Gracie felt the stare before she fully saw him.
The air around her shifted, heavy and alert, as if someone important had entered her space. She slowed her steps instinctively, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag.
When she turned her head, her heart skipped.
It was really him.
The man from the countryside.
The one who had bought her basket.
The one she had warned about the city.
Derick stood a few steps away, tall and broad-shouldered, his plain clothes unable to hide his commanding presence. His sharp eyes were fixed on her, calm yet intense, as if he had been searching for her all along.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The city noise faded into the background.
"You…" Gracie said first, her voice hesitant. "You're here."
Derick's lips curved slightly. "So are you."
She didn't know why her heart was beating so fast. They were strangers—barely acquaintances. Yet seeing him again felt strangely familiar, like fate had quietly nudged them together.
"I didn't expect to see you," she added.
"I could say the same," he replied.
His voice was steady, deep, and confident. Very different from the men she had met in the countryside. Different from anyone she knew.
Gracie glanced past him, suddenly alert. "Did you… follow me?"
Derick raised an eyebrow. "No."
It was only half a lie.
"I work nearby," he continued calmly. "I saw you come out of the building. You looked… troubled."
Gracie hesitated.
She had every reason to walk away. The city had taught her that strangers were not to be trusted. And yet, something about him made her pause.
"I didn't get the job," she said quietly.
Derick studied her face. He noticed the way she held herself—straight-backed, proud, even in disappointment. No tears. No complaints.
"I'm sorry," he said.
She shrugged lightly. "It's fine. I'll find something else."
Derick knew it wasn't that simple.
Phoenix Enterprises rarely rejected someone with her qualifications. Especially not someone with first-class honors.
"May I ask," he said slowly, "who interviewed you?"
Gracie frowned slightly, surprised by the question. "A woman named Avery. She said she was the manager."
Derick's eyes darkened almost imperceptibly.
So it was her.
Avery.
Things were becoming clearer by the second.
"I see," he said.
Gracie studied him now, really looking. There was something different about him today. In the countryside, he had seemed quiet, almost ordinary. But here, standing among glass buildings and expensive cars, he felt… out of place.
Yet powerful.
"Well," she said, forcing a small smile, "thank you for checking on me. I should go."
She took a step forward, but Derick spoke again.
"Wait."
She paused.
"You're looking for work," he said. "Right?"
"Yes."
"And you don't plan to return to the countryside anytime soon."
That made her turn fully toward him.
"How do you know that?"
Derick met her gaze steadily. "Because people who plan to go back don't look the way you do."
She didn't ask what he meant.
Something told her he would see through any lie she tried to tell.
"I have reasons," she said quietly. "I need a good job. A stable one."
Derick nodded. "Then don't give up yet."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple card.
No gold. No flashy logo.
Just a name and a number.
Derick.
"Call me," he said. "I might be able to help."
Gracie stared at the card, uncertain.
"Why?" she asked.
He didn't answer immediately. He was going to say..
"Because you're different.
Because you stood your ground.
Because fate doesn't repeat meetings for nothing".
Instead, he said, "Because I owe you."
She remembered the countryside again. The way she had warned him.
"Alright," she said finally, taking the card. "Thank you."
Their fingers brushed again.
This time, neither of them pulled away immediately.
A strange warmth passed between them, brief but undeniable.
Then Gracie stepped back.
"I should go," she said softly.
Derick watched her walk away, his gaze following her until she disappeared into the crowd.
And for the first time in years, something stirred in his chest that had nothing to do with power or money.
⸻
Inside Phoenix Enterprises, Avery stood in front of the floor, her expression dark.
She had seen everything.
Gracie leaving the building.
The man who approached her.
The way he looked at her.
Avery clenched her fists.
"That woman…" she muttered. "She attracts attention wherever she goes."
She turned sharply when her assistant entered.
"Find out everything about the girl who interviewed today," Avery ordered. "Her background. Her education. Her family."
The assistant hesitated. "Manager Avery, is that really necessary? She was rejected—"
"Do it," Avery snapped.
After the assistant left, Avery's eyes flicked to the company logo on the wall.
Phoenix Enterprises.
Her father's empire.
And yet, something about Gracie's presence made her uneasy. As if that girl didn't belong at the bottom of the world.
As if she was a threat.
⸻
Elsewhere in a building, the Blackcrest corporation, a private elevator slid open.
Derick stepped inside.
"Investigate Gracie," he said calmly into his phone. "Full background. Education. Family."
A pause.
"Yes," he added. "She's the one from the countryside."
When the call ended, Derick leaned back against the elevator wall.
A slow, dangerous thought crossed his mind.
What if she didn't come here by accident?
⸻
That evening, Gracie sat alone in a small rented room, the city lights glowing faintly through the window.
Her phone lay beside her on the bed.
Derick's card rested on top of it.
She thought of her grandmother, safe for now.
She thought of her unopened letter.
And she thought of the strange man who seemed to appear whenever her life shifted.
Gracie's phone buzzed, making her jump. The number was unknown, and for a moment, she hesitated.
"Who…?" she whispered to herself, swiping the screen.
A calm, deep voice came through, smooth and familiar. "Gracie, it's Derick. Save my number."
Her heart skipped a beat. The memory hit her instantly—the man from the market who had bought her basket, the same one outside Phoenix Enterprise, the one whose empty card she had tucked away and who had collected her number.
She swallowed hard, fingers trembling. "Y-You're… Derick?" she stammered.
"Yes," he replied, his voice steady, reassuring.
"I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you're safe.
Gracie's chest tightened; this was the man who made her heart race without even trying, and now, he was reaching out again, quietly changing the course of her life.