Chapter 1 - She was a stalker! (1/2)

Today was like any normal day. Bella Lim woke up, readied herself and her six years old brother. Around 7 am, she would send her little brother to one of the cheapest primary school in the city. Afterward, she would ride her motorbike to her workplace; Simply Café.

She had worked for over five years in the same café. Her first job was as a waitress. Two years later she was ȧssigned as a barista. Later, when her boss noticed her no-nonsense attitude, she was promoted to the managerial post. That happened just recently. In fact, it happened a week ago.

Bella Lim was happy yet unhappy at the same time with the promotion. First, she was happy because her pay would increase. Second, she was unhappy because of the workload.

Even though Simply Café was a small café, situated in the center of the city, the amount of customers that come and goes was a headache for the few workers in the café. Therefore, she had to share the burden of her fellow workers. In the end, her work doubled! She didn't know whether to cry or not.

When she suggested hiring more workers, the boss had rejected her proposal because they needed the money for the expansion project.

In the end, Bella Lim could only swallow her saliva and work tirelessly together with the rest. Thankfully, except for being stingy in recruiting, her boss wasn't that rigid in other areas and let her take full control.

”Good morning!”

Bella Lim who just entered her workplace smiled when her eyes met four pairs of eyes who were looking at her. Daniel and Lily, the only waiter and waitress were setting up tables. Carla, the newly recruited barista was wiping her lucky cup with a soft cloth. While Elis was about to put on his chef attire.

”Good morning! Get ready to roast!” she returned their greetings with her usual. Then, seeing them nodded, she proceeded towards the small office that was located at the back.

Bella Lim put her brandless bag on the desk and approached the full-body mirror that stood at one corner of the room. She stared at herself for quite some time before sighing. People who didn't know of her real age would often guess that she was around thirty. The truth was, she wasn't.

Bella Lim was only 23 years old.

Due to the sudden death of her parents, she was forced to leave school at 16 years old so that she could cater to the needs of her younger brother. Her 'old' look was the result of endless working hours she had dedicated herself too.

Plus, never once had she taken care of herself as most women did. Bella Lim believed that if she put on a good amount of sunscreen on her face, she was already taking care of her skin. Thankfully, her lips had the natural shade of pink or else, she might really think that she was an old, sickly woman.

”If you want to die, make sure you have no regret,” she muttered once, twice, thrice, forcing each word to etch into her soul, mind, and heart. It was the sentence that put a soul into her life a long time ago. A long, long time ago, when she first met him.

'Time to work.' Bella Lim thought as her eyes glanced at the wall clock. 7.45 am. Simply Café would start operating at 8.30 am. That was the time in which the city would begin rustling and buzzing. Soon, she walked out of her office and gathered all the workers for the morning briefing.

”Carla, your popular coffee bean had arrived yesterday evening.  There should be no problem with stock anymore so feel free to brew more,”

”Daniel, make sure to smile all the time,”

”Lily, please help Daniel whenever the counter is free,”

”Elis, don't be lazy. Make sure we don't run out of sweet things like yesterday,”

”Last but not least, don't slack! Understand?”

”Yes, mam!”