The Crow

Crows, based on research, say that they are consummate opportunists. They develop a close relationship with the best predators to exploit, especially when they abandon their prey.

A single opportunity changes the whole game for them.

"Porridge, please. Make sure that it's still hot when we arrive. Thank you!" Jin whispered to the woman she was talking to on her phone. After dropping the call, she tried to comfort Therese, who kept twisting her body beside her. "Are you sure you don't want to meet with a doctor first?" Jin asked, her brows wrinkled in concern. Therese kept shaking her head to refuse. "Perhaps a shaman? You look possessed!"

"Why are you being an efficient secretary now? You could have done that before our flight," Therese weakly replied. Her other hand was on her stomach, while the other she was using to massage the temple of her head. "Should I start looking for—"

"Shh, I know you are feeling uncomfortable now. I understand. Please hold on a little longer." Jin said while patting Therese's shoulder as if reassuring a kid. "Besides, I am the only one who can stand the smell of your vomit." She added while laughing.

"You're gross," Therese replied as she faced the window.

Therese kept on peeking to see where they were. It was raining and dark, and she couldn't recognize the place, exactly as she expected since it had been more than a decade since she left. Upon realizing that diverting her attention by looking at the window would not help, she turned to Jin to kill time.

"Why are you gaslighting your boss?" Therese accused, irritated but obviously taking the conversation lightly.

Jin is like a sister to her. She was the first friend that she had abroad. And while their lives have a huge difference, Jin never took advantage of Therese. She could live without her biological family, but not without Jin. She technically grew up with Jin by her side.

"Isn't it true, though? I was supposed to resign, but your new secretary couldn't figure out what to do with you after a flight!" Jin exclaimed. "I even trained them! And I was on a date, you know? At this point, I will really become an old maid like my boss."

"But you'll be rich, like your boss." Therese scoffed. "Ah, I feel sick! Is it still far?"

Her driver looked at her through the rearview mirror, "We'll arrive in five minutes, Ma'am."

"Okay, just take us home safely." Therese calmly replied. She figured that the driver looked troubled as well. Probably because of concern as he was hearing her groaning since they rode in the car.

True to his words, they had arrived after a few minutes. Men in black suits are lined up along the entrance of their home. Therese was crouching as she hopped out of the car. One of the men in black brought an umbrella and rushed toward her to help her out.

"Wow, boujee!" Jin said as her eyes glistened at the sight of the house's facade. The walls are neatly trailed by ivy. She was sure it took decades for those ivies to cover that vast wall. There are tons of perennial plants everywhere with clipped foliage and twigs, giving it a refined and dandy shape. The plants are well-maintained, and the landscape looks expensive. "You had lived in this house when you were little?" Jin curiously asked as she was touching a round cement column.

Therese heard Jin's question, but she didn't have the energy to answer anymore. She saw Jin looking back at her before she faded into darkness.

Therese woke up with Jin sitting by her side. She was taken to her room and was already checked by a doctor. She was still feeling tired, weak, and numb, but she knew she had to get up. "I should have taken my meds before the flight," she uttered.

"You can't rely on your medicines forever. You know why I didn't budge when you asked for one, right?" Jin replied while assisting Therese as she was trying to sit. Therese couldn't blame the only person who was looking out for her.

"Are my parents here?" she calmly asked.

"Yes, I have talked to them. Your parents said they would wait for you to wake up. They're probably having dinner by now," Jin explained. "There's another person here, though," she added.

"Sabrina or Greg?" Therese asked as if she was expecting someone she detests to come by.

"The latter," Jin replied nonchalantly.

Therese knew that she had to face him one way or another. He had been bugging her when she was still abroad. How much more when she's already back?

She went straight to the dining area to meet her parents. And as she anticipated, they were already having a good time. Of course, the guy everyone picked for her, Greg, was there.

Gregory Spade was Therese's ex-boyfriend. They met in college when Greg was sent to study abroad. Their families have close ties, and obviously, just like any other family in their status, their families thought it would be a good idea to push them to date and even set them up to marry someday.

But Therese could only tolerate him for two years. Finding out that Greg was cheating was a blessing in disguise. And ultimately, Greg needing to come back home to manage their family business was the exit she needed.

"Riz! How are you?" Robert Kang, Therese's father, excitedly asked. He stood up at first sight of Therese to hug his daughter. "What are you doing standing there? Join us," he added. He then guided Therese to a vacant seat beside Greg.

Therese saw that Jin was left standing beside their maid. It did not feel right with her as she always asked everyone to eat with her. Besides, Jin and her housekeeper were the only ones she had abroad.

"Both of you, come and sit with us," Therese called. Jin automatically went and sat opposite Therese, beside her friend's mother, and the maid followed suit. They heard Therese's mother, Sandra Kang, fake a cough. Therese took it as a sign that she didn't like eating with their employees.

She had been longing to do this to her mother. She knew her mother wouldn't like it because she was the perfect image of a modern villain as she enjoys making everyone's life difficult. "They will eat with us. Same food, at the same time. Let them eat comfortably in the kitchen if you don't want them here. I don't get the point of making them stay here just to pour us a glass of water when we can do it ourselves."

"What are you getting so worked up for? I have a cough," Sandra coldly replied. They did not hesitate to make everything awkward on their first meeting after more than a decade.

"How's the 14-hour trip, Therese?" Robert chimed in. "I was worried when my secretary called and said you had passed out."

"You could have called, you know? I would have brought you to the hospital first before taking you home," Greg said. He was intently looking at Therese.

"I might die then," Therese thought. She was focused on slicing the steak on her plate as Jin handed her a bowl of porridge.

"It might be better if you have this first," Jin suggested.

Therese did not hesitate to take the porridge and set the steak aside. There was nothing to hear but the soft clanging of utensils as they ate when Greg started to break the silence.

"Anyway, I won't stay long. I was here to see Therese and discuss some business with you, Uncle," Greg casually stated.

"Oh, go on, please. Business is better than dead air." Robert replied with a slight laugh. He looked at Greg, waiting for whatever it was that their company's shareholder would say.

Greg put down his utensils and wiped his mouth with the cloth on his lap. "My father was thinking of dividing his shares to his children equally. Would that be possible?"

"Of course, son! That's possible. What's with the sudden move, though?" Robert curiously inquired.

Greg straightened his arms against the table's rim and pushed himself slightly. He sighed, looking afar, "He wanted to know, while he's still alive, who among us can manage our resources well."

"Hahaha! Very rational of him. Please ask him if I could steal his idea," the old man replied. "You will hold the biggest shares upon that transfer if I am not mistaken."

"Uhm, that's right. But here's the thing," Greg nervously tapped his fingers on the table. "I would like to give my account to someone else."

Robert and everyone at the table was puzzled. Giving that account to someone else is like giving away millions of cash. Robert and Sandra looked at each other, trying to read what Greg was trying to say.

"I am giving it to Therese," Greg declared. Robert's eyes lightened up as if he saw a great opportunity in front of him.

"Only if she would marry me," Greg added.