Chapter 6 She's Not Even Worth the Maid Lily had prepared herself to be rejected due to her time away from the industry. What she couldn't accept was being turned away for shallow reasons. Everything about her background was on her résumé. If her marital status was an issue, why invite her for an interview at all? "Company policy," the interviewer said briskly. "You're married with no kids. For all we know, you'll get pregnant the moment you're hired. Then it's maternity leave, parental leave-we don't pay people to sit at home." He stood, gesturing to his assistant to escort her out. Lily bit her tongue, chalking it up to bad luck. Maybe she'd just been brought in to fill a quota. But the second company? The third? Same story-barely two questions in and she was dismissed. The fourth and fifth didn't even let her past reception. "Sorry, all positions have been filled." Her once burning motivation flickered out like a snuffed candle. By evening, she returned to Yulia's place. The scent of food filled the air, and Yulia, clutching a chocolate cupcake, danced her way over. "To Ms. Lily! May you land your dream job, become a world-famous designer, and make that jerk Jared eat his heart out!" Lily paused in the entryway, visibly crestfallen. Yulia noticed immediately. She set the cupcake down on the console and walked toward her. "What happened?" Lily forced a smile and shook her head. "Guess you bought that cupcake for nothing. I didn't get the job." "What? That's impossible!" Yulia was shocked. "If you made it to the interview, you had a 50% chance! You went to a top university, you even won awards! Experience or not, you've got raw talent. Are those companies blind?" Lily changed into slippers and led her to the table. "Maybe I was unlucky. I still have two interviews on Monday. No point rushing it." She tried to sound optimistic, but she couldn't help comparing herself to Sarah. They were around the same age, yet Sarah was already a VP, while she couldn't even get her foot in the door. "What companies?" Yulia asked casually, fetching the cupcake as she spoke. "Torch Corp and Blue Corp," Lily said. These two were big names in Riverville-far more prestigious than the companies she'd visited today. After so many rejections, she didn't hold out much hope. But part of her still clung to the possibility. Yulia noticed her gloom but kept the mood light, chatting and joking to cheer her up. Lily played along, laughing and smiling, trying to convince both of them she was fine. That night, once they'd retired to their rooms, Yulia immediately made a call. "Do you know anyone at Torch Corp or Blue Corp?" Those companies were too far up the ladder for her usual connections, so she called in a favor. The voice on the other end was groggy but warm. "Yulia, it's 3 a.m. here." Yulia pouted. "Who told you to run off overseas for two years? If you were still here, we wouldn't have a time difference! Come on, it's urgent. Lily's got interviews there on Monday. Help her out, just this once!" "Lily?" Chase Sue's voice suddenly sharpened. "She's looking for work? Does Jared know?" "Don't mention that ãsshole!" Yulia snapped. "She's divorcing him. She needs a job." "She's divorcing him? Why-" "Just answer the question! Can you help or not?" "I got it." Chase went silent for a moment, then gave a cryptic reply before hanging up. "You 'got it'? What does that even mean?" Yulia stared at her phone. "That better mean yes." ... Meanwhile, Jared was just now realizing Lily was serious about leaving. It was messing with his focus. His work was suffering. Frustrated, he called his father, James Bolt. "Jared? Everything okay?" James sounded surprised. "I've been working a lot. Feeling a little run down. Thought I could use some of your soup," Jared replied awkwardly. "You always insisted on Lily's soup. What's changed?" James asked, curious. Jared didn't answer. But James understood right away. "Some problems have to be dealt with head-on. I can only help so much-the rest is on you." Jared's tabloid scandal was no secret. Every wife would be furious over a public affair. James expected Lily to react. Jared was prideful and stubborn-he probably just needed a little nudge. As a father, James had no hesitation stepping in. ... Early Saturday morning, Lily was still fast asleep when her phone rang. Groggy, she fished it out from under her pillow. "Hello?" "Lily, I'm at your door. I brought soup for you and Jared. Come down and get it," said a familiar voice. Lily jolted upright, eyes wide. It was James-Jared's father. "Dad? You didn't have to come in person. We could've picked it up tonight." She scrambled out of bed, hair a mess, heart racing. Saturday was usually family dinner night. She and Jared always returned to the Bolt estate. James chuckled warmly. "Your mom and I have a banquet tonight, and your grandma's away. We figured you two could skip this week. I made the soup early-thought I'd drop it off." "Actually... I'm already out. Could you just leave it at the door?" she lied, grabbing clothes from the wardrobe as her voice trembled. Jared was nothing like his father. James was gentle, refined, and thoughtful. He cooked every week for the family. His wife, however, was cold and stern. "That's fine. There's a file for Jared too-bring it to Cloud Corp, will you? I know it's asking a lot, but you've been married long enough to understand his temper. Marriage is about compromise and communication..." James's voice was patient and kind, going on about how much he appreciated her. The Bolt family had always treated Lily well. That's what made the idea of divorce so hard to swallow. How would she even break the news? When he mentioned delivering something to Jared's office, she hesitated. She could still picture Jared and Sarah together. She didn't want to relive that scene. James probably knew they were having issues, but he didn't realize how far it had gone. Lily hadn't said a word-she didn't want to complicate things further. Better to carry the weight alone. "Lily? You there?" James prompted gently. She snapped out of it. "Yes, Dad. I'll go now." She dressed quickly, washed up, and headed to the house she and Jared once shared. The soup and documents were waiting by the door. The taxi driver who brought her from Yulia's waited as she grabbed everything. As they headed for Cloud Corp, the driver glanced back. "You the housekeeper?" "...Something like that," Lily muttered with a self-deprecating smile. She'd seen her old car in the driveway-dusty, unused. Just a few more days and it'd be worthless scrap. Jared would rather let it rot than give it to her. She wasn't even worth the maid. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!