Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

Bella knocked on the general manager's office door, documents in hand.

"Come in," a man's voice called from inside.

Bella pushed the door open, walked over to the desk, and handed over the documents.

"Mr. William, here are the documents you asked for."

Jack William looked up at Bella.

Bella's natural look, without any makeup, was more appealing than those heavily made-up women. Her cool demeanor, which seemed to come from deep within, sparked a desire to conquer.

Any regular guy would take a second look, let alone Jack, who wasn't exactly a saint.

Jack looked at her with interest, took the documents, and grabbed Bella's hand in the process.

With a playful smile, Jack said, "I appreciate someone like you, not only beautiful but also serious about your work."

Bella pulled her hand back and said indifferently, "If there's nothing else, Mr. William, I'll be leaving now."

She turned to leave, but Jack suddenly got up, took a few steps to overtake her, and locked the door. "Don't be in such a hurry. You know the company is planning a new project. Let's discuss it together." He approached Bella with ill intentions.

Bella remained calm and unflustered, saying lightly, "Mr. William, I'm just an ordinary clerk. I can't handle that."

Jack had already reached her, his hand falling on Bella's shoulder and sliding down.

Jack said, "Don't you understand what I mean? You need to think long-term. If you listen to me, I'll promote you, give you a high position and salary. You'll be my right-hand person, and you'll be involved in all major projects. For now, let's get you familiar with things."

Bella unceremoniously pushed Jack's hand away and placed her hand on her slightly rounded belly.

"Mr. William, are you interested in a pregnant woman?"

Jack was stunned and looked at Bella's belly.

Bella hadn't been with the company long, and she always wore loose clothing, so no one had noticed. Jack's expression turned somewhat ugly.

He walked back to his desk, pulled out Bella's resume, and threw it on the desk, pointing at it.

Jack shouted, "So, the 'single' status on your resume is a lie? That's deceit!"

Bella used to be a Taekwondo instructor, but because of her pregnancy, she couldn't do that job anymore and had to find a lighter clerical job.

At the time, this company offered higher pay for clerks but required them to be single. To get the job, Bella had claimed to be single.

She had already thought it through: if her pregnancy was discovered later, she would just be dismissed and could then focus on her maternity leave. It wasn't a big deal.

"So what?" Bella looked at Jack calmly.

Jack was stunned again. He'd had many clerks before, some obedient, some not, but he'd never seen a woman like Bella. Despite being pregnant and in a vulnerable position, she remained calm and seemed to not take him seriously.

Jack wouldn't be intimidated by Bella. He cleared his throat to regain his composure.

"So, you're fired!"

Bella remained unfazed, brushing her hair from her forehead.

"Fine, I need compensation. I'll leave immediately once I get the money."

"Three times?" Jack raised an eyebrow, amused.

Bella said lightly, "Dismissing a pregnant employee is also against the law. Mr. William, you should know that, right?"

Jack's hand holding the cigarette paused, and he looked at Bella, defeated.

Bella was usually low-key, focused on her work, and didn't interact much with others, so she didn't have much presence in the company. Jack hadn't realized she was so smart.

Jack stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, walked over to Bella, and his attitude changed again. He smirked and reached out to touch Bella's face.

Jack said with a sinister smile, "Such a smart woman, it's a pity not to keep you."

Bella grabbed Jack's unruly hand, and twisted it behind his back. Jack, not expecting her strength, was caught off guard and twisted in pain. "Stop, it hurts."

Bella said coldly, "If you really can't control your hand, I don't mind helping you get rid of it."

Jack truly believed Bella would do anything. Afraid she might actually dislocate his hand, he had no choice but to beg for mercy and compensate her.

Bella took her salary and went back to her desk to pack her things.

She hadn't worked there long, so she didn't have many personal items.

Her colleagues, upon learning she was fired, started whispering among themselves.

The sound of high heels approached, and a woman swayed her hips as she leaned against Bella's desk.

"Bella, I heard you're pregnant. I really couldn't tell. Aren't you single? Could it be..."

She deliberately left her sentence unfinished, but everyone understood what she meant.

The woman said with a mocking smile, "So, Bella, whose child is it? Or do you not even know?"

She finished and covered her mouth, laughing. Others joined in.

Bella slammed the box she was packing down and glared at the flirtatious woman.

Bella said coldly, "It's none of your business. The child isn't yours."

Bella shoved her aside, picked up her box, and left with dignity.

The woman, wearing sky-high heels, lost her balance and twisted her ankle.

She cried out in pain and cursed, "Bella, what are you so arrogant about?"

True, Bella had nothing to be arrogant about now, but she wouldn't let herself be bullied either.

Bella took the bus back to her rented place.

The area was old and the rent was cheap, mostly inhabited by migrant workers and low-income families.

The place she lived in had several tenants, all from out of town.

As soon as she walked in, a woman followed her in.

"I've been waiting for you all day. When are you going to pay the rent? Don't blame me for being hard on you; I have a big family to support with this rent."

Bella took out some money from her bag and handed it to the landlady.

"Sorry for the delay this time. Here's six months' rent."

The landlady's attitude completely changed as she smiled and counted the money.

She said, "It's okay, I know it's not easy for you. If my family hadn't been tight on expenses, I wouldn't have come to rush you."

Back home, Bella washed her face and looked closely in the mirror, noticing fine lines at the corners of her eyes. She put on light makeup, took the remaining money, and went out.

At the prison, she first deposited the money into Zachary's account, then went to the visiting room to wait for him.

Zachary came out, bald and handcuffed.

Bella could clearly see that Zachary had become much more haggard over the past few months. She wondered if he noticed the same about her.

Every time Bella saw him, she smiled because she didn't want Zachary to see her exhaustion.

But Zachary always repeated the same thing.

He said seriously, "Bella, find a good man and marry him. Don't wait for me."

Bella never wavered.

She said, "Time is precious. Can you stop saying such silly things? Talk about something else." Zachary looked at her with pity, placing his hand on the glass, palm to palm with hers.

Since falling in love with her, Zachary had loved her deeply.

For her, Zachary couldn't escape the law's punishment.

But he didn't regret it.

Her presence was a form of salvation for him.

After losing her clerical job, Bella had to find another way to make a living.

But with her belly now clearly showing, it was impossible to hide her pregnancy, and finding a job became very difficult.

With no other options, she set up a barbecue stand to support herself.

Fortunately, her business was good, though sometimes she was so busy she couldn't even take a sip of water.

She remembered the end of December last year, when she and Emily went to a resort and had a barbecue. Zachary had praised her grilling skills, and Bella had joked that if she ever fell on hard times, she would sell barbecue. She never thought it would come true.

After a busy noon, Bella made herself a bowl of instant noodles and sat down to eat.

A man suddenly walked up to her and sighed.

"Bella, why are you doing this to yourself?"

Bella glanced at him, said nothing, and continued eating.

The man sat on a low stool opposite her and continued to persuade, "Bella, even though Zachary's assets were frozen, he left you a way out. The house, the money, all under my name, is meant for you. You don't have to make things so hard for yourself. Zachary would be heartbroken if he knew."

Bella swallowed her noodles, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "I don't feel at ease using that money. It's not a big deal for me to work hard. There's nothing to be ashamed of in earning my living through hard work." The man sighed again.

Over the past few days, they had come to understand Bella's character. Once she made up her mind, no one could change it. Her refusal to accept the money had already shown her stance.

"Don't tell Zachary about this, okay?" Bella reminded him.

"I understand."

Before she could finish her bowl of noodles, more customers arrived, and Bella immediately got up to serve them.

By the time she got back to her noodles, they were already cold.

At night, she always waited until the late-night crowd had mostly left before packing up her stand and pushing her cart a long way back to her rented place.

Exhausted from the day, Bella collapsed onto her bed, not wanting to move, wishing she could sleep until she woke up naturally.

But the next day, Bella had to get up early to buy, wash, and skewer the ingredients, repeating the process day after day.

Even she was surprised at how quickly she adapted. She used to be a pampered young lady who rarely cooked at home. Now, running a small stand and serving others, though tough, she had quickly gotten used to it. People were like that; when pushed to a certain point, they had to do things they never thought they would.noveldrama

If it weren't for the child in her belly, Bella would have more options.

But for the sake of the child, she couldn't do any of the things she was skilled at.

She not only had to earn a living but also ensure the safe birth of her child.

The child was Zachary's hope and her debt to him.

She just needed to endure for fifteen years until Zachary could reunite with her and their child.

One overcast day, Bella was busy until 2 PM without having lunch.

Her barbecue stand was small but did good business, often leaving her too busy to handle it alone.

Just as she finished a rush and was about to sit down for a break, a fast-food delivery man arrived with an order.

Bella looked at him in surprise, saying, "I didn't order any food."