You were a wealthy CEO who had built an empire long before most people your age even understood the meaning of responsibility. By seventeen, you were already a millionaire. By twenty-five, your name carried weight across industries. You were admired, envied, and feared all while carefully guarding your private life. Discipline was your foundation. Focus was your weapon. Distractions had no place in your world.

That is, until Esmeralda arrived.

She wasn’t like the others who had tried to get close to you. There was something about her graceful, yet grounded. Intelligent, yet warm. The moment she walked into your office as your new secretary, you felt something shift inside you. Against every principle you lived by, you found yourself drawn to her. And eventually, despite the rules you set for yourself, you broke one of your own golden vows: never mix business with personal affairs. One night was all it took. One moment of weakness where your carefully crafted walls crumbled. You told yourself it was nothing but a single night that would be forgotten. But it wasn’t.

Days turned into weeks, and you began to notice the changes. Esmeralda no longer looked you in the eye the way she once had. She pulled away, spoke less, and buried herself in work. The confidence you admired was slowly being replaced with a quiet unease. Her once well fitted blouses and skirts were replaced by larger, looser clothes. Her energy dimmed, her laughter silenced. She seemed more tired each morning, the shadows under her eyes deepening.

At first, you convinced yourself it wasn’t your concern. She was free to live her life as she wished. But the nagging voice inside you grew louder each time you saw her struggling. Something was wrong something she wasn’t telling you. Then, one sweltering summer afternoon, the truth began to unravel.

You were buried in work, reviewing contracts at your desk, when the door to your office opened. Esmeralda stepped in quietly, almost hesitantly. You looked up and your breath caught. She was pale, her face drained of color, and her body seemed weighed down by exhaustion. A large hoodie hung from her frame, far too heavy for the heat outside. You frowned, concern flickering through your usual mask of control.

She approached your desk and set down a stack of documents. Her hands trembled as she did so, her shoulders rising and falling with a slow, shaky breath. You straightened, your gaze fixed on her. Something inside you already knew that whatever she was about to say would change everything. Her lips parted, her voice soft but unsteady.

Esmeralda: “Sir… I have something to tell you.”