Chapter 1 – The Mix-Up
Ella held her moving boxes with a groan. After three hours of trudging up the narrow staircase of her new apartment building, she finally reached Apartment 3B. She unlocked the door—and froze.
"Uh… hi?" a deep voice said from inside.
Ella blinked. The room wasn't empty. A tall man with messy dark hair and piercing eyes stood there, holding a cup of coffee like it was a weapon.
"I… I'm Ella. I'm supposed to live here," she said, her voice trembling slightly.
He raised an eyebrow. "I'm Liam. I… live here." His tone was flat, cautious, and maybe a little annoyed.
Ella felt her stomach twist. "What do you mean you live here? I signed the lease last week!"
He glanced at a stack of papers on the table. "Apparently, your landlord made a mistake. Looks like we're sharing this place… temporarily."
Ella blinked, dumbfounded. "Temporarily?"
Liam shrugged. "Yeah. One week. Maybe two. Until it gets sorted."
She wanted to scream, to storm out, to throw her boxes at him. Instead, she groaned and let her head hit the doorframe. "You've got to be kidding me."
"I'm never kidding about coffee," Liam said with a smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Ella felt a spark of annoyance mixed with something else—something strange she couldn't name. She shoved her boxes inside, careful not to touch his carefully arranged books.
"Don't touch my books," he said sharply, noticing her gaze.
Ella's lips pressed together. "Noted. And don't touch my shoes," she shot back.
They stared at each other for a moment, two stubborn walls of tension in a tiny living room.
Finally, the landlord's voice buzzed in her ear through her phone. "Sorry, Ella. It was an honest mistake. You'll have to stay with him for at least a week. The paperwork is all mixed up, but you'll work it out, I'm sure."
Ella pinched the bridge of her nose. "Great. Just… great."
Liam leaned back in his chair, sipping his coffee. "Looks like we're roommates, then. May the best person win."
Ella rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a tiny laugh. "You're impossible."
"And you're adorable when you're annoyed," he muttered under his breath.
Ella didn't hear him… but readers did.
As she unpacked the first box, she realized one thing: this week was going to be anything but normal.