Chapter 123 Karma
BELLA'S POV
Looking at her from head to toe, I felt like my eyes were playing tricks on me. From the expensive Louis Vuitton gown she had on to the matching Louis Vuitton heels, everything about her screamed money, power, and confidence. I was very sure I had seen that gown somewhere online before. One of those fashion blogs I used to scroll through when I still believed my life would turn out better than it did.
There was no doubt about it.
I could almost practically see the CEO aura generating from her body.
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry, my chest tight like I was staring at a ghost that had crawled straight out of my past. My mind tried so hard to tell me something else — to deny what was right in front of me — but my eyes refused to cooperate. They told me the truth brutally, without mercy.
“You’re the CEO?” I asked, my voice coming out low and almost shaky, even though I already knew the inevitable answer.
Anna, on the other hand, didn’t look nearly as shocked to see me. If anything, she looked calm. She crossed her arms slowly and raised a brow, her eyes scanning me from head to toe in a way that made my skin crawl.
“Matter of fact, I am,” she said calmly, her voice steady as she stared at me.
With what I was wearing, it almost felt like she was looking at me naked. My faded uniform, the cheap shoes— everything about me felt exposed, small, and painfully obvious. Standing in front of her like this made my stomach twist.
Years ago, with the way I carried myself in front of her, I never imagined this would happen. Never imagined that one day she would see me dressed like a janitor. Let alone that she would be my boss.
My eyes dropped to the ground immediately. I didn’t even have the courage to look straight at her again. I could feel the weight of her gaze pressing down on me, making my shoulders tense.
Back then, she was the one who always cleaned the whole place. The one who washed dishes late into the night, scrubbed floors, took out the trash, and still woke up early to do it all over again. She was treated like she didn’t matter.
And now, as I stood here, the roles were completely reversed.
I was the one doing the cleaning now.
The memory burned deep. I remembered how many times I had told her she wasn’t going to make it in life. How Mom and I had laughed when she talked about finishing school, about getting a degree, about becoming something. We didn’t agree to any of it. We shut her dreams down and told ourselves it was for the best.
I truly believed she would end up as a nobody.
I thought my situation, no matter how messy it was, would always be better than hers.
And today, standing in this expensive building, I found out that she was the CEO of Quinn’s Med.
Even after everything we did to her… she was still better than me.
A bitter feeling settled in my chest.
Was this karma?
Was this how it feels when life finally pays you back?
Before I could sink deeper into my thoughts, the sound of approaching footsteps pulled me back. I turned slightly and saw Dan walking toward her, a wide smile plastered on his face. I had thought he was having a bad day earlier. He barely acknowledged me when I arrived.
So why was he smiling like this now?
“You got here faster than I thought,” he said casually as he reached her, pulling her into a brief hug.
“Quinn’s Med is top priority,” she replied smoothly, returning the hug without hesitation. “So I’ll always be here as early as possible.”
They both spoke like I wasn’t standing right there in shame. Like I didn’t exist. Like I was just another piece of furniture in the hallway.
“Alright, like I said, she’s the new janitor,” Dan said, gesturing toward me.
I shifted awkwardly where I stood, I didn’t know if I should bow my head, apologize, or say something polite. My mind was spinning too fast to decide.
She was once my sister.
With the way I treated her so badly, with all the cruel words, the insults, the superiority I wore like armor, now that she knew I was the janitor… would she fire me?
The thought made my chest tighten.
She let out a small scoff and said, “Yeah, you told me.”
“Alright,” Dan continued, glancing between us. “So she’s all good? She can continue, right?”
My fate was being decided in seconds.
The fate of my job was now in the hands of someone I never imagined would have this much power over me.
Would she fire me?
Would she finally get her revenge?
“Yes,” Anna said after a brief pause, her voice firm. “Just like I said before, she came here to work. So she will work.”
She didn’t fire me.
I should have felt relieved. Grateful. Happy, even.
But instead, a strange heaviness settled in my chest. Now that I knew she was my boss, part of me actually wanted to get fired — just to escape this humiliation. To avoid seeing her every day, standing tall while I stayed at the bottom.
“I hope I’m not paying you just to stand there like a mannequin,” Anna said coldly, her eyes sharp as they met mine.
The words stung more than I expected.
“You haven’t cleaned up her office,” Dan added, his tone business-like.
Only then did it hit me.
This whole shock, the realization, the shame — it had made me forget why I was even there in the first place. I was at work. I had a job to do.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, lowering my head. “I’ll get to it immediately.”
I rushed off to grab my mop and bucket, my movements clumsy and hurried. My heart was still pounding, my mind still struggling to process everything.
Just a few moments ago, I had been asking myself over and over how I would impress the CEO. Wondering if she would notice my hard work, if she would say something nice.
Not knowing that she was the same person who lived under my roof for years.
The same person I once looked down on.
And now… she was standing at the top, while I