The Interview That Changed Everything
I stepped into the building where my dream job waited—my heart pounding, my palms sweaty. This was it. The moment I’d worked for my entire life. But in one horrifying second, my excitement turned to ice.
The woman sitting across from me in the interview room wasn’t just any interviewer.
It was her.
My mother.
The last person I ever wanted to see again.
A Dream Built on Memories
When I was little, my dad would sit with me for hours, teaching me how to sketch buildings. “One day, you’ll design them yourself,” he’d say, ruffling my hair.
I held onto that dream—through school, through college, even after he died.
His heart gave out just months before my graduation. He never got to see me become an architect. Never got to see me walk into his old company—the one I’d dreamed of working at since I was a kid.
But I was doing it for him.
So when I finally moved back to my hometown—a place I’d avoided for seven years because the memories hurt too much—I told myself it would be worth it.
I unpacked my things in a tiny apartment near the office, staring at a framed photo of me and Dad. “I’m doing this for you,” I whispered.
I barely slept that night.
The Interview from Hell
The next morning, I walked into the building—the same one I used to run through as a kid, visiting Dad at work. My legs shook as I sat in the waiting area, surrounded by other nervous candidates.
Then I heard my name.
And her voice.
No. No, no, no.
I stepped inside.
There she was.
Linda.
My mother.
The woman who had destroyed my family.
“What Are You Doing Here?!”
I didn’t even try to hide my fury.
“Kassandra…” she said softly, like she was surprised to see me.
“I’ll ask again,” I snapped. “What. Are. You. Doing. Here?”
“I work here,” she said quietly.
“HOW DARE YOU?!” My voice echoed through the office. “You don’t belong in this building! Not after what you did!”
She flinched. “Kassandra, please—”
“You killed him!” I screamed. “You were off with some other man while Dad was dying!”
“That’s not true!” she shot back. “He had a heart attack! I didn’t—”
“BECAUSE OF YOU!”
A man poked his head in. “Linda, should I call security?”
“Don’t bother,” I hissed. “I’m leaving.”
I stormed out, my vision blurred with tears.
The Truth Comes Out
That night, she showed up at my apartment.
“Kassandra, please,” she begged through the door. “Just talk to me.”
“Go away!”
“You got the job,” she said.
I yanked the door open. “What?”
“I know your work. You’re the best candidate.”
“I don’t want your pity!”
She took a deep breath. “Are you really going to throw away your dream because of me?”
I wanted to scream. To slam the door again.
But then she said something that stopped me cold.
“Your dad and I were already divorced when he died.”
“Liar!”
She pulled out papers—divorce documents, dated months before his death.
“We didn’t want you to know,” she said softly. “He didn’t want you to think less of him.”
My legs gave out. I sank to the floor, staring at the papers.
“He… cheated on you?”
She nodded. “But that doesn’t change how much he loved you.”
I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
A Second Chance
“The job is yours if you want it,” she said. *”But… is it really what *you* want?”*
I hesitated.
Had I ever stopped to ask myself that?
Or had I just been chasing his dream?
Epilogue
I didn’t give her an answer that night.
But for the first time in years…
I finally started asking the right questions.