Chapter 7: The First Crack
Marcus made his idle mistake without realizing it.
It happened on an ordinary afternoon. Rosalyn was at the café, wiping the counter, when Marcus walked in earlier than usual. His demeanour stiff. His eyes darted around the room before settling on her.
"Who was that man you were talking to?" he asked once she came over. eyes glinting jealousy.
"A customer," Rosalyn said. "He asked about the menu."
Marcus leaned closer. "You were smiling and laughing at him ."
She met his gaze. "I work here."
He was not pleased with the answer.
Later that evening, at his house, Marcus poured them wine but didn't sit down. He stood near the window, arms crossed.his back was tense.
"I don't like the way men look at you," he said. "It's disrespectful.
Rosalyn stayed calm. "I can't control that it's part of my job ."
"You could have ," he replied. "You could have stop encouraging it."
Something in his voice shifted. Not loud. Not angry. Just certain.
Rosalyn looked at him carefully. "Are you saying this is my fault?"
Marcus hesitated, then sighed. "I'm saying I care."
That was the crack.
That night, while Marcus slept, Rosalyn picked up his phone from the bedside table. She didn't rush. She had learned his passcode weeks ago, the day he trusted her enough to complain about work.
Messages. Emails. Names she recognized from his stories. Complaints from tenants. Quiet threats hidden behind polite words.
Proof.
The next day, Rosalyn returned to the café alone. As she stepped inside, she felt a strange awareness, like being watched. She looked up—and froze.
Sebastian Vale stood near the counter.
He looked the same. Calm. Controlled. His sharp eyes met hers, and for a moment, everything else disappeared.
"Coffee," he said simply. his voice was distant
Rosalyn's hands stayed steady as she took his order. "Anything else?"
He studied her, as if he already knew the answer. "No," he said. "I think that's enough."
When he left, the space he had stood in felt colder.
Rosalyn realized then that Marcus was no longer the most dangerous man in her life.
And for the first time since this began,
she felt something she hadn't planned for.