Prologue: "Some truths don't just hurt… they shatter pride."
Zaden drove with Lara beside him, the silence between them stretching until he finally spoke, asking why she had chosen both finance and mathematics, questioning why she didn't focus on just one and what made her take two completely different paths.
Lara turned slightly toward him and said calmly that she loved mathematics, that it felt like a game to her, something she enjoyed solving, something that challenged her mind, and that was exactly why she chose it.
Zaden glanced at her, clearly intrigued. "A game?" he repeated with a faint smirk. "People run away from mathematics… and you enjoy it?"
Lara nodded, her voice steady. "Not everyone runs away from challenges." Zaden let out a quiet breath, impressed more than he wanted to admit, then asked about finance, his tone slightly teasing, "And finance? Another game?"
Lara shook her head. "No… finance is reality. Everything in life connects to money somehow. If you understand finance, you understand survival." Zaden's grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly. "So you chose logic… and control." She looked at him. "I chose independence." That word lingered.
Then Lara asked about his studies.
Zaden turned his head slowly, his expression hardening. "I can ask you questions because I'm your boss… but you're in no position to question me."
Lara laughed—not softly, not nervously, but openly. Zaden's eyes darkened. "Did I say something amusing?" She leaned back slightly. "You're too self-centered. If you want a normal conversation, act like a normal person. I don't care if you're my boss or not." Silence hit him hard. For the first time, Zaden had no response, he got embarrassed the rest of the drive passed in silence.
At the meeting, Zaden was in control, his voice confident, his presence dominating the room, while Lara observed everything carefully. Then suddenly, an investor turned toward her and asked for her opinion.
Zaden's eyes flickered toward her as Lara spoke—and her opinion went directly against his. The room shifted. Zaden leaned forward slightly. "Explain." She did, clearly and fearlessly. Even when he questioned her again, she didn't back down. The meeting ended, but the tension didn't.
On the way back, Zaden finally spoke, his voice controlled but sharp. "Why did you oppose my decision?" Lara didn't hesitate. "Because it had flaws." His jaw tightened. "You made it look like my plan was weak." She looked ahead. "It was weak." The air shifted instantly. Zaden's voice rose. "Do you even understand what you're saying?" Lara let out a breath. "That's exactly your problem." "What did you just say?" he demanded. She turned to the window. "Stop the car, I'll go home myself." "I asked you a question!" "And I answered," she snapped. "You won't improve with that ego."
Before he could react, she opened the car door. "Are you insane?!" Zaden slammed the brakes. The car stopped. Lara stepped out and started walking.
Zaden followed instantly, grabbing her wrist. "Get back in the car." She pulled away. "Leave me alone." "Stop acting like a child, people are watching." She turned back and laughed. "Me? Childish? Then what about you? Throwing your ego because someone pointed out your mistake?" Zaden had no answer. "Get in the car," he said again, his voice lower. "I'm not the kind of man who leaves his employee like this."
Lara snapped. "Don't act like a saint. You are the most arrogant, impulsive, childish, ill-mannered, egoistic man I've ever seen." Her words hit hard. A bus stopped nearby. Without another second, she got in and left.
Zaden stood there, frozen. Her words echoed—arrogant, childish, egoistic. For the first time in his life, someone didn't fear him, didn't obey him, walked away. Slowly, he turned back to his car. He didn't go to the office. He just drove without direction, her words repeating again and again. For the first time, Zaden felt something unfamiliar—not anger, not control, but something dangerously close to being shaken.
That day ended as a disaster for both of them.