“This is becoming a habit, you know?”
He smiled. “I thought you’d be used to it by now.”
“And what if I said I want to go home alone today?”
“Then I’d respect that.”
She looked at him for a moment, then opened the car door. “But I think I’ll take the ride.”
He smiled and got in, starting the engine. This time, the ride was more relaxed. The weight of uncertainty between them was gone.
“Do you want to take a little detour before heading home?” William asked suddenly.
Julia raised an eyebrow. “Where to?”
“It’s a surprise.”
She hesitated for a second but then shrugged. “All right.”
William drove for a few minutes until they reached a small park, softly lit by old-fashioned street lamps. In the center, there was a gazebo and a lake surrounded by wooden benches. Julia looked around, captivated.
“I’ve never been here before.”
“Not many people know about this place.”
They got out of the car and walked to one of the benches. Julia sat down and looked at the lake, where the lights reflected on the water.
“Do you come here often?”
“Sometimes, when I need to think.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “And what are you thinking about now?”
He turned his face toward her. “That this has been the best thing to happen to me in a long time.”
Julia’s eyes sparkled for a moment before she looked back at the lake. The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable. It was a different kind of silence, full of meaning.
When William dropped Julia off at home that night, something between them felt different. She stepped inside and closed the door but stayed there for a moment, leaning against the wood, feeling her heart beating too fast. Outside, William sat in his car, looking at her house through the rearview mirror. He knew he was falling in love. But he still wasn’t sure if he was ready for it. For the first time, he realized he might not have control over what he was feeling.
In the days that followed, Julia tried to ignore the fact that something inside her was changing. What had started as curiosity about William had turned into something stronger. But she didn’t want to admit it. She didn’t want to let herself feel something for someone who still seemed like a mystery in so many ways.
William kept coming to the diner every morning. He was always there, sitting at the counter, waiting for his coffee. But this time, Julia watched him differently. Now that she knew who he really was, little details started to stand out—the refined gestures, the way he analyzed everything around him, the way he avoided certain questions about his life. She wanted to trust him. But a voice inside her told her there was still something she didn’t know.
Then, that afternoon, while she was cleaning tables after lunch, she heard a murmur coming from the television mounted on the diner’s wall. “Businessman William Stone was seen last night leaving an exclusive event at the Stone Hotels’ family property. Sources say he is about to take over as the company’s president, following in his father’s footsteps.”
The plate in Julia’s hand nearly slipped from her fingers. She turned toward the TV, feeling her stomach twist. On the screen, William was impeccably dressed in a tuxedo, surrounded by reporters and business executives. He looked completely different from the man she knew—the man who said he wanted to escape that world, who said he didn’t want to follow the path his family had set for him.
“So it was all a lie,” she murmured, feeling a heavy weight settle in her chest.
“Julia?” a coworker called out, but her voice sounded distant.
Julia didn’t answer. She grabbed her apron, untied it quickly, and walked out of the diner. She needed answers.
The walk to the hotel felt longer than she expected. Every step felt heavier than the last. When she reached the entrance, the security guards looked at her suspiciously.
“Can I help you?” one of them asked.
“I’m here to see William Stone.”
The man frowned. “Mr. Stone is busy.”
Julia felt her heart race with frustration. “Then tell him Julia is here. He’ll see me.”
The guard hesitated but picked up a radio and murmured something. A few seconds later, he got a response and nodded, allowing her to pass.
Julia stepped into the hotel lobby, feeling out of place. The floors gleamed, the chandeliers were enormous, and the people around her seemed to belong to a completely different world. And then, there he was.
William walked down the stairs, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit. He looked more serious, colder. The moment he saw her, his eyes widened slightly.
“Julia? What are you doing here?”
She crossed her arms, trying to contain her anger. “I should be asking you that.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I saw you on TV, William. You were at an event last night, talking about taking over your family’s company.”
He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long sigh. “Julia—”
“You lied to me.”
His eyes narrowed. “I never lied.”
“Oh, really? Then tell me, William. What were you doing here last night while telling me you didn’t want this world?”
He was silent for a few seconds. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
He took a deep breath, looking at her. “It’s not—”
Julia felt her chest tighten. “You made me believe you wanted something different, that you wanted something real.”
“And I do.”
“But that’s not what it looks like.”
He stepped closer, taking her hands in his. “Julia, please, listen to me.”
She pulled her hands away, stepping back. “I trusted you, William, and now I see I was naive.”
He looked at her as if he could feel he was losing her. “Don’t go.”
“I don’t belong in this world, William.”
“Do you think I do?”
She took a step back, feeling tears threatening to fall. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
And with that, she turned and walked out of the hotel. William stood in the middle of the lobby, feeling an emptiness grow inside him. He didn’t know how to fix this, but he knew he couldn’t lose her.
That night, Julia sat on her porch, hugging her knees. Her mother came outside to check on her and sat down beside her.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Julia sighed. “I thought he was different.”
Her mother gave a small smile. “Maybe he is, but people make mistakes.”
Julia frowned. “What if he was never honest with me?”
Her mother looked at her kindly. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Julia stayed quiet, staring up at the sky. But at that moment, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the truth.
Meanwhile, across the city, William was alone in his hotel office. He stared out at the city through the window, feeling the weight on his shoulders. He had spent his whole life searching for something real, and now that he had found it, he was about to lose it. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t.
The clock was nearing midnight when Julia finally decided to go inside. The cool breeze brushed against her skin, and the quiet of the neighborhood felt heavier than usual. Her mother had already gone to bed, but the weight of their conversation still echoed in her mind. She wanted to believe that William hadn’t lied, that he had simply gotten lost between the life he had and the life he wanted. But how could she trust someone who seemed to live in two completely different worlds?
Julia lay down on her bed, staring at the dark ceiling. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, the ache in her chest was real. She cared about him much more than she should. But caring wasn’t enough.
William didn’t sleep that night. Sitting in his office, his eyes fixed on the city lights, he felt like everything around him was falling apart. Julia had been the first person to see him beyond his last name, the first to treat him like an ordinary man. And now she saw him the way everyone else did. He had never cared what people thought of him, but caring about what Julia thought terrified him.
He picked up his phone, typed out a message, but didn’t have the courage to send it. What could he even say? He wanted to explain everything, to make her understand that he had never lied about his feelings. But how could he prove that? For the first time in his life, William felt completely lost.
In the days that followed, Julia and William lived completely separate lives. She buried herself in work, trying to ignore how much she missed him. He, on the other hand, threw himself into his family’s business but couldn’t focus. Each morning at the diner felt incomplete without William sitting at the counter, waiting for his coffee. Julia tried to pretend it didn’t matter, that his absence meant nothing. But it did. She missed him. She missed their conversations, their playful banter, the way he looked at her as if he saw something in her that no one else did. But she couldn’t just forgive him. She couldn’t let him back into her life without knowing for sure that he truly wanted to be there.
William knew he had to do something. Waiting for Julia to forgive him wasn’t enough. He had to show her he was willing to change. And there was only one way to do that.
That night, William made a decision. He would leave Stone Hotels. It was the only way to prove to Julia—and to himself—that he wasn’t trapped in the life his family had planned for him.
The next day, he called a meeting with his father. “I want out of the company.”
His father stared at him for a long moment before crossing his arms. “This is a joke, right?”
“No, I’m serious.”
The older man let out a low chuckle. “You think you can just walk away?”
“I know I can.”
His father studied him, his expression hardening. “All because of that girl?”
William took a deep breath, keeping his composure. “This isn’t about her. It’s about me.”
“You’re about to throw away everything we’ve worked for.”
“It’s not something I worked for. It’s something that was forced on me.”
His father was silent for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. “Do you even know what you’re doing?”
William nodded. “For the first time in my life, yes.”
Across the city, Julia was trying to move on. But everything became harder when she saw the newspaper headlines the next morning: William Stone Resigns from Stone Hotels, Chooses a New Path.
Julia read the article at least three times, unable to believe it. Had he really left the company? Her heart pounded. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Had he done it for her? Her stomach turned, and before she could think twice, she grabbed her phone and typed a message: William, we need to talk.
Seconds later, her phone vibrated with a reply: Tell me where and when.
Julia took a deep breath before responding. Meet me at the café near the park.
The café was nearly empty when Julia arrived. She sat at a table by the window, trying to steady her breathing. Minutes later, William walked in. He looked different—lighter, yet somehow more serious. He approached slowly and sat across from her. For a few moments, neither of them spoke.
Then, Julia finally broke the silence. “You really left the company?”
William nodded. “Yes.”
“Why?”
He held her gaze. “Because it wasn’t what I wanted.”
She swallowed hard. “And what do you want?”
William took a deep breath before answering. “I want to build something on my own. Something that truly means something to me.”
She studied him, searching for any sign of dishonesty. But all she saw was sincerity. “And what about me?” she asked softly.
William leaned in slightly. “You’ve always meant something to me.”
Julia felt a shiver run through her. “I didn’t know if I could trust you, William.”
“And now?”
She was silent for a moment before letting out a long sigh. “Now I want to try.”
A small smile appeared on William’s lips. “I promise I won’t let you down.”
Julia nodded. And in that moment, she knew something had truly changed. They were no longer just two strangers who had met on a bus. They were starting something new. Something real.
The days after their meeting at the café were strangely calm. Julia and William kept in touch, but cautiously, as if stepping into unfamiliar territory. She wanted to believe he had changed. And, honestly, everything pointed to that. William seemed lighter, more genuine. But there was still something inside her that kept her from fully embracing this new reality. Maybe it was fear. Or maybe it was just hard to accept that a man like him could truly choose a different path.
One afternoon, while Julia was working at the diner, she saw a car pull up across the street. She recognized William before he even stepped out. He walked into the diner and took a seat at the counter, just like he used to.
“I thought you had forgotten the way here,” Julia teased as she poured him a coffee.
William smiled. “Hard to forget when this is the best coffee in town.”
She chuckled softly, leaning on the counter. “So what have you been up to?”
He stirred his spoon in the cup before answering. “I’m working on a new project.”
Julia raised an eyebrow, curious. “A new project?”
“Yes. I want to open a hotel. Something completely different from anything I’ve done before. Something small, more personal, more welcoming.”
She frowned. “You’ve spent your whole life working in luxury hotel chains, and now you want to open something smaller?”
William nodded. “I want something that has real meaning. Something that truly makes sense to me.”
Julia studied him for a moment. “And where do you plan to open this hotel?”
He took a sip of coffee before answering. “In the coastal town my parents used to take me to when I was a kid.”
She blinked, surprised. “You never mentioned that place before.”
He smiled slightly. “Because it never felt important. Until now.”
Julia felt warmth spread through her chest. He was really changing. “And how do you plan to start?”
William looked straight into her eyes. “I was wondering if you’d want to be part of it.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
He leaned in a little. “You want to open your own bakery, right?”
She nodded slowly. “I do.”
“Then why not do it inside my hotel?”
A wave of shock ran through her. “You’re serious?”
“Completely.”
She blinked a few times, trying to process the idea. “I’ve never thought about that.”
“Well, think about it now. I want this to be something we build together.”
Julia felt her stomach twist. She didn’t know what to say. That night, Julia could barely sleep. William’s offer echoed in her mind. It was everything she had always wanted—a real chance to have her own business. But it was also risky. What if it didn’t work? What if this only brought them closer just to tear them apart again? Still, a voice inside her whispered that maybe it was worth the risk.