Chapter 140: Someone With Power
"What is he doing here?" Aurora whispered, leaning closer to Daisy as they stood behind the counter, both pretending to busy themselves with receipts. Her eyes darted toward Theo, who was casually strolling around the shop, pausing here and there to look at the displays, a smile tugging at his lips like he belonged.
"He insisted on waiting for me..." Daisy whispered back, her voice low but tinged with irritation. She pressed her fingers to the till as if it could steady her. "I couldn’t kick him out. Did you see his face? Pitiful. And pitiful plus handsome is a lethal combination... it’s impossible to actually kick his ass."
Aurora snorted, muffling it behind her hand. "Please, don’t tell me you’re falling for the ’sad puppy with cheekbones’ routine. You remember how you cried every night because of him, right?"
Daisy shot her a sharp look, though her lips twitched. "Shut up. Just... don’t make it obvious you’re watching him."
"Too late," Aurora muttered, eyes flicking back to Theo, who just as if he’d heard them, turned his head and caught Daisy’s gaze. His smile widened, and he lifted a hand and waved, smiling in that way that was equal parts charming and pitiful.
Daisy’s heart skipped. She clicked her tongue and immediately ducked behind the counter, muttering, "God, how can I work if he’s like this..."
"Just go home. I don’t think you can actually function with him here," Aurora said, rolling her eyes.
"Which home? You know I don’t want to go back with him..." Daisy whispered, peeking through the side of the register only to realize Theo was now walking directly toward them.
Aurora smirked, leaning close enough for her words to sting. "You don’t want to go back with him, but you still let him follow you around, still let him hope. Stop lying to yourself, Daisy."
Daisy stiffened, caught between snapping back at her best friend and bracing herself for Theo’s arrival.
"I heard from your brother that most of the souvenirs here are handmade?" Theo asked, his smile polite, but his eyes lingering just a little too long on Daisy before shifting toward Aurora, as if expecting her to confirm it.
"Err... the beaded keychains, that’s mine..." Aurora replied, scratching her cheek. Then she dropped the truth like a stone, "Everything else? All handmade by Daisy."
Theo’s gaze snapped back to Daisy, the polite smile faltering into something rawer, maybe even surprising. His lips parted, but no words came. Daisy, flustered under the weight of his stare, quickly busied herself with rearranging a stack of postcards that didn’t need rearranging.
"I knew it," Theo said suddenly, his voice softer, almost too certain. "The moment I saw the handwriting, I knew it was yours."
Daisy’s head lifted, brows pulling together. "Have you ever even seen my handwriting?"
Theo froze for a fraction of a second, barely noticeable, but enough. He quickly forced a smile and scratched his temple. "I guess... I must’ve seen it somewhere? You know, you had scribbled something on a paper before..."
Her eyes narrowed. "I did? I didn’t remember..."
Theo let out a short, shaky laugh, waving it off as if it were nothing. "I don’t know... maybe it wasn’t yours. I just... saw a few papers with beautiful handwriting inside the dressing room once. I thought it might’ve been you." His hands slipped into his pockets, masking the stiffness in his shoulders.
"Not mine." Daisy’s reply was immediate, her tone cutting through his excuse. She turned her face away as if dismissing it altogether. "Whatever. Even if you had seen my handwriting, it doesn’t change anything."
Her steps closed the space between them, and she pressed her palms against his chest, pushing lightly but firmly toward the door. "Now, can you please leave? You’re disturbing our business."
Theo didn’t budge. His chest was warm under her palms, steady like an anchor.
"But I still have something to ask..." he murmured, his tone low but insistent.
Daisy froze, her lips pressing into a small pout. "What is it?"
"Who is Adrian Cole?"
The silence that followed wasn’t what Theo expected. Daisy blinked, genuinely confused, while Aurora, standing a few feet away, tilted her head like she’d misheard.
"Is this the same man you were asking me about last night?" Daisy frowned, irritation rising in her chest. "What is with you and this name? Honestly, who the hell is him?"
"Adrian Cole? Who is that?" Aurora asked spontaneously, her brows knitting together.
Theo’s eyes darted between them, his expression darkening with each second of their confusion. He had been expecting recognition, maybe even guilt, not blank stares. His jaw flexed.
"Both of you really don’t know?" he asked again, softer this time, though a sharp edge laced his words. "Then this shop... who owns it? You or Daisy?" His gaze shifted to Aurora.
Aurora froze. The question hit too close. Suddenly, she understood why Theo kept circling back to that name—Adrian Cole. But the truth was, she had no clear answer. The paperwork, the rent, the licenses, someone else had arranged them, someone who had insisted on helping while keeping their name hidden. Someone who help with their wishes to be invisible.
Her silence was enough for Theo. His eyes narrowed, suspicion hardening into certainty.
"So..." his voice dropped, almost a whisper, "you’re the one who’s been handling the procedures." He leaned in slightly toward Aurora, his shadow spilling across the counter. "Then tell me... who is behind you?"
He smiled, but it wasn’t the charming smile Daisy had once fallen for. It was sharper, edged with something unsettling. "Because it was hard... really hard to find both of you."
Aurora forced a laugh, the sound brittle. "I really don’t understand what you mean. All I did was register my business under my friend’s name because Daisy didn’t want to meet you..."
Theo’s eyes narrowed, searching her expression like he could tear the truth from her skin.
"So... you do know this Adrian Cole?"
Aurora’s lips parted, then pressed shut again. Her throat bobbed in a quick swallow, betraying her nerves. "Yes..." she blurted, short and shaky.
"Liar." Theo’s voice cut like glass. He leaned closer, eyes boring into hers. "You’re bad at lying."
Aurora flinched under the weight of his stare, but before he could push further, Daisy grabbed his arm and yanked him back.
"Enough! Why are you pushing her like this?" Daisy snapped, spinning him around to face her. "I don’t understand why you’re so mad about this shop being under someone else’s name!"
Theo’s jaw clenched, and for a moment he looked like he might explode. Instead, his voice dropped low, rough with frustration.
"It’s because..." His hand raked through his hair, his composure slipping. "I’ve been flipping the whole city upside down trying to find you. Like a madman, day and night. And the entire time, you were right here, close enough to touch, yet hidden behind someone else’s name."
He let out a shaky laugh, one without humor, his chest rising and falling unevenly.
"Do you know how that feels? To look everywhere, to lose sleep, to question yourself, only to realize it took me months... months... to find what was never that far away?"
Daisy froze, her grip still on his sleeve. His words hit deeper than she wanted to admit, a crack forming in the wall she’d built against him.
"Not our fault..." she muttered slowly, almost under her breath.
"Yes," Theo said instantly, eyes burning into hers. "It’s not your fault. It was the fault of the one hiding you from me..." His voice dropped, low and dangerous, each word heavy. "And I will find him. No matter what."
Aurora’s stomach twisted, her throat tightening as she glanced at Daisy. She had the sinking feeling Theo wasn’t bluffing, he would tear apart every corner of the city if he had to.