Beginning of the Darkness.

"You do love to belittle me, Miss," he said, his voice icy and controlled.

A shiver ran down Alisha's spine. Her thoughts raced as she realized the gravity of the situation. "I am so screwed," she muttered to herself before turning to face Rayyan Grace, who stood there with his assistant, the glasses lady, who looked at her with pity. Alisha stood up from her chair, her eyes darting around the room as she searched for Dan, but he ignored her like she was a stranger. Rayyan's dark brown eyes were fixed on her, and their intensity made her feel intimidated. She folded her hands nervously, unsure of what to say, but before she could reply, a voice interrupted.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Grace, for my assistant's ignorance. She's new, and I'm sure she didn't know what she was talking about." The voice belonged to the girl who Alisha had seen on her first day of the interview, the one who she was now working under.

Alisha looked at her gratefully as the girl continued, "I'll put her in her place."

The words hit Alisha's ego, and she felt belittled and inferior. Mixed with her nervousness and fear were guilt and insecurities. Rayyan, whose eyes were still fixed on her, noticed her expression, but his face remained expressionless.

The glasses lady, who was standing with Rayyan, asked, "And who are you? Haven't seen you around?"

The girl replied in a refined tone, "Oh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Chloe Watson. I recently joined as a New Fashion designer" Chloe's education and family background was evident in the way she spoke, and Alisha couldn't help feeling like she was out of her depth.

As Rayyan posed his question to Alisha, he locked eyes with her, completely ignoring Chloe who was standing by his side. "What is your name?" he asked.

Alisha felt a wave of nervousness wash over her, her hands trembling slightly as she gathered the courage to reply. For a brief moment, she noticed a look of disbelief on Chloe's face, but it quickly vanished behind a forced smile.

With a shaky voice, Alisha introduced herself, "Alisha Romonoff." Her eyes darted between Rayyan and Chloe, unsure of how to react to the situation. Despite her nerves, she replied with confidence, silently reassuring herself that nothing worse could happen.

Rayyan's smile of approval at Alisha's response eased her nerves, and he extended his hand in welcome. "Welcome to Fashionista Couture," he said.

As Alisha shook his hand, she couldn't help but notice the black snake ring and black Rolex on his wrist.

Without any other word, Rayyan then turned and walked towards the elevator, leaving Chloe unanswered, with his assistant following closely behind. As they left, the glasses lady glanced towards Chloe with a smirk on her face and adjusted her glasses.

Alisha turned around and saw Chloe still standing there, wearing a smile that barely hid her annoyance at being ignored by Rayyan. Alisha could sense Chloe's resentment and silently berated herself for making an enemy on her first day of work. Chloe took a deep breath and turned to face Alisha with a forced smile. She asked, "What's so funny, Alisha?"

Alisha was caught off guard by the question, but quickly regained her composure and replied, "Oh, nothing."

Chloe continued with a polite tone, "I'll email you some stuff that I want by tomorrow. Can you handle it?" Alisha nodded, and before she could finish speaking, Chloe interjected, "Very well then, see you later."

Alisha was angry at Chloe's condescending attitude but decided to let it go. As she turned to leave, Dan approached her and chuckled, "She's a real piece of work, that one. Don't you think!"

Alisha gave him a cold stare and asked, "Why didn't you tell me he was out of the room?"

Dan looked away, feeling guilty, and replied, "I didn't know he was there."

Alisha sighed, realizing that there was nothing she could do now. She opened her email and saw a long list of files with a request to make a research report on all trend changes in women's party dresses in the past decade. Alisha muttered, "What the f---?" under her breath.

Dan was standing behind her, saw the email, and said, "Oh god, you're the errand girl now. Congrats!" Sarcastically, he further added "Trust me, it's been 3 years I'm working here as an assistant and was only included in 4 projects as an actual member, you know."

He continued while taking a sip from his cup, "Well, I guess it's how it is hard for people like us to progress."

Alisha rolled her eyes at his comment and asked, "What do you mean 'us'?"

Dan replied, "What do you think about Chloe Watson's background?"

Alisha listened intently, and Dan added, "She's the niece of our FD Director."

Alisha was shocked at the revelation and asked, "You mean she got the job based on her connections?"

Dan shrugged, "I don't know. It's 2 PM, I'm going for lunch. Want to join?"

Alisha thought for a second, but then realized she had work to do. She politely declined and got back to her work, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed on her first day at Fashionista Couture.

Alisha sat at her desk, her eyes glued to the computer screen as she worked through the mountain of tasks that Chloe had assigned to her. One by one, her colleagues had left for the day, leaving her alone in the now-empty office. The rain outside beat against the windows like an angry drum, the sound growing louder with each passing moment.

As the day wore on, Alisha began to feel the weight of exhaustion settling on her shoulders. The tasks weren't difficult, but they were time-consuming, and she had been working steadily since she arrived that morning. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, Dan stood up from his desk and approached her.

"Ah, come on, Alisha," he said with a concerned look on his face. "It's your first day, and Chloe gave you tons of work. It's raining cats and dogs out there. You should go home."

Alisha smiled, grateful for Dan's concern. "Yeah, I will," she replied. "I'm almost done."

With that, Dan left the office, leaving Alisha alone once again. The room was now completely empty, except for the sound of the rain outside. Alisha typed away at her computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she worked to finish her tasks.

Suddenly, a shadow fell across her desk, and she looked up, thinking it was Dan. But as she met the gaze of the person standing in front of her, her heart sank. It was Alex, the last person she wanted to see. His face had a strange expression on it, one that made her uneasy. Before she could say anything, he leaned in close and spoke in a low, grimy voice.

"Hey, Alisha," he said, his breath hot on her face. "Long time no see."

Alisha felt a shiver run down her spine as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She tried to back away, but his hand shot out and gripped her wrist tightly.

"What do you want, Alex?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Alex's lips curved into a sinister grin. "Oh, I just wanted to see you, Alisha," he said, his grip on her wrist tightening. "Never though fate will cross our paths, again."

The sound of her heartbeat filled her ears like a steady thump-thump-thump. Her mind raced with a thousand questions, each more terrifying than the last. "What does he mean by that?" she thought, her breathing quickening with each passing second. "What does he mean by 'again'?"

Again?.... Again!.... WHAT does he mean by again!!