My North Star Rising

sparkling on my laptop screen. My life as a rising pastry chef was just beginning. And then, my ph

e. I'm ruined." My heart squeezed, imagining his family's legacy in Napa Valley crumbling. Without a second thoug

town. Every spare cent went into a battered shoebox, saving fifty thousand dollars to save his "family legacy." Ethan constantly complained about our "dump" re

ular Dusty's Diner." My blood ran cold, but the final blow came from Ethan's unwitting pocket-dial. "The full fifty K," his smug voice chuckled. "That diner girl? Still slaving away for me. Bless

hattered into a million pieces. The humiliation was a physical ache. As he walked into the diner, feigning