Chapter 2


    Daniel took a shaky breath, his eyes narrowing. He couldn’t stay trapped in this cycle of disrespect and resentment forever. Something had to change. If he couldn’t find a way out just yet, he would at least find a way to reclaim his self-respect, to stop letting Leo’s treatment erode his confidence.


    As he stared at the screen, his reflection stared back, a reminder of who he was — and who he refused to become under Leo’s shadow.


    He might not have control over Leo’s actions, but he still had control over his own. And he wouldn’t let anyone, not even Leo Zam, decide his worth.


    The days blurred into each other, a relentless cycle of tension and dread. Each morning, Daniel forced himself out of bed, the weight of another inevitable confrontation with Leo pressing heavily on his chest. He could feel his patience unraveling, thread by thread, as the bullying continued — sharp comments, dismissive glares, baseless accusations.


    It was like death by a thousand cuts.


    He''d replayed the idea of reporting Leo to HR a dozen times in his mind. The thought had given him a flicker of hope at first, the idea that someone, anyone, might intervene and put an end to this. But every time he let that hope rise, reality came crashing back down. Leo wasn’t just any manager; he held sway over people far above Daniel in the hierarchy.


    The stories he''d heard — whispered rumors in break rooms, cautionary tales shared over quiet lunches — painted a grim picture. Employees who dared to report their bosses often found themselves mysteriously let go for “performance issues” or labeled as “troublemakers.” Even if the rumors weren’t entirely true, the fear they planted was real enough. Daniel couldn''t afford to lose his job, even if it felt like a prison sentence at times.


    His fingers gripped the edge of his desk one morning, his knuckles pale. The walls of the office felt closer now, suffocating. The constant hum of machinery, the clack of keyboards, the low murmur of his coworkers — all of it grated on him. The air itself seemed hostile, charged with unspoken tension.


    He watched Leo pass by his section, the familiar disdainful look cast in his direction. Daniel’s jaw tightened. His pulse thudded in his ears. Every cell in his body screamed that this wasn’t right, that he shouldn’t have to endure this. But the fear of making things worse anchored him to his seat.


    What if they fire me? The thought echoed relentlessly. He couldn''t take that risk. Not now. Not when his job search over the past six months had yielded nothing but rejection.


    Instead, he swallowed his frustration, letting it simmer silently. The resentment gnawed at him, hollowing him out bit by bit. He felt trapped, a mouse in a maze designed by someone else, with no clear way out.


    But deep down, beneath the exhaustion and the anger, a new resolve was forming — small, but unyielding. He couldn’t control Leo, couldn’t change the system overnight, but he could control how much power he allowed them to have over him. He could plan, he could prepare, and when the right opportunity came, he would be ready.


    Daniel took a deep breath and straightened in his chair. The battle wasn’t over yet. He wasn’t giving up.


    Not now. Not ever.


    The days bled into each other, a relentless and unforgiving loop. Each morning, Daniel dragged himself out of bed, his body feeling heavier with every step. The mental exhaustion clung to him like a second skin. His reflection in the bathroom mirror showed sunken eyes and dull features — a ghost of the person he once was.


    Work offered no respite. The weight of Leo''s scorn and the soul-crushing monotony of the job bore down on him, draining him of what little strength he had left. The flickering hope he once held onto now seemed laughable, a cruel joke played by fate. Each keystroke, each task, felt like trudging through wet cement.


    By the time he trudged home in the evening, the numbness had spread to his very core. He slipped out of his work clothes, the motions mechanical, and collapsed onto his bed. Sleep came instantly — not the restful kind, but a desperate, dreamless plunge into unconsciousness. Hours passed in a heartbeat, and before he knew it, the alarm’s piercing ring dragged him back into the same grim reality.


    Overtime on weekends blurred the boundaries between his work life and personal life, until there was no personal life left. The two-day reprieve that should have been his escape was stolen from him, replaced by extra hours under Leo’s shadow. His resentment had become a constant companion, a simmering fire that consumed his spirit. He resented Leo. He resented the office. He even resented the clock on the wall that dictated his days.


    In the quiet darkness of his room, when exhaustion hadn’t yet pulled him under, he prayed. He prayed for something better — for a way out, for a chance to breathe again. But the weeks dragged on, and the rejection emails continued to pile up. Each one chipped away at the fragile hope he was desperately clinging to.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    He felt trapped, like a bird in a cage too small to stretch its wings. The weight of it was suffocating. He no longer felt like he was living — just existing, barely enduring one day so he could face another.


    Yet, even in the depths of this despair, a faint ember of hope refused to die. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep going, but deep down, he whispered to himself:


    One day. One day, this will change.


    Until then, he pushed forward through the darkness, waiting for the light he could no longer see but still believed might be out there, somewhere.


    Daniel sat on the edge of his bed, phone pressed against his ear, his fingers trembling slightly as he spoke. The walls of his apartment felt cold, closing in on him as he finally let out the words he’d been holding back for too long.


    “I can’t take it anymore, Mom,” his voice cracked. “Leo’s been making my life miserable. He yells at me for things I haven’t even done, and it doesn’t matter how hard I try. I just... I just want to quit. I don’t care if I don’t have another job lined up yet. I just can’t keep doing this.”


    A heavy silence filled the line. For a moment, all he could hear was the distant hum of traffic outside his window. His mother, Diana, who had supported him through every challenge, finally spoke, her voice calm but tinged with worry.


    “Daniel, I know how hard this is for you,” she began softly. “I hate knowing you’re suffering like this. But quitting without another job to go to... you’ll only be making things harder on yourself.”


    Her words settled over him like a heavy blanket. He could almost see her, sitting in the worn armchair at home, worry lines etched into her face, the same face that had always looked at him with pride and hope.


    “I worked so hard to help you get that degree,” Diana continued, her voice trembling slightly. “You’ve worked so hard to get here. If you leave now without a plan, you’ll be putting yourself in a worse position. No income, no security. I don’t want you to suffer more than you already are.”


    “But Mom,” Daniel whispered, the exhaustion in his voice clear, “I feel like I’m dying inside. Every day I go to that office, it just chips away at me. I come home and just fall asleep. I’m not even living anymore.”


    “I know,” she said gently. “I wish I could take that pain away, but I need you to be smart about this. You need to think long-term. You know how hard it’s been to find another job these past few months. If you quit now, you could end up in a worse place. No job, no stability. And that’s a burden I don’t want you to bear.”


    Her words, though spoken with love, felt like a cage closing tighter around him. He understood her logic, knew that she was right. The risk of walking away with nothing to fall back on loomed large, but the thought of staying and enduring Leo’s abuse felt unbearable.


    “You’re stronger than this, Daniel,” she said softly. “I know it doesn’t feel that way now, but you are. Keep looking for another job. Hold on just a little longer. Something better will come along. I promise.”


    Daniel closed his eyes, a tear slipping down his cheek. His mother’s faith in him was unwavering, even when his own had vanished. Her words didn’t erase the pain, didn’t make the days ahead any easier, but they wrapped around him like a threadbare safety net.


    “Okay, Mom,” he whispered. “I’ll hold on a little longer.”


    “Good,” she said, her voice warm. “And remember, I’m always here. You’re not alone.”


    As the call ended, Daniel sat in the quiet of his room, the weight of his decision settling on his shoulders. The road ahead was dark, but his mother’s words were a faint light — just enough to keep him moving forward, one painful step at a time.


    The announcement came on a quiet afternoon, the buzz of the office momentarily giving way to the excited chatter filtering through the halls. Daniel glanced at the news notification on his phone:


    "Total Solar Eclipse to Occur in Three Days — Government Declares National Holiday!"


    For the first time in what felt like months, a spark of genuine excitement flickered in Daniel’s chest. He leaned back in his chair, rereading the headline just to make sure he hadn’t imagined it. A holiday. A real holiday. No overtime. No oppressive deadlines. No Leo Zam breathing down his neck.


    A wave of relief washed over him. The thought of a day that was entirely his, free of work and its suffocating pressures, felt almost surreal. He didn’t care about the eclipse itself — the idea of standing outside, looking up at the sky, held little appeal. What mattered was the freedom. The chance to unplug, to lose himself in the things that once brought him joy.


    He could already picture it: the soft glow of his monitor as he booted up his favorite video games, the rapid click of his mouse as he dove into new worlds, leaving behind the weight of reality. He could spend hours editing videos, piecing together clips, and watching his ideas come to life on the screen. These were the things that made him feel alive, the things that reminded him he was more than just an overworked IT technician.


    For once, he felt like he had control over his time, his choices. The thought of not having to hear Leo’s voice or feel the oppressive air of the office lifted a burden he hadn’t realized he was carrying so heavily.


    Around him, his coworkers talked excitedly about where they would watch the eclipse — parks, rooftops, family gatherings. But Daniel didn’t need any of that. His plan was simple, and to him, it was perfect: a day locked away in his sanctuary, his apartment, where the outside world couldn’t touch him.


    He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and allowed a small smile to creep onto his face.


    Just three more days. Three more days of trudging through the routine, and then, finally, a break. One day to remember what it felt like to be himself again.


    And he intended to savor every second of it.