Realization

Camellia was awakened by the sound of birds chirping. Her exposed shoulder was showered by the warm of the morning sun. She pulled the blanket that was covering her face and saw that the window in her room was wide opened.

She got up and sat at the edge of the bed as she tried to recall what had happened last night. After the meeting with Charlie, she went straight home and spent several hours at the underground chamber, rethinking about everything.

The talk about W&J Corporation reminded her, that all these while, she was too focused on searching for her uncle, thinking that he was the first clue to unravel the crisis that took place at the Willow Household many years ago.

She talked about getting revenge, but all she did was trying to uncover the mystery that forced her mother to leave her surviving the orphanage life.

But, the argument with Charlie cleared her clouded mind. The priority was messed up and her approach had been too gentle.

All these while, she had been taking the highway but never did she thought of using the shortcut. Who were the W&J Corporation? A dragon among the eagles!

Perhaps, she had been too cautious. Afraid to step off on the wrong foot. But if she remained the same, where would it take her?

Furthermore, she knew better than no one that life was inherently risky. Therefore, instead of beating around the bush she decided to change her approach. It's time to go into the wilderness and hunt the pack of wolves.

That was the realization that came to her last night.

Camellia inhaled and exhaled before she got up from the bed and went to take a shower. Today, she planned to drive around the city and made a visit to the Willow Residence. That would be the first step!

When the idea came to her, Camellia couldn't help but compare the purpose of the residence in the past to what it was today.

Thirteen years ago, the residence was simply a big house that sheltered the people who lived in it. Yet, today it had changed to an open museum because of Ivy's show.

Ivy was a famous model and also a businesswoman. Two years ago, her fame increased after she began her reality show, revealing her day to day routine. It was indeed a success but most of it came from the interest people had shown towards the location where the shoot took place which is the Willow Residence. Many showed interest in its architecture design. Some even requested formal visits.

Followed by that, the new master of the Willow Household, Mr. Cain declared that the residence would be open for public visitation with the main residence as the only exception.

All of a sudden, the fame of the Willow Residence increased that it even listed as one of the landmarks in the city, attracting many tourists.

The funny thing was the establishment of the Willow Managerial Office which proposed the idea of the entrance fee. When Camellia knew that it was her father who suggested the idea to her uncle, Cain, she had spent the whole day laughing about it. These people were just too shameless!

Camellia wasn't really bothered by the change, because all that matters to her was the memories she had with Zen and her grandpa. That's why when Lenny asked if she was angry, she simply shrugged her shoulder.

As of today, she was glad they made that decision for it gave her the chance to get closer to their life.

Camellia smiled as she recalled what happened. The smile lasted until she walked out of the bathroom.

***

Camellia finally ready to leave her house at seven thirty. She drove her usual red car towards the city. Halfway, she changed her plan and decided to stop by Lenny's office at F-Gen Corporation before going to the residence.

Lenny's office was located at the heart of the city. It was one of the largest companies in the computer industry. Upon arrival, Camellia saw the giant screen above the entrance of the company's building showcasing ads about the company's latest flagship smartphone.

Even though she was the one who suggested the idea to expand F-Gen's influence in the smartphone industry, she still gave all the credits to Lenny and her team. This was because she was among the few who knew how much blood, sweats, and tears Lenny and her team had put through to make the whole thing work.

Eventually, something that was born from hard work would always find its way to the top.

Camellia was brought back to reality by the sudden growl coming from her stomach. Recalling that she hadn't eaten anything since last night, she increased her pace towards the cafeteria inside the building. From afar, she could smell the fruity fragrance of coffee and the smell of bun fresh from the oven. Making her stomach growled even more.

At nine o'clock in the morning, there were not many workers occupying the tables in the cafeteria and those who were there was seen eating in a fast speed.

Camellia observed their manners while waiting for her black coffee and waffle with peanut butter.

Looking at them, once again she was determined not to be bound by working hours.

As she waited, she was also deliberating whether to inform Lenny about her arrival or not. In the end, she reached for her phone and dialed Lenny's number. It was not long before the phone call was connected.

"Morning," the voice sounded half asleep. Camellia stared at the phone screen to check whether she called the right number or not. Seeing that she didn't make a mistake, she finally spoke.

"Miss President, are you still at home? You sounded sleepy?" she asked with concern. She recalled that last night, Ian had called Lenny asking her to return home for work. Did they also spend the night together?

Camellia's lips curled to a knowing smile.

"Oh, how I wish I'm at home. I'm still at the office. Camey, please kidnap me to a faraway place that Ian wouldn't know," Lenny whined as she complained about her assistant.

Camellia laughed after listening to her plea. "I thought you did your work at home?" she asked while at the same time giving her credit card to the cashier at the counter.

"Ughh about that, I tried to coax Ian into that...you know - the hot stuff. He was like, no, and dragged me to the office,"

"Hahaha..." Camellia was laughing so hard that it attracted the glares from the workers who were in the cafeteria. It couldn't be helped. This wasn't the first time she heard of this story, but it made her laugh everytime.

It seemed that her best friend's romantic life was quite difficult indeed.

"Hey, I'm actually at your company. Just grab some food for us to eat. I'll be at your office in five minutes," she decided to end the call after realizing that she was the center of attention at the cafeteria.

Immediately, Camellia grabbed the paper bag contained her coffee and waffle, and stormed out of the cafeteria. She walked passed the busiest elevator used by the workers and went towards Lenny's personal elevator.

Soon, she was already in the receptionist area. Upon seeing her, a chubby woman who just finished making a phone call stood up and greeted her.

"Miss Camellia, long time no see. The president is inside," the chubby woman smiled excitedly at Camellia. Her voice was lacking the stiffness and extremely polite tone that often used by a receptionist to greet a visitor.

"Hey Amanda, how is she?" Camellia was familiar with the receptionist that greeted her, hence she casually rested her right arm on her shoulder with her head tilted towards Lenny's office.

Amanda, the receptionist giggled. "Burned out," she pursed her lips, trying to hold her laughter. Camellia chuckled while nodding at the same time.

"I'll go inside first. Nice to see you again," she winked at Amanda before strutting into Lenny's office.