Chapter 5
1249 Words
After getting dressed, I followed Stacy onto the floor and immediately began assisting customers. One order after another disappeared into the kitchen. My eyes often drifted to Stacy, who flirted shamelessly with the male customers—but that never stopped her from getting the job done.
By the time the rush finally slowed, sharp pain shot through my feet. I’d forgotten how brutal a shift here could be. Still, a warm smile tugged at my lips. This place had always felt more like home than that cold, empty house ever did.
“Elara, can I see you for a moment?” Mrs. Brown called.
I nodded and followed her to the back, carrying a tray of glasses to be washed. She sat behind her desk and pulled an envelope from a drawer.
“Stacy told me about the unpaid bills,” she said gently. “I know it isn’t much, but… I was hoping you’d come back to work.”
Guilt crashed into me.
I never understood how a woman could love another woman’s child as her own—but Mrs. Brown always had. She made me feel like I belonged. When I got into Harvard, she was the first person I told. Her reaction had left me in tears. That summer, she threw me a huge celebration simply because she loved me.
My father, on the other hand, had only been relieved I’d done something with my life. He’d been far more proud of his stepdaughter for getting into Oxford.
Maybe that was why he and Audrey belonged together.
“I can’t accept this,” I said quickly. “I’ll find a job. I promise.”
She fixed me with a sharp look.
“When?” she asked. “When you’re homeless? Or when your stepmother finally disinherits you?”
She was right. Audrey had blacklisted me from every decent company in town. My chances were slim—almost nonexistent.
I took the envelope and hugged her tightly.
“Your shift is tomorrow afternoon,” she added. “That’ll give you time to manage your other responsibilities. Stacy also mentioned that your doctor trusted you with a loan—one that’ll take you forever to pay off.”
Her words left me speechless.
“Now go,” she said, kissing my cheek. “Stacy’s probably already clocked out waiting for you.”
I stood frozen for a moment after she left. This was my family—so why was I still trying to save a man who probably thought I was useless?
“Elara!” Stacy shouted from the front.
I snapped out of it, clocked out quickly, grabbed my bag, and hurried outside where she was waiting.
“So, tonight we’re going out, right?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I need to see my dad. Then I have to pick up some files from Dr. Hayes.”
She groaned. “You’ve become boring. But I get it. So—when are you telling Audrey about the bills?”
“I’m not telling her anything,” I said, starting the car. “She’s smart enough to figure it out.”
The roads were quiet as we talked about our day and plans for tomorrow. When I stopped in front of her house, her boyfriend was already waiting. She said a quick goodbye and jumped out before I had to witness a full make-out session.
At the hospital, I headed straight to my father’s room. Dr. Hayes was there, checking his vitals.
“Is everything alright, Doctor?” I asked.
He looked me over. “So—you found a job. Good. Your father is doing well. If his stats stay like this, he could wake up any day now.”
Hope stirred in my chest.
“I’ll have the files ready tomorrow afternoon,” he continued. “Will you be able to collect them?”
“Yes, of course,” I replied. “I’ll check on my father again then.”
He smiled gently and left the room.
I sat beside my father’s bed, studying his face.
“How did you come up with that kind of money in forty-eight hours?”
The familiar voice made my stomach twist.
“So you finally decided to step away from your luxury dinners and visit your husband?” I snapped.
Audrey’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “You’re lucky you’re still allowed in this hospital. With one phone call, I could have you removed.”
“You wouldn’t stoop that low.”
“Oh, I would,” she said coldly. “Now tell me where the money came from—and maybe I’ll show some sympathy.”
“How I got it is none of your business,” I said.
That was a mistake.
Within seconds, two security guards appeared, gripping my arms and dragging me out of the room. I tried to speak, to explain—but Audrey had already won.
Dominic POV
“Give me the update.”
His assistant stood across from the desk, tablet ready, voice steady as he began listing numbers, schedules, names of people waiting for his signature.
None of it registered.
His gaze stayed fixed on the city beyond the glass wall, jaw tight, fingers unmoving against the desk.
“Sir, the acquisition—”
“Stop.” His voice was calm, but sharp enough to silence the room. He turned slowly. “The woman.”
A flicker of hesitation crossed his assistant’s face. “That’s… the problem.”
He arched a brow. “Explain.”
“We checked the hotel logs. There was a mix-up with the room access cards. The key she used was registered to your suite.”
Silence fell heavy.
“That’s impossible,” he said coldly. “I wasn’t scheduled to see anyone.”
“That’s correct, sir. You had no visitors listed. No companions arranged. The floor was cleared under your name alone.”
His focus slipped again—back to the door opening, to the way she’d been pulled inside like fate had shoved her into his arms.
She hadn’t been sent.
She hadn’t been paid.
She had walked into the right room… by accident.
“And her identity?” he asked.
“No name. No guest record. She wasn’t registered to the hotel at all.”
Unacceptable.
He turned back toward the window, irritation coiling low in his chest. Women didn’t simply vanish after crossing his path.
Especially not ones who had affected him like that.
“She had the correct key,” he said slowly. “That means she was meant to be there.”
“Sir?”
He didn’t answer. His thoughts were already elsewhere—on the way she’d stiffened when she realized she was in the wrong place, the way her body had betrayed her anyway.
Focus slipped. Again.
“Postpone the board meeting,” he said suddenly.
“They’re waiting for you.”
“They can wait.”
The assistant nodded quickly.
He reached for his jacket, shrugging it on with deliberate control. “Find out how she got that key.”
“And if it was truly a mistake?” the assistant asked carefully.
His eyes darkened, something dangerous settling behind them.
“Then it’s the most interesting mistake I’ve ever made.”
Because accidents didn’t leave marks like that.
And whoever she was—
She had walked into his world without permission.
He wouldn’t forget her.
And he wouldn’t stop until he found her.
- Writer
