The next day, Julia met William at the same café where they had last talked. He was already sitting there, waiting for her. When she sat across from him, he looked at her expectantly.
“Have you thought about my offer?”
She took a deep breath before answering. “Yes.”
“And?”
Julia bit her lip before smiling. “I accept.”
William’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”
“I am. But I want to do this my way.”
He smiled. “It’s always been your way, Julia.”
She let out a soft laugh, feeling strangely light. “Then I guess we have a plan.”
“Yes, we do.”
And in that moment, Julia knew she was about to step into something that would change her life forever. Something she had never truly imagined happening “
The days that followed were intense. Julia and William began planning every detail of the new hotel and the bakery that would open inside it. The coastal town they had chosen for the project was small, cozy, and surrounded by breathtaking scenery that carried a sense of new beginnings.
Julia had never left the big city. The idea of leaving everything behind and taking a chance on something so new was terrifying yet exciting at the same time. William seemed different—lighter, more enthusiastic. For the first time, he was doing something on his own without his family’s influence guiding his every move.
“This is going to work,” he said one evening as they sat on the beach, going over the hotel plans.
“You sound very confident,” Julia said, smiling and hugging her knees.
“Because I am, and you should be too.”
She sighed. “It’s just, this all feels too good to be true.”
William turned to her. “Why?”
“Because I never thought I’d get an opportunity like this.”
He took her hand. “You deserve this opportunity. You’ve worked hard for it.”
Julia looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. “I just want it to work out.”
“It will. And even if it’s not perfect right away, we’ll figure it out together.”
She nodded slowly, allowing herself to relax just a little more. After all, William had never given her a reason to doubt his word.
The next morning, they went to visit the site where the hotel would be built. It was a large plot of land near the ocean where an old mansion once stood.
“This place has history,” Julia said, taking in the aged structure.
“Yes, that’s why I want to restore it instead of tearing it down and building something new.”
She smiled. “That makes a lot of sense.”
William looked at her. “Have you thought about a name for the bakery?”
Julia was silent for a moment before smiling. “La Dolce Vita.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Sweet life?”
“Exactly. Because that’s what I want.”
William smiled. “Then that’s it. Your dream has a name now.”
Her heart raced. For the first time, it felt real.
As the days passed, more and more details of the project came together. Julia split her time between working at the diner and attending meetings with William and the architects overseeing the hotel’s renovation. It was exhausting, but with each passing day, she felt like she was building something that truly mattered. And more than that, she realized she was falling in love with William—not just with the idea of being with him, but with the man he was becoming. Someone who was stepping out of his family’s shadow to create something real. Someone who was willing to change.
One cold night, as they walked along the beach, William took Julia’s hand and suddenly stopped. She looked at him, puzzled.
“What is it?”
He hesitated for a moment before answering. “You know that this,” he gestured between them, “isn’t just about the hotel, right?”
Julia felt her heart race. “What do you mean?”
William took a deep breath. “I mean that this has always been about you.”
For a moment, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. “William, I—”
“I know I’m terrible with words, but you need to know that you changed everything for me.”
She blinked a few times, trying to process what he was saying. “I feel the same way.”
He smiled slightly. “Then promise me something.”
“What?”
He squeezed her hand. “That you won’t run away when things get hard.”
Julia felt a lump in her throat. “I promise.”
And in that moment, she knew she was exactly where she was meant to be.
Days turned into weeks, and the construction of the hotel and bakery moved forward quickly. Julia had never felt so deeply involved in something before. Watching her dream take shape was surreal. She spent hours with the architects, helping choose every detail for the space where she would open her café. William, on the other hand, focused on the hotel renovations. He made sure everything was going according to plan. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was in control of his own future.
But as with everything in life, not everything would be easy. One morning, as Julia organized papers in the temporary office she was using, William walked in with a serious expression.
“We have a problem,” he said, getting straight to the point.
She frowned. “What happened?”
“The construction company sent a report saying the renovation will cost twice what we planned.”
Julia’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
William handed her the report. “The building structure is older than we thought. They need to reinforce the foundation, and that’s going to take more time and more money.”
Julia scanned the document, feeling her stomach turn. “But we already had a set budget.”
“Yes, but unexpected things happen.”
She took a deep breath. “What are we going to do?”
William leaned against the table. “I still have some money saved, but if we cover this extra cost, we’ll have to delay the opening.”
Julia looked at him, uncertain. “What if we make some cuts?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to cut anything we planned. This place needs to be exactly how we imagined it.”
She ran a hand through her hair, trying to think. “Then we’ll delay it.”
William looked up at her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’d rather wait a few more months and do it the right way than rush and compromise everything.”
A small smile appeared on his lips. “That’s one of the things I admire most about you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Your patience. Your determination to do things the right way.”
Julia smiled softly. “I guess I’m finally learning to trust the process.”
He took her hand. “We’re in this together.”
She nodded. And at that moment, she realized that despite the challenges, there were no more doubts. They were building something worth waiting for.
The delay in the opening brought challenges. Some people started doubting the project. Rumors spread through town that the hotel might never be completed. But Julia and William stood firm. They visited the site every day, overseeing every step of the renovation and making sure everything stayed on track. And little by little, the hotel began to take shape. So did the bakery.
Julia started testing recipes, adjusting the menu to create something unique. “This is amazing,” William said after taking a bite of a freshly baked cake.
She smiled. “You say that about everything I make.”
“Because everything you make really is amazing.”
She laughed. “You’re a good customer.”
“And I’ll be the best customer at your café.”
She looked at him warmly. “You know, I never imagined my life would take this direction.”
“Me neither,” he said, taking her hand across the table. “But I’m glad it did.”
Julia’s eyes sparkled. “So am I.”
And for a moment, she felt that every struggle had been worth it.
But life always finds a way to test people. One day, while Julia was arranging the final details of the bakery’s furniture, William got a phone call that left him tense.
“What is it?” Julia asked when she saw him holding his phone, his eyes filled with concern.
He took a deep breath before answering. “My father.”
She frowned. “What does he want?”
William put the phone back in his pocket. “He says he needs to talk to me, that it’s urgent.”
Julia felt a knot in her stomach. “And are you going?”
He hesitated. “I need to know what he wants.”
She nodded slowly. “All right, but just be careful.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “I’m not going back.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “I hope not.”
William kissed her forehead before leaving. But Julia couldn’t shake the feeling that this conversation meant trouble.
Hours later, William returned, his expression even more serious. “What happened?” Julia asked.
He sighed and sat in the chair next to her. “My father wants me to go back to the company.”
Her stomach sank. “What?”
“He said I’m making a mistake investing in this hotel, that it’s crazy to open something so small when I could be running something much bigger.”
Julia took his hand. “And what did you say?”
William closed his eyes for a moment before looking at her. “That I’m not going back.”
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
She smiled, relieved. “Then that’s it?”
William nodded. “I chose this path, Julia. I chose you.”
She felt tears welling in her eyes. “I believe in you.”
He pulled her into a tight embrace. And in that moment, they knew that nothing would make them give up.