Chapter one
The sun rose slowly over Seabourne, a quiet coastal city along the Pacific in western Canada. From my small attic window, I could see the sea stretching endlessly, steel-blue and calm, mocking the chaos inside my life.
The streets gleamed below, glass buildings reflecting sunlight, private yachts bobbing in the harbor, and cafés with polished windows that seemed to laugh at those who couldn't afford them. Seabourne was beautiful, yes, but beauty meant nothing if you didn't belong.
Once, my family had belonged. My father, when he was sober, would talk about his shares in a logistics company, friends who mattered, deals that could move entire ports. But gambling and alcohol dragged him down faster than the tide. Now he slept through mornings, owed everyone, and pretended the past never existed. He had become a man I barely recognized.
My stepmother, Lydia, made sure I paid for it. She blamed me for my father's predicament, though I had done nothing. At twenty-two, I worked as both the house help and the sponsor for my stepsister's and mother's fake luxury life in the very home that has always been mine.
At night, I rushed between Azure Lounge and Maxi Imperial, high-end restaurants where billionaires drank imported wine and discussed mergers like emotions didn't exist. Every dollar I earned went straight into Lydia's account under the guise of "family survival." But, in reality she is using the money for herself and her daughter, they don't seem to accept the fact that they have fallen from grace.
Her daughter, Sienna, lounged around like a princess, designer bags, private rides, rich boyfriends, no work, no struggle. Every time I saw her, I was reminded of how unfair life has been to me.
I tied my hair back and checked the time. Late again. My phone buzzed. Richard.
"Are you alive?"
Richard had been my friend since childhood, loyal, grounded, no romance, no pretenses, in reality he is more like a brother to me. In a city that judged people by net worth, that mattered.
"Barely," I typed back.
Tonight was different. We were working at the KATURO Maritime Gala at the Seabourn Port Towers,a business event done once a year with billionaires, CEOs, and power that made the city tremble with whispers. I heard that politicians and formidable people are coming to this event. I couldn't allow this opportunity to pass, I would ensure to gather as much information as I could, this has always been my aim, while working at a high-ends restaurant.
I could feel tension tightening my chest, though I wasn't sure why.
Richard nudged me as I stumbled past a group of executives. "Watch the tray," he whispered, catching a falling glass. I bit my lower lip to hide a smile,he always seemed to save me at the worst moments.
The chandeliers above hung and shone like captured stars, and the guests' voices mingled with the clink of glasses. I slipped through the crowd, trying to listen to business talks while pretending to adjust a napkin. Textile mergers, investment strategies, supply chains, I stored every word in my memory.
One day, I told myself, this knowledge would be mine, applied to my own fashion business.
And yet… I couldn't stop stealing glances. Across the room, he hadn't appeared yet, but I felt him. A presence that made people quiet, their movements measured. The billionaire king everyone whispered about, the man no one dared approach. He won't see someone like me anyways, but I could feel his aura brushing against my thoughts.
I refocused on my tray, smiling faintly as I packed a small bundle of leftover delicacies to take home for my family. Even if Lydia would claim most of it, I could at least give them this small victory.
Then, it happened briefly, across the room, our eyes met for the briefest moment. He stood tall, immaculate, a presence that made everything else fade knit the darkness. I quickly looked away, pretending not to notice, I was surprised he could be that handsome,I was expecting something else though. I hadn't met him, not really. Maybe I never would, which I know is the case here. But the memory of that glance… it woul
d stay with me forever.