Chapter 2
Before I could say anything, Elijah Watkins furrowed his brow and said, "Don't be silly, it's nothing to stress over."
He reassured Paisley Campbell, "You've been involved in the oil exploration work as well, and these opportunities are well-deserved. Besides, now that you're divorced and have a child to care for, you need this promotion more than Alora does. How else are you and your daughter supposed to make ends meet?"
I'm working at the ground level in oil exploration, surviving on basic sandwiches, and whenever I get the chance, I head into the Alps. I endure the biting wind and scorching sun, my body covered in bruises, and during the toughest times, I almost slipped off a cliff in extreme weather. But it was those tough moments that led me to discover an oil field.
And Paisley? She was given this position by Elijah due to her foreign qualifications. Every time we went out for surveying, she would complain of headaches or colds, or she'd bemoan that no one was home to watch her child. Despite this, Elijah pulled strings so that Paisley's name appeared ahead of mine, taking credit for my discovery.
Thus, my hard-earned achievements became hers, and the promotion and recognition that I had struggled to attain went to her instead! When I confronted Elijah, he looked at me with irritation and said, "You just spend your days hiking in the mountains. How tough can it be?"
To make it easier for his first love to accept my 'gift', he glanced at me with an air of authority and added, "Alora is still young. She'll have plenty of chances for advancement in the future. Besides, I'm often busy with work, and she needs to focus more on the family. Whether she gets a promotion or not isn't a big deal to her."
Last night, Elijah had already snapped at me. He warned that if I dared to make a fuss about this and brought any trouble to Paisley, he'd divorce me. He was convinced I'd simply swallow this injustice, just like I did when I gave up the opportunity to study abroad for Paisley's sake.
But this time, I chose to let him go and focus on my own path.