His altruistic love

Chapter 1- Duty and Desires

Misha

The clock on the wall reads 6:45 p.m. My eyes flick toward it every now and then, as if counting down the moments until I can walk out of this suffocating office. My eyes are burning, not just from the glow of the computer screen but from the crushing exhaustion that’s been accumulating all week. My neck is sore, and my back has a tight knot just below my shoulder blades. Four hours of staring at these ancient files has sucked the life out of me. It’s been nothing but paperwork for weeks now.

I slump in my chair, stretching my arms above my head, feeling my muscles protest. For a moment, I allow myself to think back to the start of this job. The adrenaline rush of being in the hospital, helping patients, running around with a purpose—it felt like I was making a difference. But now... now I feel like a glorified secretary. My job has been reduced to flipping through files, double-checking charts, and completing reports. All thanks to my senior, Aryan, whose arrogance and pride couldn’t handle the fact that I stood up to him.

I rejected his advances—hell, I even humiliated him in front of our colleagues once when he tried to corner me in the break room. And since then, it’s been like this. Assigning me his work, making sure I’m buried in files so I don’t get the chance to be on the floor with patients, like a punishment for not submitting to him.

A part of me wants to quit, to leave this hellhole and find something better, but the other part of me knows it’s not that easy. I worked too hard to get here, and quitting now feels like letting him win. So I sit here, grinding my teeth and turning the pages of yet another file that has nothing to do with me. My temples are throbbing now, a steady pulse of frustration and exhaustion.

I get up from my desk, pacing the room as I stretch my arms above my head. I walk over to the window and look out at the fading sunlight, the city below slowly transitioning into night. The cars are crawling through the evening traffic, their headlights flicking on one by one. A group of kids is playing football in the park across the street, their laughter carrying up through the open window.

For a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like to be out there, free, enjoying the evening instead of being stuck in this sterile office. The thought makes my chest tighten with longing. It's a beautiful day, and people are going about their lives, unaware of the struggle I'm facing. I can't fuckin do this anymore, I need coffee. I take a deep breath and head for my door, when suddenly my phone buzzes. I reach for my phone in my pocket and see the message, which is from my friends.

**Message**
Hey! We're at the new coffee shop downtown. Come join us after your shift!

I stare at the screen, my heart doing a small flip. I’ve been wanting to check out that coffee shop since it opened. It’s one of those trendy places with an aesthetic interior and artisanal coffees. The kind of place where you can sit for hours, lost in conversation or buried in a book.

But I glance at the files stacked on my desk, and the weight of my responsibilities comes crashing down again. There’s no way I can leave now. I still have so much work to finish, and Aryan would definitely use it against me if I didn’t get everything done by tomorrow.

**Me**
You guys go ahead! I still have some work to do. Let's go there some other day together.

I hit send, feeling a pang of disappointment as I place my phone back on the desk. My fingers hover over the files, but my heart isn’t in it anymore. I try to focus, but the words on the pages blur together. Everything feels like a haze.