Calvin rushed to the fitting room as soon as they heard the crashing sound from the inside.
He didn’t know what he’d find.
Was his boss injured?
Was there an attack?
He slid the curtain open and found his boss seated on the floor, the mirror behind him shattered, and the veiled seamstress trembling in the corner.
“Miss Larson, Mr.
Moretti, are you okay?” George asked.
Sarah looked at her employer and, with a trembling voice, she said, “I’m sorry.
It was my fault.
I lost my footing.”
Adrian stood up from the floor and shrugged the small shards from his clothes before he held out a hand to help Sarah up.
Sarah hesitated, but accepted his help after noticing everyone’s eyes were on her.
She allowed him to pull her up.
His hand was warm and strong.
He pulled her up like she weighed nothing.
For one breath, his warmth pressed against her.
Then he let go, and the cold rushed back in.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
Calvin couldn’t see her face, but Adrian could.
Her long black hair was peeking through her veil, her eyes downcast.
She had been careful.
So careful.
She had changed her name, her hair, her face, and her habits.
And he had still found her.
It never occurred to her that fate would drag the husband she left right back to her.
“It’s not your fault.
It was an accident,” Adrian replied.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Adrian was still looking at her.
He hadn’t stopped looking at her since she fell.
He didn’t know why, or what he was looking for.
Sarah held her left arm.
“It’s just a scratch.
Nothing to worry about.”
George looked between them and lowered his head in apology.
“We’re sorry that something like this happened during your visit, Mr.
Moretti.
We’ll see to it that something like this won’t happen next time.”
Costa Verde was the Moretti family’s territory.
George had heard that the current Don of the Morettis was nothing like his predecessors.
He wasn’t violent like them, but he ruled with an iron fist.
He was capable, but unpredictable.
He didn’t want trouble.
Not with the Morettis.
Not with anyone who could take everything he’d built.
He had seen what happened to other businesses that crossed the wrong family.
He wouldn’t let that happen to his.
Adrian waved a hand.
“It’s nothing.
Don’t worry about it,” he said before stepping out of the fitting room.
George and Calvin stepped back and made way for him.
“I expect there won’t be a delay.
You only have a month to finish it.
Let Calvin know when the suit is ready for another fitting.”
He paused at the door.
For a moment, he considered turning back and asking her something or anything.
He didn’t.
Calvin followed him.
Outside, the car pulled away into the rain.
Sarah stood still until she was sure they were gone.
Once the door shut, George heaved a sigh.
He walked to the door and locked it.
He found Sarah already picking up a broom and dustpan to clean up the mirror shards in the fitting room.
“Is it because of your eyes?” he asked.
Sarah shook her head.
“No, sir.
I lost my balance on the step.
Mr.
Moretti pulled me but used too much force.”
George nodded and didn’t press.
He already knew about her eyes and had been kind about it.
Kinder than she deserved.
But Adrian didn’t know.
And if he had noticed anything—if he had seen her struggling to read and see—it could ruin everything.
“I’m glad both of you were unharmed.
Are you sure the wound on your arm isn’t serious?”
“Yes, nothing to worry about, Sir George.”
Sarah stopped and lifted her sleeve, showing her employer the light scratch on her arm.
“Please deduct the mirror from my salary if you must.
I didn’t mean to make such a commotion, especially before our VIP client.”
“No, there’s no need for that, Miss Larson.
Had I known an accident like this would happen, I would have called a repairman earlier.” He sighed.
“It shouldn’t cost us a thousand to repair it.”
George checked the other mirrors to be sure, while Sarah put the broken mirror shards in a garbage bag, sealed it in a box, and labeled it ‘broken mirror’ for disposal.
Her hands were still shaking.
She continued sweeping anyway.
Corner to corner.
“I’ll finish cleaning the shop, sir.
You may go home first.
I’ll lock the shop for tonight,” she suggested to the old man, who was clearly exhausted from the long day they had.
“Thank you, Miss Larson.
I’ll leave everything to you then.”
George left.
Sarah locked the door and lowered the blinds.
She then finished cleaning up, making sure there were no shards left on the floor.
She didn’t want her children to step on them accidentally.
She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of her.
Once she finished cleaning, Sarah sat in her chair and placed both hands on her face.
She allowed herself to think.
She’d done her best not to break down before Adrian earlier.
She wondered if he’d recognized her.
‘He found me.
Out of all the places in this city, he walked into this shop and found me.’
Seven years apart, and it had come to this.
She half-expected him to say her name, but he didn’t.
She had spent seven years hoping he wouldn’t.
Seven years praying he would never find her.
But when he looked at her and saw nothing but a stranger, something inside her broke.
The scar ruined half of her face.
Her hair was black now, not the brown he’d known.
Her eyes were also different.
To him, she was nothing but a scarred woman working in a garment shop.
To him, she was dead.
That was what she had wanted.
That was what she had paid for.
She just hadn’t expected the price to feel so heavy.
Sarah knew it was for the best that he didn’t recognize her.
But why did it hurt so much to see that he didn’t care?
Why did it hurt when she didn’t see his wedding ring on his hand earlier?
But what right did she have to complain when she was the one who chose to leave in the first place?
She had no right to look or care.
But she had looked and cared.
And the absence of that ring had made her heart ache in a way she couldn’t explain.
Tears spilled from her eyes as she allowed herself to cry.
The person who could help her regain her sight was the same person she left seven years ago.
If Adrian knew, would he find her despicable and hateful?
He didn’t recognize her tonight, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen the next time their paths crossed.
They would meet again.
She had agreed to make his suit.
More fittings would follow—more chances to stand close enough to see and touch him.
Sarah didn’t know if she could survive it.
Her first thought was to run.
It was what she’d always done when she thought someone was close to discovering who she was.
She was always running, always hiding.
For the past seven years, she had done nothing but run.
But running now would mean causing trouble for Sir George, who gave her and her twins a place to live.
It would raise Adrian’s suspicion.
Running would only complicate things.
A woman with nothing to hide would finish the job and take the money.
So she wouldn’t run.
She’d do the harder thing.
Stay, finish the suit, and be exactly the seamstress he had paid for.
Make sure that he would never lay eyes on her children.
And she would pray every night that he never looked too closely.
Sarah pulled a phone from her pocket.
It was a five-year-old phone, but it still worked.
The wallpaper showed Alec and Abby.
She found a familiar name on her contacts and hit the dial button.
It rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
She almost hung up.
What was she supposed to say?
What could anyone do?
Then the line clicked.
“Hello?”
“Cassie.
It’s me.
I think he found me.”
A shuffle, then a thud, came down the line.
“Send me your current location.
I’ll go there as soon as I can!”