gave Leo a treat. Then I sat on the couch and texted Taeng:

  "How are you?"

  A few minutes later, he replied:

  "Hey! I'm great. How about you? And did the stain come out?"

  I started typing, telling him everything that happened this week.

  And when I finally admitted how I felt about Chak—

  A new message popped up.

  From Chak: "Find the data from 4/17–5/17 and send it to me NOW."

  Ugh, he won't even let me breathe at home!

  I sighed and found the documents, took photos, and sent them to him.

  Just then, Taeng sent me a picture of his nephew.

  I smiled and typed: "He's so cute!" and send to Taeng. Then I selected a heart emoji—

  And accidentally sent it to Chak.

  My eyes widened in horror.

  NO. NO, NO, NO.

  I squeezed them shut.

  This isn't happening.

  I took a deep breath and slowly opened them.

  It happened.

  And Chak had already seen it.

  NIRAN, WHY DO YOU TYPE SO FAST?

  Panic surged through me.

  I jumped to my feet and started pacing.

  What do I do?