Chapitre 1: Receiving the Doll
"Don't you people learn?!" Evanescence 'Evan' Holz threw the coffee mug down to the floor, and the sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the busy office.
The bustling working area became as silent as the dead of the night.
"I told you to put five cubes of sugar on my coffee! Are you that stupid that you can't comprehend such a simple thing?"
"B-but, sir..." the intern, who he assumed had the name Jane—oh wait, that was the other intern who quit yesterday—she whimpered. "I just got here today, so I don't know your coffee pre--"
"Then why didn't you ask your co-workers?" Evan said, clearly not amused.
She gasped softly, as if that idea never occurred to her. She looked at the ground, awkwardly avoiding his gaze. Evan sighed, returning to his work.
"Sir…?" the intern said weakly.
"Get out."
She blinked blankly.
"Oh, you mean out of the room…?"
"No, you dimwit." Evan rubbed his temples, annoyed. "Out of this company."
Her eyes widened. "You mean—"
"You're fired," he said in a tone as if he were talking about the weather. "Now get out of my sight, and never show yourself again."
"But, sir—"
"Get. Out."
And so she did. She ran out of the room, crying. Whispers followed her as she did; her former co-workers looked at her in pity.
"There goes another one," they murmured.
"Poor child," a woman who's been working here for years thought. "Thank goodness I was never assigned to bring him coffee."
"But wasn't he a little too harsh…? It's just coffee, after all."
"Shh!" Their voices became softer, but he could still hear them from his office. "He might hear you!"
"Goodness, gracious." Evan slumped on his office chair, making his voice loud so they'd know he heard them. "You educate them, and then they forget the most essential thing you expect from them: making food."
He heard whispers from various people saying 'sexist,' but he didn't care. He was just telling the truth.
He sat straight and returned to his laptop, typing this month's marketing reports and production.
And then he heard someone knock on his door.
Evan opened his mouth and was about to shout not to bother him, but it swerved open without waiting for his permission. He clicked his tongue, not even bothering to look up.
"If you think you can cry your way into getting your job just because you're a woman, I'll let you know that it doesn't—" He looked up and saw the trespasser. "Oh, it's just you."
"What's with that voice of distaste, brother?" A tall blond man was casually leaning on his wall, looking as carefree as usual. "Are you not glad to see me? After all, I've been out of the country for three mo--"
"No." And his eyes went back to his laptop.
The blond man grabbed his chest, feigning hurt.
His name was Freiheit Royall, the son of the company founder, Blau Royall.
He was 30 years old, just two years older than his adoptive brother. Unlike his father, a business tycoon, he had no business talents.
Even though they were opposites, they got along unexpectedly well.
"Aren't you going to ask me how my trip was?" Freiheit entered the office before jumping on the black and white sofa like an ignorant child.
"Let me guess," Evan said. The sound of pressing keys was both soothing as well as irritating.
"You met some girl. You had sex with her. You found the most magnificent--" He even emphasized the word because he knows how his brother loves it, "--scenery. You painted it. You dined at the most expensive restaurant in the country. You took a picture of your food before eating it."
Freiheit was silent for a few seconds.
"Wow, Evanescence!" He gasped. "Are you a mind-reader or something? You summed it up quite well!"
Evan bowed mockingly but noticed something.
"What did you just call me?"
Freiheit hummed, feigning ignorance.
"I said," Evan gritted his teeth, annoyed at his brother for calling him a name that shouldn't be uttered. "What did you just call me?"
"Evanescence?" he said casually, as if he didn't know the history of that name.
"Don't. You. Ever—" Before he could finish his sentence, the blond rose from the sofa and sat on Evan's office table.
"Yes, yes." He sighed. "That name reminds you of that woman, so you don't want anyone calling you that."
Evan continued glaring at him as if he were the reason there was no such thing as world peace.
"Speaking of women," Freiheit cleared his throat. "I saw one crying before I arrived here. Don't tell me you fired another one today?"
Evan looked away, biting the inside of his cheeks.
"And I assume because of the broken coffee mug and the stain on your carpet, she made a mistake with your coffee. Let's see, she made it black, didn't she?"
He remained silent.
Freiheit knew it was a bull's eye.
"It can't be helped, Evan." He shook his head, laughing. "I bet no one would expect you to be such a sissy with your coffee. Men like their coffee black. You're the only intimidating man I know who likes his stupidly sweet coffee."
Ignoring his brother's insult, he answered.
"She's stupid. All the interns are stupid. All the population of women in this world is stupid."
Once again, Freiheit sighed, clearly unconcerned with his brother's thinking.
"I don't understand why you hate every woman in this world just because a single one wronged you."
"You don't understand," Evan said in a low voice. You wouldn't have heard it without listening carefully. "You don't understand how it feels to be betrayed by the first woman you loved."
Freiheit frowned.
Freiheit knew what his brother was discussing but struggled to understand his reasoning. Finding it suffocating that they were talking about such a deep subject, he thought of changing the topic to something lighter.
"Speaking of women," Freiheit started again, but with a light grin on his lips. "I brought you a souvenir!"
The solemn look on Evan's face was wiped out completely.
Blue eyes dilated in horror, and eyebrows furrowed in a way you can't describe. He opened and then closed his mouth, opening and closing it once again.
The cycle continued repeatedly, and he looked just like a dumb goldfish. Once he gathered his bearings, he spoke.
"Please don't tell me you brought a foreign prostitute back home."
Freiheit decided to let his other statement go and started grinning once more.
"Oh," he smirked, his eyes widening for emphasis. "Even better!"
Evan slammed his face against his table, asking the Lord why he associated with this fool in the first place.
"Evan, my brother! Don't be so negative!" Freiheit laughed wholeheartedly. "I know you'll love her!"
He rolled his eyes. "I doubt it."
Freiheit acted as if he didn't hear anything and continued.
"I left her in your condominium, by the way."
"In…?" Evan repeatedly blinked suspiciously.
"Yeah, I said 'in'." Freiheit tilted his head to the side, thinking. "Did I speak incorrectly?"
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