Billion dollar adventure : Meeting Mr Arrogant

amiliar bell chimed, but this time, it wasn't a regular customer looking for a warm croissant or a piece of her a

as *him*. Richard De

no, arrogance-in a tailored suit that screamed money and power. She remembered the way he had looked at her then, like she was just another possession, something to be sized up, analyzed

as no d

eir hard labor. It was a small place, old-fashioned with its checkered curtains and flower pots on the windowsills, but it was home. And yet, when Richard's gaze fi

e looked entirely out of place in his designer suit, his crisp white shirt spotless despite the chaos of flour and sugar tha

o slightly as if to get a closer look at her. The move was pred

ith that condescending tone she had co

, trying to suppress the growing

ly, the arrogance in his voic

rd him. She blinked, her hands freezing m

anaged to say, unable to m

ere the most natural thing in the world. "

absurdity of what he'd just said. She let out a laugh, thou

, shaking her head, the weight of his w

adjusting the cufflinks on his expensive suit, as if this conversation were a mere

r more dangerous. He reached into his jacket pocket and, to her horror, pulled out a sleek, black

onto the check. When he finished, he turned it toward her, his grin wide

llion d

dity of it. She had seen plenty of zeros in her life

" he said, his voice calm, assured, as though

A billion dollars? The figure felt surreal, imposs

dignation. She tossed her flour-covered towel onto the counter, a

sed. "Oh, but it can. You see,

ry layer of her life, like nothing about her was private or sacred anymore. She

his voice lowering to a murmur, dripping with false sympathy. "I

from worrying, to pretend that everything would be alright. But it was true. The bakery was on the brink of collapse, and there was nothing

as he saw the realiza

owly, his voice laced with a cruel kind of

feet, her stomach twisting into knots

his words settled over her like a suffocating blanket. Her aunt had poured her heart and soul into

despair warred within her. She was trapped, caugh

trembling with barely restra

she said them anyway. For her aunt. For the ba

cold as she stared him down with as much defia

ew wider, more triumphant. He tucked the check ba

tly, the satisfaction thick in his voice. "

his heel and walked out of the bakery, lea

ppressive silence that followed. Lucy stood frozen, her heart pounding in her chest

te was