Sarah's POV
I rushed out of the bakery so fast that the cold air slapped me across the face. My chest was tight. My eyes were burning again. I tried to breathe, but every breath felt sharp and shaky.
I made it halfway down the street before the tears I had been fighting finally burst out. I covered my mouth and tried to hold them back, but it was useless. They came hard and fast, the kind that hurt.
I found an empty bench near the bus stop and sat down quickly. My whole body shook. People walked past me, some glancing, some ignoring me like I was invisible. The world moved, but I stayed frozen in place.
My hands covered my face as the worst thought in the world echoed through my mind:
I lied to my mother.
I promised a fiancé I did not have.
And Christmas was in six days.
A soft sob escaped me. I tried to keep it quiet, but more tears followed. I felt stupid. I felt trapped. I felt like the whole world was sitting on my shoulders.
"How am I going to fix this," I whispered to myself. "How am I going to do this?"
My heart thudded hard in my chest. I had no one. No boyfriend. No best friend to help. No cousin who would save me. Just me. Alone. With a promise I could not break.
I wiped my face with my sleeve, but the tears kept coming. My vision blurred. My throat burned. Every thought made things worse.
Mom deserves better.
Mom should not worry.
Mom should not be alone for Christmas.
And now she believed I had someone special. Someone who cared about me. Someone who loved me.
I curled forward, elbows on my knees, shaking. "Why did I say that," I whispered. "I can't take anyone home. I can't lie to her face."
A cold wind brushed against my back. My eyes squeezed shut tighter. I wished everything would stop for one moment. Just one.
Then I heard a voice behind me.
"Sarah?"
I froze.
I knew that voice.
Soft. Gentle. Calm.
The voice that always made something inside me pause.
I lifted my head slowly.
Daniel stood there, wrapped in his thin blanket, beard thick around his jaw, hair messy from the cold. His kind eyes searched my face. Even from a small distance, he could see I had been crying.
My breath caught. Embarrassment rushed through me like heat. I wiped my cheeks fast, but it didn't hide anything.
He stepped closer, not touching me, but close enough that I could feel the warmth of his presence.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
The question broke me all over again. Tears filled my eyes so fast I could not stop them. A small whimper slipped out before I could hide it.
He sat down slowly beside me. Not too close. Not too far. Just near enough that I could feel he cared, even if he did not say much.
"I'm sorry," I said quickly, sniffing. "I don't mean to cry here. I just… I don't know what to do."
He waited. He didn't rush me. He didn't push. He just watched with steady eyes, the same patient eyes that made me feel seen every morning.
"What happened?" he asked gently.
I looked down at my hands. My fingers twisted together nervously. I didn't want to tell him. It sounded too crazy. Too stupid. Too embarrassing.
But something about his presence made the truth slip out before I could stop it.
"I lied," I whispered. "To my mom."
He stayed quiet, waiting.
I swallowed hard. "She's sick. She wanted to know if I was coming home for Christmas and… and I said yes. But I don't even know how I'm going to afford the trip."
My voice shook.
"And then she asked if I had someone special in my life. Someone to bring home."
Daniel's eyebrows lifted slightly. "And?"
I pressed both hands to my face. "I said yes. I told her I'm bringing my fiancé."
Daniel blinked slowly. He didn't laugh. He didn't look shocked. He didn't make me feel stupid.
He just looked at me with those deep, calm eyes.
"I don't know why I said it," I whispered. "I just wanted to make her happy. She sounded so weak. So lonely. I didn't want her to worry about me anymore."
A fresh wave of tears spilled down my cheeks.
"And now I don't know what to do. I can't show up alone. I can't break her heart. But I can't lie to her forever. I don't even have anyone to pretend. I don't have… anyone."
My voice cracked at the last word.
Silence.
Only the wind moved for a moment.
Daniel looked at me like he was seeing all of me at once. My struggle. My fear. My loneliness. My pain. Everything I tried to hide.
He lifted a hand slowly. Not toward me, but in a small gentle gesture, as if to say calm down, it's okay.
"What do you need right now?" he asked quietly.
I breathed shakily. My fingers curled into the fabric of my coat.
"I need…" My throat tightened. "I need someone to pretend to be my fiancé. Just for Christmas. Just so my mom doesn't worry."
The words felt heavy and embarrassing. I hugged myself tightly.
Daniel stayed still for a long moment, thinking.
Then, to my surprise, he nodded.
"I can help you," he said.
My head snapped up. "What?"
He didn't look away. His eyes held mine with a seriousness I had never seen before.
"I said I can help you."
"No, you can't," I whispered. "You don't even know me. And I can't take a stranger home. I can't ask you to do that."
"You didn't ask," he replied softly. "But I want to help."
I stared at him, speechless.
Why would he offer something so big? Something that could change everything? He had nothing. No home. No warm clothes. No reason to care about my problems.
Yet he was offering something huge. Something I needed more than anything.
My heart thudded in confusion.
"I don't understand," I whispered. "Why would you help me like that?"
He leaned a little closer, his voice steady.
"Because you helped me," he said. "You gave me food when you had nothing. You gave me kindness when no one else even looked at me."
My breath caught.
"You saw me," he continued. "Now let me help you."
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. My chest tightened with fear and hope mixed together.
He stood slowly, then extended his hand toward me. His expression was calm but firm.
"I will be your fiancé, Sarah."
My heart flipped.
"But…" he added quietly, his eyes deep and serious, "only if you promise to trust me."
The air around us fell silent.
Trust him.
A stranger.
A man I barely knew.
A man who lived on the street.
A man who somehow felt like more than he seemed.
My pulse raced.
Trust him?
Could I?
Should I?
My breath trembled as I stared at his outstretched hand.
Everything in my life was about to change.