Chapter 24

“Finally, you open your eyes,” Rosa murmured, watching Malaya stir on the sofa.

Malaya shot upright, disoriented. “Rosa, what are you doing here?” Her gaze darted around the room in alarm. “How did you find my house? Did you come with someone?”

“Hey, calm down. I came alone,” Rosa said softly. “You’re the one who opened the door for me. Have you forgotten?”

Malaya’s silence was answer enough. She looked around, her eyes widening as she realized Rosa had completed a deep clean of the apartment. Rosa had taken advantage of her unconscious exhaustion to tidy up.

Rosa had never been to Malaya’s home before. Worried sick, she had retrieved the address Malaya had written during recruitment and rushed over.

“You have a fever,” she observed, fingers brushing Malaya’s forehead. She must have been severely dehydrated and exhausted to have opened the door half-unconscious, Rosa thought as she poured her a glass of water and guided it into her hands.

After a few unsteady sips, Malaya finally raised her eyes to meet hers.

“So, what’s going on, Malaya? I tried calling you so many times…”

Malaya looked away. “Am I fired?”

Rosa smiled faintly. “No. Dr. Williams is very busy. She doesn’t want anyone in her office—not even me— so as not to move the documents she has carefully classified.”

Malaya let out a non-committal sound. “Hmmm…”

“Don’t you want to know if Dr. Emilio asked about you?”

Malaya remained silent. For Rosa, the silence was definitive proof: there was something deeply wrong between Malaya and that doctor. Seeing Malaya’s profound distress, she tried to disarm her with shared vulnerability. “You know, Dr. Williams hasn’t touched my coffee once. It’s like I was failing to do it right, or she is just…”

“…complicated, I know,” Malaya finished, a shadow of a smile crossing her lips.

Rosa shifted, then began to speak, her voice low and hesitant. “You know, Malaya, I’ve been employed here for seven years. Before me, there was a lady who was Madam Kai Malee’s personal secretary. I was just an intern then. When Mrs. Kai Malee retired, I was one of the few staff members Dr. Williams assigned to her service. She didn’t want any of her mother’s employees around her — said she couldn’t trust them.”

Malaya listened with full attention.

“One day, I had an accident,” Rosa continued. “A year of rehabilitation. I could still work, but slower than before. Then one afternoon, Dr. Williams called me into her office and said: ‘Post a job ad. Find me a secretary.'”

Rosa’s voice cracked slightly. “It felt like a slap. I thought she wanted to replace me. But I did what she asked. I interviewed candidates. None felt right — until you came.”

Malaya blinked in surprise.

“If I chose you, it’s because the others had the skills, but not the optimism that goes with it. I kept working despite the disappointment. Then one evening before the end of my shift, Dr. Williams called me again. She told me to clear my things and put them in the room next door. Rosario would show me my new office.”

Rosa made hand gestures mimicking Williams’ tone and behavior, making Malaya smile. Then she paused, recalling the confusion. “I went out, found Rosario, and he showed me the office. But when I saw it, I noticed it was more spacious than the president’s and had a second desk. I asked him why the second desk was empty.”

“Rosario just smiled. He replied: ‘Madam says that when you find your assistant, she will sit there.’ I asked, ‘My assistant?’ and he laughed. ‘Of course. What were you thinking?’ I told him I thought I was looking for a replacement. He said: ‘Dr. Williams isn’t like her mother; she doesn’t replace you; she fires you. If she talks about an assistant, it means she likes your role. Well, two secretaries isn’t a bad idea.'”

Malaya swallowed. “So… my job didn’t depend on HR, but on you?”

“At Williams’ office, the rules don’t always apply,” Rosa admitted. “I intended to tell you at the end of the month, you were staying.”

Malaya’s voice lowered. “Dr. Williams is…”

“…weird, I know.” This time, it was Rosa who finished the thought.

“But where I wanted to get to is this, Malaya,” Rosa said, her tone turning grave. “I’ve seen employees come in here with smiling faces and leave bruised. At the hospital, that kind of rot is always present. When you’ve been exposed to certain phenomena, you end up identifying them, even if you’re not a specialist. And Malaya, I know something happened. I saw you crying in the bathroom.”

Malaya looked at her, her defenses crumbling. “I don’t even know where I stand. Nothing makes sense anymore.”

“Talk to me,” Rosa urged.

Malaya took a moment, gathering a ragged breath. “Before coming here, I worked at a very well-known bank in the area. I loved my job so much until one of the executives started to… appreciate me a lot. Unfortunately, what seemed like the start of my career quickly turned into a nightmare. I had to leave to look for something else.”

The confession was painful. “After submitting many files, I realized they had closed all the doors on me. No one would hire me. Until the day I stumbled upon this ad and seized it. And here I am.” Malaya crumpled the empty glass in her hand. Her eyes were suddenly brimming with tears.

“Malaya, tell me, did Emilio make advances to you?” Rosa asked directly, though her own voice was laced with dread.

Malaya’s lips trembled. “I… no. Maybe I saw him… Forget it.” Malaya got up, agitated.

“Listen, Malaya,” Rosa pressed gently. “I heard it as a rumor, but I never knew if it was true.”

Malaya looked at her, searching. “What rumor?”

“I’d like to avoid speculation.”

“The interns…” Malaya breathed, a whisper of recognition.

Rosa nodded, the confirmation hanging in the air. “Yes.”

“Tell me.”

“Actually, there were, and there still are, interns being abused by doctor-professors of the structure.” Rosa hesitated. “And I think Dr. Emilio was definitely one of them.”

“How do you know that?” Malaya asked.

“The one before me, before leaving, had warned me.”

Rosa had just confirmed her worst suspicions. She held Malaya’s shoulders and gently insisted on knowing if Malaya had been a victim of the professional vice.

To her great astonishment, Malaya had not been spared. But Emilio was not the person responsible. It was the wealthy executive banker who had forced her to flee. She got blacklisted from new employment by other structures until grace was granted to her at Dr. Williams’ hospital—perhaps a stroke of luck because Rosa was in charge, or because Williams truly did not respect established rules, and they urgently needed one more secretary.

Malaya, through her desperate sobs, pushed Rosa’s hand away several times before finally succumbing to the warmth that empathy provides. Rosa finally understood. Poor Malaya was a victim of abuse who had seen her life regain a measure of stability thanks to Niran Kai, but especially thanks to Rosa, in whom she saw a unique strength. The poor girl, lacking solid support to fight back against people of power and influence. who would believe her, a poor girl of foreign origin, the sole hope of an entire family? If she had tried, her image would have been tarnished by headlines.

Emilio became her nemesis—the reflection of all the demons that had turned her life into a nightmare, reducing her to isolation and work overload.

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