Cordelia received an interview notice from a company after settling down in Centrolis. The interview went smoothly, and she soon started working in the new company.

She took care of her mother at home after work and visited Carter at university during the weekends to bring him some daily necessities. The days went by in this routine as if she had returned to the pure and quiet time.

Zephyr kept her company quietly, never once disturbing her life, and frequently went to her place to help with chores.

Most of the time, he was not exactly helpful because Cordelia usually had to redo what he had done. It was fine when she was in a good mood, but when she had a lot of pressure from work, worked overtime and into the night, or had her menstrual mood swings... any gentle person would turn irritable.

Xyla usually stopped Cordelia when she shouted and yelled at him.

"Why are you raising your voice? Can't you talk to our Zephyr properly?"

Or, it was, "Do it yourself if you have the time to yell at him! Why are you so mean to our Zephyr?"

Or, "Don't think that you can act however you want because our Zephyr likes you! I'll get upset if you shout at him like this!"

Cordelia was bewildered. Whose mother was she again!?

Zephyr was always calling Xyla "mom" as well, so those who did not know better would actually think they were the actual mother and son.

Cordelia shook her head weakly and chortled.

Cordelia worked in a newspaper office. On her first day of work, her superior had already told her, "Young people should work harder. You ought to be able to work hard and suffer a bit. You should have a dedicated spirit!"

Everyone ignored this, but Cordelia was serious about it-she worked hard.

What happened then was that everyone thought that she was a cheap pushover. Her job did not only include drafting news, but she also had to do editing, typesetting, and countless chores in the office. Her coworkers were even asking her to water the withering Devil's Ivy. She also had to collect and send documents for them and pick up deliveries daily.

Her biggest headache was that her coworkers had an innate sense of superiority for being a Centrolis local and looked down on her, who was not from the city, alienating and discriminating against her openly and discreetly.

Sometimes, she was only in the pantry to pour herself a glass of water, but the gossipers in the office would surround her.

"Cordelia, do you have a boyfriend?"

Cordelia nearly burned her tongue as she chuckled awkwardly and wanted to hurry away but was pulled back by a fat woman.

"It's not like work's urgent. Come chat with us! Heh... If you don't have a boyfriend, we can introduce one to you!"

"It's fine..."

"Ay, why are you so worried?" Another woman scanned Cordelia from head to toe as she munched on some nuts. "Why would Cordelia not be able to get a boyfriend?"

"It's hard to say!" Another one spoke up. "I wouldn't want someone who isn't local as my daughter-in-law!"

"I know, right? They're hard to get along with, and their habits are different! Wouldn't we be 'helping the needy' if they happened to be poor?"

"Cordelia, I hear that you have a mother and younger brother in your family?"

Cordelia took a deep breath, wondering where these people got their news from. How were they so fast?

"Oh dear, a younger brother... That's like a bottomless hole!" Someone looked at her disdainfully and mocked, "Anyone who marries a non-local like her will really be helping the needy now!" Cordelia clenched her hands and loosened them as she took a few deep breaths.

She slowly walked to the door, her back against them. She could feel those arrogant eyes on her back when she was about to step out.

From the moment she joined the company, she was the gossip of the lot. To them, it was like non-locals were not humans.

Cordelia scoffed and turned around, raking her cold gaze across everyone's face.

"Ladies, you're right," she said softly. "I think Centrolis has too many non-locals as well."

The women looked at each other, not understanding what she meant.

Cordelia added, "Non-locals shouldn't be here, nor should they have built this city up so well! These dirty and tiring chores should be left to you locals. You might feel more of a sense of achievement!"

The older women realized what she meant after a beat.

That was how sharp Cordelia was. She could insult people with a smile.

The women's faces fell almost simultaneously as they rolled their eyes. They were going to leave the pantry when they heard Cordelia say, "Centrolis is a globalized city that's highly accommodating. I really can't believe that such an accommodating city has narrow-minded people like you!"

"Hah, so!?" The fat woman huffed. "Non-locals are non-locals. They'll never compare to the local gals!"

"Hey, there's a delivery!" Someone checked their phone.

The parcels would usually be left at the reception, and the coworkers would ask Cordelia to bring them in for them.

These older women were unable to correct the habit and called out in unison, "Cordelia, go get="

"Get what?" Cordelia sneered. "None of those parcels is mine. Why should I get them?"

"We're colleagues!" Another woman stepped in to mediate the situation. "Shouldn't coworkers help each other out?"

"We're coworkers when you need me to do something, but I'm only a vile 'non-local' when I'm not needed." Cordelia smiled at them, but the smile did not reach her eyes, making the others shudder. Cordelia said coldly, "Sorry, but these parcels are best left to be picked up by you 'locals'. 'Non-locals' can't be of help.

"Also, save your worries. I don't need a boyfriend." She said clearly, "I have a husband!"

Cordelia twirled and left after that, leaving the women rooted and gaping.

Sometimes, one really could not be too nice, or it would be an excuse to be bullied by others.

Cordelia did not go for lunch during noon but went to a park close to the company. She bought a bag of bread and sat on the bench to feed the pigeons.

A pair of black leather shoes appeared before her a while later. She looked up to see the soft smile of a sculpted face.

Sᴇarch the FindNovel.net website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report
Do you like this site? Donate here:
Your donations will go towards maintaining / hosting the site!