I backed off immediately after realizing what I'd just said. "Sorry, I didn't mean it" I muttered, trying to wash the shame off my face.
"Hey, wait…" she called after me as I walked away, but I didn't look back. My heart was racing as I stepped out of the flower stand and into the street.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath, rubbing my face. It was true. It really worked.
What the hell was going on? She said okay like it was nothing. No hesitation. No doubt. But still, I couldn't bring her back to that cramped apartment, not with Jean in there, probably surrounded by his friends again.
My thoughts were spinning in circles. Or maybe she just agreed because she was lonely too, just like me.
"Hey, Luke!" Mark's voice cut through my thoughts just as I was about to walk into the office building.
"What's wrong, man? It's still morning, and you already look like you haven't slept for days," he said, grinning as we stepped into the elevator together.
Mark was older than me by just a year, but he always acted like a mentor I never asked for. "It's nothing. I'm just… not feeling well," I said, trying to dodge his usual questions.
Halfway up, the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. Hazel stepped in.
"Good morning," she said with that bright smile that made everyone's day a little lighter.
"Good morning, Hazel," Mark replied instantly, straightening his shirt like he was on a movie set.
I nodded slightly, pretending to scroll through my phone, but my eyes flicked toward her reflection in the elevator's mirror. Hazel was stunning in a quiet way, brown hair tied loosely, soft pink lips, and those gentle eyes that always seemed to see the best in everyone. She smelled faintly of lavender and coffee, and I could feel my chest tighten just standing next to her.
She was my crush, but I never had the courage to look her straight in the face for more than a second. Every time I tried, my throat would dry up and my mind would blank out. Just one smile from her and my heart would start sprinting like an idiot.
By the time we reached our floor, my mind was already sinking again, everyone was busy with their works and I went directly to my desk which was right next to Mark.
Time passed by, I sat there, staring at the pile of files stacked like bricks in front of me. The fluorescent lights above buzzed faintly, casting a sickly yellow glow over everything. The endless numbers on the screen blurred together until they stopped making sense.
Another Tuesday. Another soul crushing day at Kat Lion Company. I leaned back in my squeaky chair and sighed quietly, running a hand through my messy black hair.
That voice from last night replayed in my head like an echo I couldn't shake.
"But beware, you are making a contract. Every gift has a price, and you shall pay it at the end."
I remembered the flower girl again, her soft voice, that strange calm smile when she said okay. It was too weird to be real.
I chuckled to myself, shaking my head. "A fantasy," I whispered. "That's all it was."
"Luke." Her voice cut through my thoughts. It was sharp, clear and real. I looked up, Anna.
The CEO's niece. Twenty-four. Smart. Confident. And the kind of woman that made half the office forget how to breathe when she walked by.
"What?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Lost in a daydream again?" she said, her lips curving into a faint smirk. She dropped a folder onto my desk with a soft thud.
"Finish these by evening." Her tone was calm but carried weight, like she was used to people doing what she said without question.
Her white hair shimmered faintly under the office light as she turned to leave, her heels clicking softly on the floor. Every step was controlled, confident.
I tried not to stare, but my eyes betrayed me. Her body moved with dangerous grace, curves outlined perfectly by her black pencil skirt.
I forced my gaze back to the spreadsheets, trying to shake off the heat crawling up my neck.
She's the boss's niece, I reminded myself. Out of my league. Completely untouchable.
Still, the thought wouldn't leave me. That strange power, if it was real, could even make her say yes.
But just imagining it made me feel sick. I wasn't that kind of person. Right? I leaned back again, staring blankly at the ceiling as my thoughts tangled.
Maybe I really was losing it. Maybe all of this was just stress and loneliness twisting my head.
But then I remembered that look in the flower girl's eyes. That calm, almost empty smile. It wasn't normal.
"Hey."
The sudden voice snapped me out of it. Mark rolled his chair over with that annoying, overconfident spin, sleeves neatly rolled to show his tanned forearms. His cologne hit the air first, sharp and expensive, like his ego.
"You were staring at her again, weren't you?" he said, smirking.
"Who?" I asked, pretending not to know. "Anna," he said, leaning closer with that smug grin. "Those curves. Man, you're hopeless."
He chuckled, tapping my desk with his pen. "You can drool all you want, but you'll never get a taste. She's too high up the food chain for a glorified spreadsheet jockey like you, Luke."
"You're right," I muttered, keeping my voice flat. "Neither will you." He raised his eyebrows at my unexpected bite, a flash of surprise crossing his face, but he laughed it off almost immediately and rolled back toward his desk.
I forced a dry laugh, but inside, his words stung more than I wanted to admit. He was right. I was invisible here just another face in a cubicle, doing numbers no one cared about.
I hated how he always looked down on me, like I was some bland, easily forgettable rookie who'd never grow into anything more than a shadow.
But as I stared at the monitor, my reflection faintly blending into the glass, a quiet thought slipped through my mind.
What if I wasn't invisible anymore?