Jia spent the past few months burying herself in work, focusing on the inevitable—her future as the CEO of Vanity Angels. It was her legacy, her birthright. And after everything that happened with Satoru and that damn demihuman, she refused to let anything distract her again.

She hated them now more than ever, how easily they stole everything that was supposed to be hers. Hated that Satoru, the man who never once looked at her with respect, now had twins with Sumika—the same street rat she tried to get rid of. It was like a cruel joke.

She stormed into her father's office that day with a report in hand, only to collide with something soft and warm. She barely registered what it was before she recoiled in disgust. “Are you blind?!” Her voice snapped through the room as she took a step back, eyes narrowing on the figure in front of her.

Fox ears and tail, that explained everything, so she scoffed. “You shouldn't even be here. What are you, stealing?” She was ready to slap the audacity right off the girl's face.

“Jia.” Enji's voice cut through the tension like a knife, she froze mid-motion, teeth gritting as she slowly turned to face him. His expression was unreadable, but the weight behind his words made her stomach twist. “No employee of mine is to be assaulted.”

There was a few seconds of silence, then Enji leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he nodded towards the girl. “She's my new assistant.”

Jia's breath caught in her throat at his words, she couldn't believe that. “You're joking.” She scoffed, forcing a laugh. “You can't be serious. You're trusting her, a beast, to handle anything important?” She stepped forward, pressing her hands against his desk, her voice lowering. “Are you out of your mind?”

Enji didn't flinch; instead, he simply exhaled, fixing her with that same cold, unyielding stare he had perfected over the years. “You already destroyed your marriage because of your prejudices. I won't let you destroy your career, too.” For the first time in years, Jia felt a flicker of panic. “If you can't control yourself, you won't be fit to run this company.”

She swallowed, forcing her expression to remain neutral. “So what, you're gonna make me live with one of these things next?”

The silence that followed made her blood run cold, her father merely looked at her and her breath hitched. For a second, she felt the ground shift beneath her feet and she forced a tight-lipped smile, but there was no amusement in it. “No way.”

Enji didn't give her the chance to argue, he merely turned to his assistant, ready to teach Jia her new task. “Step outside, please. I need a moment with my daughter.”

It had been days of suffocating frustration, of biting her tongue, of waking up every morning to the unwelcome reality that her father had forced upon her. The fox girl was everywhere—she strolled through the house like she belonged there, rubbed her scent onto the furniture, and, worst of all, tried to engage with her.

Jia ignored her at every turn, she treated her like the animal she was, nothing more, but the girl didn't get it. She kept leaving things by her door; snacks, trinkets, even a stupid stuffed toy that she promptly tossed into the trash. The final straw came when she caught the fox girl sneaking off with one of her shirts.

The rage was instant. She yanked the fabric from her grasp, voice sharp as a blade. “What the hell do you think you're doing with my stuff?!” Her breath came out fast and shallow, heart pounding in her ears as she fought the urge to kick the girl. “Don't ever touch my things again.”

And yet, the fox girl just stood there—head high, gaze unwavering, as if nothing happened. She fucking hated that. She hated her, because the girl reminded her of her past.

The storm rolled in late that night, Jia had been tossing in bed, drowning in nightmares she couldn't escape. Satoru's voice echoed in her skull, furious, Sumika's broken form haunted the edges of her mind, the consequences of her actions clawing at her, consuming her.

She could still remember when her ex-husband took it upon himself to make her suffer, she could still remember how Sukuna informed her of the demihuman's suffering after she abandoned her in that place where he would treat her like a slave. When she looked at her hands, they were full of someone else's blood.

That made her feel terror invading her body, she woke up gasping, heart hammering against her ribs—only to feel fingers ghosting over her hair. Huh?

She whipped around and found the fox girl beside her bed. She barely had time to register the concern in her eyes before the fury surged back, snapping her back to reality. “The fuck are you doing in here?!” She yelled, shoving her away and making the girl stumble, barely catching herself before hitting the floor.

Jia sat up, chest heaving as she spoke. ”You don't ever come into my room. Do you hear me?” Her voice wavered, the lingering emotions from her nightmare made her more unsteady than she liked. The fox girl tried to protest—of course she did, but she didn't let her.

She grabbed the nearest pillow and hurled it at her, standing up quickly. “Get the fuck outta here before I make you sleep outside like the animal you are!” The words stung even as she said them, but she tried to ignore the pang in her chest, refusing to let any of this get to her.