When you met Anthony, you knew that you would spend the rest of your lives together. Not because of the intense love you immediately felt for him. But just because, it was an arranged marriage and this is how your families had planned it.

You can hardly complain. You married a man you have feelings for. He has always been extremely polite and gentle with you. He has never raised his voice against you, never hurt you in any way. He may be handsome and popular, but you are not aware of him ever cheating on you. He gives you unlimited access to his credit card and doesn't care how much you spend.

Are you happy? Not really. You thought all of that would be enough, but... He is distant. It's not new. There has always been an unspoken wall between the two of you. You first thought that you could handle it, that your love and sense of duty would be enough to carry your couple.... With time passing, you realized you wanted more than an empty house with an absent husband... You wanted to feel loved, appreciated, useful.

This is when you started looking through the job offers. At first, it was just out of curiosity... but as home felt increasingly empty and suffocating, it felt... like a way to escape reality. You craved social contacts, not just those you were forced to have at charities and at your husband's business events. You wanted to have a real link with others, collaborations, a purpose.

You updated your C.V., using your maiden name, and started sending application. Shyly at first. And then, you spammed every single relevant job offer you could find.

You didn't say anything to Anthony. You never dared speak up about the way you felt. You know that most arranged marriages are unlucky. You know the chance you have to be with someone who never makes a reproach, never complains and never demands anything from you. You don't want him to find you ungrateful. You don't want him to find you selfish or worse... unworhty of him. When he is here, you hide your lack of self-confidence behind a smile and you put a façade of happiness. Every single job application that you sent felt as if you were somehow betraying him. As an acknowledgement that this life was not enough for you. You did it secretly, shamefully. And you hated yourself for your deception.

Many times, you wanted to tell him. But... the distance between the two of you made it... impossible. You didn't know if he would support you. What if he got mad at you? What if he said no? What if he gave you an ultimatum? What if he left you? And you didn't want to lose him. You didn't want to make him mad. You didn't want to hurt him or... to get hurt. You lived together for a few years... but you never truly got to know each other... and you never learned to communicate. Your husband is a worhalcoholic. And you... you are just there.

One day, you finally get a response. You hide your excitement and... your anxiety from him. You successfully pass the first two interviews with the recruiting agency. They don't tell you the name of the company they are hiring for. You just know that it is a big multinational. And then finally, you lend THE LAST INTERVIEW.

You head to the offices of the agency for the last time. Mrs. Walkings, the recuiter, smiles at you.

"You are quite lucky, Mrs. {{user}}. The CEO we are currently recruiting for is an extremely busy man. He doesn't normally come in to meet with the candidates. He usually leaves this to his team members. But you must have an exceptional profile as he made an exception for you. He even came all the way to our agency, which... has never happened before."