Sarah's POV / Dominic's POV
The moment I reached the bakery door, my heart dropped. Mrs. Annie was already standing there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot so hard the sound echoed across the floor.
"Two minutes late," she snapped before I could even step inside. "Two minutes, Sarah. Again."
I opened my mouth to explain, but she raised her hand sharply.
"Save it. If you keep this up, I will find someone who can come on time."
Her voice was loud enough that two customers turned to look at me. My cheeks burned. I lowered my head and walked quickly to the back to tie my apron.
Inside my chest, my heart felt heavy. I tried to breathe, but each breath felt like a fight. I worked two jobs. I barely slept. I gave away a sandwich I could have eaten. And yet, a simple two minutes was enough for her to treat me like I was nothing.
I tied my apron tighter than usual. My hands shook.
I wanted to cry, but crying at work only made things worse.
"Get to the front," Annie yelled from the counter. "We have customers!"
I walked out quickly. My smile was weak, but I tried. People ordered. People left. People complained. The morning rushed forward, loud and sharp, and I followed it, tired but trying to survive.
Still, even as I worked, I kept thinking about the man outside. Daniel, or whatever his name was. His eyes. His small smile. The way he watched me as if he was trying to understand something only he could see.
And that phone.
That expensive phone.
The thought made a chill run through me. Something about that moment had felt wrong. Strange. Like a puzzle piece that did not match the picture.
I tried to shake it off and focus on work, but I could not stop thinking about him. He seemed like two people at once. One sitting in the cold. One with a phone that looked brand new. And the way he typed… he did not move like someone who lived on the street.
He typed like someone in control. Someone used to giving orders.
It bothered me. It pulled at my mind the entire morning.
But I had no time to sit and think about mysteries. I had customers to serve. Orders to pack. Floors to sweep. My legs hurt, but I could not stop.
By lunchtime, I felt like I had lived five days in one.
I leaned against the counter, trying to catch my breath for a moment. I closed my eyes and thought about the sandwich I had given him. I wondered if I had changed something in his day, even just a little.
A soft warmth filled my chest. Even with everything going wrong, the thought made me feel… useful. Needed. Like maybe I mattered to someone, even if it was only for a moment.
I did not know that somewhere else, far away from my life, someone else was thinking about me too.
Dominic's POV
High above the city, sunlight spilled across a massive living room. Glass walls stretched from floor to ceiling, showing a view no normal person could ever dream of. The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Dominic sat on a large couch, still wearing the same torn clothes he used to sit outside the coffee shop. Only now, the disguise looked strange in a place so perfect and clean.
From this height, he could see the whole city. Small. Distant. Almost peaceful.
But there was nothing peaceful inside him.
His phone buzzed. A message from the man he had contacted earlier. The same man he trusted with everything.
James stepped into the room at that moment, holding a thick folder.
"She fits," James said. "At least, from what we saw today."
Dominic took the folder silently. His face showed nothing, but his fingers tightened around the edge.
Inside the folder were reports. Names. Faces. Notes. Ugly truths.
Three months.
Three months of interviews.
Three months of testing women to see if they cared about him or his money.
Three months of failure.
Every single one wanted his wealth, his status, or his last name. Not him. Never him.
"She was different," James said, watching him carefully. "She gave you food, Dominic. Real food. Not because she knew who you were. Not because she wanted anything. Just because she cared."
Dominic looked down at the paper in his lap. He remembered her eyes. The shock when she first saw him stand. The fear when he pulled out the phone. The small tremble in her hands when she gave him the sandwich.
He had been pretending to be Daniel for weeks. Sitting in that same spot. Waiting. Watching. Searching.
And then she appeared.
The girl with tired eyes and a soft heart.
The girl who made him feel something he had not felt in years.
He leaned back slowly, but his heart beat faster than before. He had found her. After months of searching. After months of tests. After months of disappointment.
But something inside him twisted sharply. It was too early to celebrate. Too early to believe. He needed to be careful. He needed to learn more.
His phone buzzed again. A different tone this time. A sharper one.
Dominic looked at the screen and froze.
"Father," he muttered under his breath.
James stepped back instantly. Everyone knew what these calls meant.
Dominic answered. He kept his voice steady.
"Yes."
A deep voice filled the room. Strong. Heavy. The kind of voice that made even powerful men stand straighter.
"I have your results," his father said. "James sent everything."
Dominic swallowed hard. "And?"
There was a long, cold pause.
Then his father spoke again.
"You have six months to get married or I am choosing your bride."
The words slammed into Dominic's chest.
Six months.
Six months to find a wife.
Six months before his father took control of everything.
His eyes widened. His breath caught. His hand tightened around the phone.
His father's voice dropped lower.
"Do not fail. You know what is at stake."
The call ended.
Silence swallowed the room.
Dominic stared at the phone in his hand, the echo of the words pounding in his ears.
Six months.
A girl who did not know him.
A lie he had already started.
A heart he had already touched.
And a father who would destroy everything if he failed.
His whole world was about to explode.
And far below him, in a small bakery, Sarah had no idea that her life was about to collide with his.