The Past We Shared

"Penny!" Victoria yelled in fury. "Where are my sandals? I need to go to work!"

Penny and Victoria's mother rushed into Victoria's room and saw the room in disarray. They exchanged a knowing glance.

"I'll hold her down," the mother said in a hushed tone. "You go get some honey and water mix. She shouldn't go to work like this."

Penny nodded and left the room to do as instructed, while the mother marched toward Victoria, who was busy throwing shoes off the rack and onto the floor.

"Vicky dear," the mother said, her tone measured. "It's time to calm down. I…..."

"What?!" Victoria yelled, her eyes wide and filled with rage. "What do you want, Mrs. Grace Campbell?" she demanded, staring daggers at her mother. "Give me that little brat! She took my black sandals!"

"Calm down, Victoria," Grace said, her voice steady and firm. "This isn't you, and I know it. Let's work together to figure this out."

"Aarghh!" Victoria let out a primal scream, the force of it shaking the small house. "Get lost, Grace!" she yelled.

Grace reached out to her daughter and slapped her hard. Victoria's head hung low due to the impact of the slap but she didn't feel the pain. But the slap had managed to calm her a bit.

Grace sent Penny away because she didn't want Penny to see such a violent act. If Adrian was there, he would have helped them hold Victoria down.

This isn't the first time. Victoria would suddenly get excited for no reason at times or angered. The latter was the usual as the others were already used to it and this morning was just similar to others.

As a mother, Grace was scared - not just for her daughter, but for herself. She was scared that the sweet, kind, and thoughtful young woman she had raised was slowly turning into a different person, one who was unpredictable and prone to anger.

"Here's the glass of honey and water," Penny said, walking toward them.

Grace took the glass, unable to meet the girl's gaze. Poor Penny, who had already had a difficult life, had finally found some semblance of comfort in the company of Victoria. But now, it seemed that Victoria's mood swings had topped up Penny's discomfort. Both Penny and Adrian were core victims of Victoria's mood swings and it bothered her as a mother.

'What has come over my daughter?' She thought wearily.

.

.

"Good morning!" Victoria said brightly as she entered the CEO's office. The smile on her face was genuine, a stark contrast to her previous mood.

Rowan's brow, which had been furrowed in concentration, smoothed out when he heard her voice. A look of relief crossed his face, but it was soon replaced by one of concern. "You're late today," he observed, his tone gentle. "Is everything alright? Because of yesterday? What actually happened? Why were you there?"

Victoria was hesitant to share the details of her personal life, especially not about Sebastian. Her life had been a rollercoaster ride lately, and the last thing she wanted to do was burden him with the details. "I apologize for my tardiness," she said, bowing her head.

Rowan chuckled. "It's no big deal," he assured her, a grin spreading across his face. To him, it really wasn't a big deal. He cared more about her well-being than about whether or not she was on time.

"But seriously, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me 'Sir' or 'Boss'?" Rowan asked, an amused look on his face. He knew she was more comfortable with him than the other employees, and he wanted her to see him as an equal rather than a superior.

Victoria felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she said, averting her gaze. "It's just... hard to break the habit."

Her flushed face did weird things to Rowan's mind and body. "The next time you call me formally, I'd kiss you," he blurted out.

He definitely didn't want to say that out loud but he had lost control of himself.

As the silence in the room continued, Rowan's mind raced. He hadn't meant to say that out loud, but now that the words were out, he couldn't take them back. He watched as Victoria stood frozen in place, her cheeks flushed and her eyes wide.

"I-I, it..." Rowan stammered, trying to find the right words.

He couldn't believe he had just said something so inappropriate to his employee, aside from the fact that she's Victoria - right now she's an employee.

But before he could continue, Victoria spoke up. "I get it," she said with a sly smile. "You just want to steal a kiss from me."

Rowan's eyes went wide with surprise. He hadn't expected Victoria to take his words so lightly. And now, here she was, teasing him about it! He couldn't help but smile in response.

"I wouldn't call it stealing," he teased back. "I'd call it winning."

Victoria let out a loud laugh, the sound filling the room and breaking the tension. Rowan felt his heart soar at the sound.

"Fine. I'd try not to let you win," Victoria said. She was about walking towards her cubicle when Rowan said something.

"Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" Rowan asked hopefully. "Nothing fancy, just a simple meal out."

Victoria said nothing for a moment, and the silence hung heavy in the air. Rowan felt as though he were walking on hot coals, waiting for her response. "It's fine if you have plans for…"

Finally, Victoria spoke, interrupting him. "I'd love to," she said with a smile. "But this time, I get to choose the restaurant."

Rowan let out a breath of relief, and a smile spread across his face. "That's fair," he said, his heart swelling with unknown emotions that he couldn't refute.

They stood in silence, gazing at each other with different thoughts running through their minds. Victoria was standing before Rowan, who was seated in his chair.

Victoria's thoughts were on how Rowan could be a great distraction from Sebastian, and she smiled at the thought. Meanwhile, Rowan wondered if the growing closeness between them was mutual and whether they shared the same feelings.

"Row, I just spoke to Mr. Aurora and he….." Just then, Kodi walked into the office, his words dying on his lips as he took in the scene before him - the two of them staring at each other with smiles.

"What's going on here?" Kodi asked, a curious look on his face. They both seemed dazed, and it was almost as if they hadn't noticed him come in. He snapped his fingers loudly, hoping to break the spell.

"Ah, Kodi!" Victoria said, sounding like a child who had been caught stealing cookies. She quickly scurried back to her desk.

Kodi followed her movement with his eyes, and when she was safely out of earshot, he turned back to Rowan, who was giving him a piercing stare. "Rowan, you…."

"It's Boss for you, not Rowan. Call me Boss, I am your Boss," Rowan hushed, frowning his face. He was definitely annoyed that Kodi had interrupted his moment with his dream girl.

Kodi's mouth turned down in a slight pout at Rowan's words, but then he noticed a twinkle in Rowan's eyes when he had interrupted him. He had never seen that twinkle before in the two years he had been working with Rowan.

Kodi's thoughts raced as he pondered the meaning behind Rowan's actions. "Is it what I think it is?" he wondered.

In an attempt to confirm his suspicions, he inched closer to Rowan. "Hey Rowan," he said, keeping his voice low. "Are you... are you having a crush on Vicky?"

"Who are you calling Vicky?" Rowan asked, his voice stern. "And I told you to call me 'boss'. You know that, don't you?"

He got up from his seat, stretching his body as he approached Kodi. When he reached him, he playfully slapped Kodi on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Kodi feigned pain, rubbing the back of his head.

Victoria heard the noise and looked up from her desk, chuckling at the scene. When they heard her laugh, they also laughed as well, a sort of camaraderie forming between them.

Victoria stood up from her desk, documents in hand, and left the office, apparently having work to do. Now it was just Kodi and Rowan left in the office.

With Victoria gone, Kodi seized the opportunity to get some answers. He couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "So, are you really developing feelings for Victoria?" he asked Rowan. "I mean, Miss Campbell?" He corrected himself.

Rowan nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked with a slight smile. But then, his smile turned into a smirk. "But don't tell her," he added playfully.

Kodi smiled cheekily. It was good news that for the first time is two years or even beyond, his boss had found love. Getting conflicted at something, he looked up at Rowan and asked again, "But how, Sir? You've only known her for barely three weeks. You hardly know her. How could you have fallen for her?"

Rowan smirked. "Do you really think I've only known her for a week?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his eye. "What do you think of me, Kodi? Me sending her an invitation to join the company, herself not responding for months and then finally responding and me calling her for an interview immediately?"

Kodi tried to make sense of Rowan's words, but couldn't quite grasp the meaning. "You knew her before?" he asked. "But it doesn't seem like she knew you before." He shook his head, confusion evident on his face. "I don't understand. What's going on?"

Rowan sighed, realizing he had more explaining to do. "You're right," Rowan said. "Victoria doesn't seem to remember me. And I want to keep it that way. The past we shared... Well, it's complicated. I played a small part in her life then, but I did something truly terrible to her. I don't want her to remember that. I don't want to cause her any pain."

Kodi sat in silence, processing what Rowan had said. It was clear that there was a lot more to the story than he had originally thought. "I'm not sure what to say."