To Become The CEO I Must Marry The Nerd Girl

Tala's pov:

I was curled up on the couch in my pajamas, tears streaming down my face. The credits of the soap opera were rolling, but the heartbreak was still fresh.

"Stop crying over silly soap operas," my mom said, her voice sharp with irritation. "Get up and do something useful."

"I can't help it, the episode was sad!" I wailed, my voice thick with tears. "The Male lead left the female lead and broke her heart after she did everything for him! How can men do that? Why don't they have a heart or any feelings?"

A fresh wave of sobs shook my body. I couldn't help it.

"Stop this nonsense," Mom snapped. "Get up and do something about your future. You graduated top of your class so that you could end up a failed employee who quits every job after a month or two? You're over twenty-five, and you haven't reached a position at a respectable company, nor have you gotten married..."

Her words stung more than any TV drama. "Shame on you, Mom," I shot back, wiping my face angrily. "You're supposed to be compassionate towards me, not make me more stressed! I can't find a job because the economy these days is terrible... And marriage isn't important because there are no good men, they're all traitors and liars... Except for him."

She looked at me with such disgust it made my stomach clench. "Is it possible you're still thinking about him?" she asked, her tone dripping with disbelief. "It's been four years since you graduated and you still haven't forgotten him?"

"It's impossible to forget him," I whispered, the memory a dull ache in my chest. "He was different. Tender, kind, and had a great sense of humor."

"The same short one you used to talk about, or someone else?"

"Don't call him short!" I defended him instantly. "His height is normal and he has an athletic build. I'm the one who's too tall. I'm 179 cm; I was the tallest girl in school and they called me 'Tala the Giant'."

"You should be proud of our family's genes," she said, switching tactics. "Be grateful. Being different is beautiful."

"I'm not ungrateful, and I have no objection," I sighed, feeling exhausted. "But society doesn't understand this. It's 2025 and people still bully tall girls."

An hour later, she finally forced me to get up, get dressed, and go to a job interview. I went through the motions, my heart not in it. Two hours later, I was back.

"So, what happened?" Mom asked the second I walked in.

I told her the usual story. "They offered the minimum wage, wanted me to work six days a week, and the company was so small it was obvious they'd dump all the accumulated work on me. It was another dead end."

"Just accept it," she said with a dismissive wave. "It's better than you sitting in my face and crying over silly soap operas..."

The words just tumbled