The Secret Behind His SmileChapter 1: The Man at the Coffee ShopLerato had learned one important lesson in life.Never trust a smile.Especially the smile of a handsome man.At twenty-six, she had already experienced enough disappointment to know that beautiful promises could hide ugly intentions.That morning, however, she had no idea that one simple coffee would change her entire life.Lerato pushed open the glass door of the small coffee shop and hurried inside, trying to escape the cold rain outside.She looked at her phone.8:47 a.m.“I'm late,” she whispered.Her interview was at nine-thirty, and the company was on the other side of town.She ordered the cheapest coffee she could afford and sat near the window while going through her CV for the tenth time.Then someone bumped into her table.Her coffee spilled across her papers.“Oh my goodness!” Lerato jumped up.“I’m sorry.”She looked up.The man standing in front of her was tall, dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit. His hair was neatly styled, and there was something calm and confident about him.He immediately picked up the papers.“I'll replace everything,” he said.“It’s fine,” Lerato replied, taking the papers from him.He smiled.And for some strange reason, her heart skipped.“I’m Thando,” he said.“Lerato.”“Nice to meet you, Lerato.”She nodded and returned her attention to her damaged CV.Thando glanced at the papers.“Job interview?”“Yes.”“Good luck.”“Thank you.”He walked away.Lerato watched him sit at a table across the room.She told herself not to look at him again.She failed.A few minutes later, her phone rang.It was the company calling about her interview.“Hello?”Her expression slowly changed.“What?”She listened silently.“But you said the interview was today.”A pause.“Okay. I understand.”She ended the call and lowered her phone.The interview had been cancelled.Again.Lerato closed her eyes.She desperately needed a job.Her rent was already overdue, and her landlord had warned her that she had only a few days to pay.She put her head in her hands.“Bad news?”She looked up.Thando was standing beside her table.“The interview was cancelled.”“I'm sorry.”“It's okay.”“It doesn't look okay.”Lerato forced a smile.“Life isn't always kind.”Thando studied her for a moment.Then he took a business card from his pocket and placed it on the table.“Call this number.”She looked at the card.THANDO MASEKOMaseko Holdings“What's this?”“My company.”Lerato frowned.“Why are you giving this to me?”“Because we're hiring.”She stared at him.“You haven't even seen my CV.”“I don't need to.”“That doesn't make sense.”A small smile appeared on his face.“Maybe you'll understand later.”Before she could ask another question, his phone rang.He walked away to answer it.Lerato picked up the business card again.Something about the situation felt strange.Very strange.Then she noticed something written on the back of the card.Three words.I REMEMBER YOU.Her heart stopped.She looked across the coffee shop.Thando was no longer there.Lerato immediately stood up.She rushed outside, searching the street.Nothing.Only cars, people and the sound of rain.She looked down at the card again.Her hands began to shake.Because she had never met Thando before.At least...That was what she thought.Until she turned the card over.And saw a tiny photograph attached to it.A photograph of a little girl.A little girl who looked exactly like her.Lerato's breath caught in her throat.She knew that photograph.She had seen it once before.It was taken twenty years ago—the same year her mother disappeared.And suddenly, one terrifying thought entered her mind.Who was Thando Maseko... and how did he know her mother?