Chapter 2

Raising an eyebrow, Vien frowns as she scans the resume in her hand. "Gabriela Vaega?" she mutters to herself. "No way. This is the same person from the mall, right?"

She scoffs, setting the document aside and picking up another applicant's resume. A soft knock on the door interrupts her thoughts. After a beat, Vera enters, and Vien puts down the resumes, her eyes rolling playfully.

"We've been seeing each other too much lately, haven't we?" Vien says, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Vera raises an eyebrow. "Oh, should I apologize for being a Briar, too?" she says, crossing her arms. "You clearly need me to help you manage all of this."

Vien rolls her eyes. "You asked me to manage this university, Vera. Don't pretend you're doing me a favor," she chuckles.

"That's all you've got? Nagging me?" Vera clicked her tongue, pulling the resume from Vien's desk. She sits down, brows furrowing as she examines the document. "Wait... Isn't this Gabriela Vaega? She's a forensic investigator, right?"

Vien shrugs. "Yeah, looks like it. I'm not sure if she's the right fit," she mutters, flipping to the next applicant's file.

Vera tilts her head, giving Vien an incredulous look. "You're seriously not going to call her in for an interview?"

Groaning, Vien rubs her temples. "Why should I? I've got too much on my plate already."

Vera leans in, her tone serious. "You're not thinking straight. With her experience, she'd be a valuable addition to the Forensic Science program. Don't tell me you're going to exclude her just because of a personal grudge."

Vien laughs bitterly. "If you think I'm letting emotions get in the way, you're wrong." She gestures to the label on the resume. "I've already put her in the 'maybe' pile."

"Good. At least you're not letting your personal issues cloud your judgment," Vera says with a nod of approval.

Vien slouches in her chair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "You have no idea how overwhelming this is, Vera. Working in BioSynthix, managing this university, my daughter... I'm only human. How do you expect me to split myself in half?"

Vera's eyes narrow. "And what about me? You're not the only one with a full plate. That's why I'm here, to help," she says, her tone softening. "It's not easy finding someone who can manage the university without ulterior motives."

"With everything going on right now, I can't afford any more triggers..." Vien mutters under her breath, her gaze distant.

Vera raises an eyebrow. "What was that?" she asks, watching her twin closely. "What did you say?"

Vien shrugs dismissively, offering a dry chuckle. "Nothing," she says flatly. She leans back in her chair, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Must be nice, having a picture-perfect family, huh?"

Vera hesitates, her expression softening before she responds. "Now that you mention it... why did you and your husband divorce anyway?" she asks, her voice low.

Vien laughs bitterly, shaking her head. "Let's just say, he did something that I could never forget," she says, the words heavy with regret. "It's just too much, Vera."

Vera's brow furrows. "Did he cheat?" she asks, her voice laced with curiosity.

"No," Vien responds plainly, her eyes darkening. "But... it was worse than that. The worst betrayal he could ever do to me... as a human being."

Vera frowns, the weight of the words settling between them. She doesn't press further, but the silence is thick. After a moment, she shifts the conversation. "You know, you could take your annual leave once we wrap up the interview," she suggests, her tone softer.

Vien scoffs, straightening in her chair as a wince of pain crosses her face. "What's this? Here we go again..." she mutters, her hand instinctively pressing against her lower abdomen.

Vera stands quickly, her concern growing. "What's wrong?" she asks, walking toward her twin with quick, careful steps.

"It's nothing," Vien says, trying to wave her off, her voice strained. She continues pressing on her abdomen, but it's clear she's struggling.

Vera doesn't buy it. She moves around the desk, her worry growing. "Vien, stop," she says softly, kneeling beside her twin as she adjusts her skirt. "What's really going on? You've been dealing with this pain for weeks now. Have you seen a doctor?"

Vien closes her eyes for a moment, focusing on steadying her breath as the pain subsides. "See? It's gone. Nothing to worry about," she says, though her voice betrays a hint of exhaustion.

Vera studies her closely, her eyes full of concern. She sighs deeply, standing up. "What happened to you in New York, Vien?" she asks, her voice softer now, but no less intense.

Vien meets Vera's gaze, the weight of her twin's concern settling in. She scoffs and shrugs, the walls going up once more. "Nothing," she says, the smirk she offers failing to mask the strain in her eyes. "Really. It's nothing."

Gabriela heaved a deep sigh, taking a moment to calm herself before straightening her outfit. She was dressed in a white long-sleeve shirt topped with a black knitted vest, khaki trousers, and brown leather shoes. After checking her reflection in the car's side mirror, she adjusted her appearance and headed toward the building, scanning the area for the interview hall.

Just as she stood in front of the door, the door swung open unexpectedly, slamming into her nose.

"Oh fu—!" Gabriela yelped, covering her nose and glaring at the person emerging. Her eyes widened in recognition.

Vien raised an eyebrow, looking sternly at Gabriela. "Who stands right in front of the door?" she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "And you're early for the next day's interview," she added with a smirk.

"What?" Gabriela mumbled, her voice muffled as she still held her nose. She glanced at her wristwatch. "Are you kidding me? It's barely two in the afternoon, and it's my scheduled interview..." she trailed off, frowning.

Vien tilted her head, chuckling lightly. She pulled a handkerchief from her trousers and handed it to Gabriela. "Here," she said simply.

Gabriela blinked, looking from the handkerchief to Vien. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked, clearly confused.

Vien groaned and gently pried Gabriela's hand away from her nose, pressing the handkerchief to it. "You're bleeding. Sorry about that," she said nonchalantly, motioning to the door. "Feel free to go in once you're done."

"Aren't you the one interviewing me?" Gabriela asked, her voice curious.

Vien turned sharply, raising an eyebrow and pointing to herself. "What, you think I'm just some recruiter? I'm one of the owners of this university," she scoffed. "No way I'm doing the interview myself. Besides..." She paused, eyeing Gabriela appraisingly. "You're not really my type for the interview," she said before turning to leave. "Ta-ta."

Gabriela chuckled, shaking her head. "Wow. She's definitely a snob," she muttered, watching Vien walk away.

Still holding the handkerchief to her nose, Gabriela let out a small laugh. "A nosebleed before the interview?" She sighed, trying to compose herself. "Hopefully this is a good sign instead of a bad one," she muttered to herself before knocking on the door and stepping inside.

An hour later, Gabriela left the interview room, feeling relatively good about how things went. "Well, it seems like everything went fine," she said to herself, shrugging. "Though, this is Briar University. The competition's tight," she added, slipping her hands into her pockets as she walked down the hallway. The university felt more like a high-end building than a place of learning—it was sophisticated, no surprise given the powerful names associated with it.

"And here I am, just trying to escape my lab at the Cantonal Police," she muttered, chuckling at herself.

She reached the stairs and paused when a ball suddenly bounced off her shoes. She looked down, spotting it, then glanced up to find the owner: Vien, sitting on one of the nearby benches. Gabriela swallowed, eyes widening as a smaller version of Vien approached her.

"Hi!" the little girl waved enthusiastically. "That's mine!" she said, pointing to the ball.

"Oh," Gabriela said, smiling. She bent down to hand the ball to the child. "Here you go."

"Thanks!" the little girl grinned. "What's your name?" she asked, clutching the ball in her tiny hands.

Gabriela chuckled softly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, I'm Gabriela Vaega," she said, "But you can call me Gabi."

The little girl beamed, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Gabi! I'm Blair Briar. I'm five!" she said.

"Pleasure to meet you, Blair," Gabriela replied, shaking the little girl's hand.

Blair giggled, then looked over her shoulder. "And there's my mommy!" she pointed excitedly at Vien. "Do you want to meet her?"

Gabriela's eyes widened as Vien stood up, walking toward them. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Blair!" Vien called, stopping a few meters away.

"Mommy!" Blair ran to her, tugging Vien closer. "Come, mommy!" she insisted, pulling her mother toward Gabriela.

"Mommy, this is Gabi," Blair announced proudly. "And Gabi, this is my mommy, Vien Briar."

Vien sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Blair, honey, what did I tell you about—"

"Mommy!" Blair interrupted, her eyes sparkling. "Can I be friends with Gabi?" she asked eagerly.

Both Vien and Gabriela blinked, exchanging a surprised glance. "What?" they asked in unison, looking at each other, then back at Blair.

Vien shut her eyes, taking a deep breath before avoiding both their gazes. "Well, ask her if she wants to be friends," she muttered.

Blair looked up at Gabriela, her smile wide and genuine. "Gabi!" she jumped with excitement. "Do you want to be my friend? I have lots of friends at school, but none outside. Will you be the first?" she asked eagerly, holding her ball up like an offering.

Gabriela knelt down, gently patting Blair's head as she glanced at Vien, who still wouldn't meet their eyes. "Sure," Gabriela said with a soft smile. "I'd love to be your friend."

"Yay!" Blair squealed, running to her mother. "Mommy, she said yes! She wants to be friends with me!"

Vien sighed deeply, her hand still on her face. "Yes, I heard," she muttered.

Blair beamed, looking up at her mother. "Mommy, can I meet Gabi every day?" she asked excitedly.

Vien blinked in surprise. "Huh? You have school, baby," she said, then glanced at Gabriela. "And I think Ms. Gabriela here is also busy with her work," she added pointedly.

Gabriela chuckled, clearing her throat. "Right, Blair," she said, standing up. She pulled out her wallet and handed Blair a business card. "Here, call me if you want to play sometime."

Blair's eyes lit up, and she took the card eagerly. "I'll tell mommy to call you, Gabi!" she said with a bright smile.

Gabriela glanced at her watch. "I need to get going now, Blair," she said, waving. "Bye-bye! See you soon!"

"Ta-ta, Gabi!" Blair called after her, waving as Gabriela walked away.

As Gabriela disappeared down the hall, a soft laugh caught Vien's attention. She turned to find Vera leaning casually on the stair railing.

"Wow," Vera remarked with a grin. "What's this? Some campus romance between the owner and the potential professor?"

Vien rolled her eyes. "Don't start, Vera," she groaned, clearly annoyed.