Bless you, sister

Hope wrapped herself in the thickest blanket she could find, curled up in her desk chair, a bottle of ginger ale resting beside her MacBook. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she typed, pausing only to take a sip or wipe her nose with a tissue.

She hated this pathetic feeling. But no one is a master of cold, and headache combined. The fact that she had barely gotten any work done today because her mind had been elsewhere. Now, instead of sleeping, she was forcing herself to stay up late to catch up.

Every few minutes, she sneezed, which annoyed her to the core.

Her head throbbed. It sat right behind her eyes, making the screen blur if she stared at it for too long. She sighed, resting her forehead against her palm, rubbing slow circles over her temple.

She should be in bed. But the last thing she needed was to start falling behind at work, and piling shit up.

And yet, even when she did try to nap, the constant movement of servants downstairs had made that impossible. Loud and hurried footsteps, furniture being shifted, The head maid yelling at her subordinates. It was never-ending.

She sighed and leaned back, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Outside, it's surely zero degrees if someone would check with a thermometer, but there was no snow. There should be. It hadn't snowed in weeks, and the dry chill in the air made her feel even worse.

She sniffled, took another sip of her ginger ale, and forced herself to keep working.

By the time the clock neared 11 AM, Hope was still at her desk, her fingers sluggishly tapping against the keys. Besides the pounding headache, she felt like she might be able to push through and head to the office, until another wave of dizziness hit.

She exhaled, pressing her palm against her forehead. Nope. Not happening.

With a sigh, she shut her laptop, rubbing her temples as she reached for her phone. She scrolled to Daniel’s contact and called him.

He picked up on the first ring.

"Good morning, Miss Torres—"

“What’s my schedule today?” she cut in, not in the mood for small talk.

He barely hesitated before replying, "Nothing urgent. Just a meeting with the marketing team, a brief update from the legal department, and a lunch reservation with Mr. Garza to discuss potential partnerships."

Nothing important, then. Probably because of his return. She had no doubt that her father and Georgiana had invited everyone even remotely important to the company to that damn welcome party.

“Cancel it all,” she said, massaging her temples. “If anything important comes up, stand in for me—I might come in late. And send a message to Penelope, she's my P.A for fuck sake and should be back by now, I'll handle dealing with the branch myself”

There was a pause before Daniel replied, "Understood, Ma’am."

She sneezed, groaning as she wiped her nose.

“Bless you,” he replied smoothly, but she was already hanging up.

Tossing the phone aside, she dragged herself to bed, climbing under the covers and curling into herself. She shut her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep despite the distant sounds of servants still working downstairs.

Curse Georgiana.

-----

When Hope finally woke up, her body felt weighed down by exhaustion. She blinked at the dimly lit room, then turned toward the window. The sky outside was dark.

Confused, she grabbed her phone. 7:04 PM.

She groaned, rubbing her temples. “How the hell did I sleep that long?”

Dragging herself out of bed, she shuffled to the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face in an attempt to shake off the grogginess. It helped, but not much. The headache was still there. She freshened up from there.

She unlocked her phone when she came out of the bathroom, and scrolled through a string of texts from Daniel—time-stamped updates.

1:30 PM – Nothing urgent yet.

3:00 PM – Marketing meeting rescheduled. Legal sent the contract draft. I’ll have it reviewed.

4:45 PM – Your father confirmed the party guests. Expected turnout is high.

6:00 PM – I’m heading out for the day. Let me know if you need anything.

6:50 PM – Goodnight Ma'am, please take some meds for the cold.

She sighed. It baffles her why Daniel acts more mature than Penelope yet she picked the stupid girl as her p.a instead

The sound of music drifted from downstairs to her room, making her stomach twist. The welcome party had already begun.

Great.

She applied her lotion and grabbed a black dress, slipping it on, it was a dress with thigh-high slit. Comfort was the goal, but she wasn’t about to step downstairs looking like a mess.

With her phone and a napkin in hand, she left her room, descending the stairs with only one thing in mind: food. Planning to combine breakfast, lunch, and dinner since she haven't had any.

The moment she reached the main floor, she was pulled into polite conversations, forced to exchange greetings with familiar faces.

“Ms Hope, it’s been a while!”

“You look lovely as always.”

“Will we see you at the next board meeting?”

She smiled, nodding as she mad her way through the well-dressed crowd. “…sure I'll dee you later, Just heading to the kitchen. Still have work to do.”

She walked past Georgiana and her father standing near an older couple, and their daughter, clearly being introduced. Hope didn’t need to listen too closely to know what was being discussed.

But from their conversation she knew Noah wasn’t here yet.

That, at least, was good news.

Suppressing another sneeze, she made her way into the kitchen.

She wasn’t interested in whatever extravagant fruit dishes the chefs had prepared—she just needed something warm to kill the cold. Lifting the lid off a pot, she plated the food quickly, covering it before washing and slicing some fruit. Once her tray was ready, she reached for a drink, just as the distinct rumble of car engines echoed from outside.

Then came Georgiana’s delighted squeal.

Her grip on the tray tightened. She hated this minute, this cursed minute.

She didn’t even need to check her phone, but when it began buzzing with notifications, she scoffed. News spread too damn fast.

Balancing the tray in her hands, she pushed the kitchen door open, stepping back into the crowded space. More guests had gathered near the entrance, whispering excitedly. Some were practically glowing with anticipation, especially the women, already eager to sing praises before they’d even seen him, while some talked to him.

She didn’t bother indulging in the spectacle. She just wanted to get to her room, eat, and pretend none of this was happening. But as she moved through the growing crowd, she nearly bumped into someone.

She barely caught herself in time, shifting the tray to one hand just as a sneeze forced its way out. Bringing the napkin to her nose, she muttered something under her breath, too focused on steadying her grip to immediately register the really familiar, but strangely deep voice that followed.

“Bless you, sister.”

It made her stomach drop, skin prickling under the dress.