During the past few weeks, whenever Florence had been receiving those daily surprises and anonymous love notes, she was always filled with a bubbling excitement for the coming day. That anticipation was the exact reason she used to leave home early and reach the bakery well before opening time. But over the last three or four days, since no gifts or notes were left at the door, she had begun to think that her secret admirer was no longer interested in her. It wasn't that she was addicted to material presents, but she had developed a deep emotional connection to them. She loved the romance behind them—the way each gift was wrapped with care and the sweet, affectionate messages written inside the notes.
However, since everything had suddenly stopped, Florence decided to return to her normal routine. She vowed to stop waiting for those gifts and feeling sad every morning. Today, she decided to travel to the bakery with Scarlett instead of going early by herself.
Early in the morning, Florence dialed Scarlett's number.
"Hi Scarlett, good morning," Florence said softly into the phone. "And sorry for calling you so early."
Scarlett chuckled playfully on the other end. "No worries, Florence! Are you excited to tell me that your secret admirer has started sending you gifts again along with those notes?"
Florence let out a sad, quiet sigh. "Scarlett, it's not like that. I'm not waiting for his gifts anymore, nor am I waiting for the person who used to send me those gifts and notes earlier."
Scarlett's teasing tone instantly softened into genuine concern. "Florence... are you okay?"
"I am completely fine," Florence replied, trying to sound cheerful. "I just called to inform you that from today, we will go together to the bakery."
"No problem, we will go together!" Scarlett agreed warmly. "Let me get ready, and then I will come to your floor to take you with me in my car."
After the call ended, Florence sat on the edge of her bed as tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't deny it to herself anymore—she had built a real emotional connection with that mysterious guy. She wanted to meet him and talk to him so badly, but she was controlling herself. She kept telling herself that it might just be one-sided, and she couldn't just assume things without knowing who the person really was.
Soon after an hour, Scarlett came to Florence's flat. "Come on, Florence! The driver is waiting in the car for us in the basement," Scarlett said.
"Yeah, I am ready, let's go," Florence said, grabbing her bag.
They walked down to the basement, entered the middle seat of the car, and left for their bakery shop.
Meanwhile, Victor had been waiting inside his parked car since early morning near the market. When he noticed that Florence didn't show up early like she usually did, a heavy sense of disappointment washed over him.
Sitting behind the wheel, Victor started overthinking every detail. Has Florence stopped thinking about me? Does she have no feelings for me now?
He started getting angry at himself for pulling such a foolish stunt. He had only stopped sending the gifts out of curiosity, wanting to see if she would get obsessed with him, if she would get sad when he stopped sending presents, or if she would handle his gifts with that love in her eyes. But now, seeing that she hadn't come early, he felt like his entire idea had completely failed.
Frustrated, he decided to move his car closer to her bakery shop, wait for her friend Scarlett, and ask her about Florence. But just as he held the car handle to move the vehicle, he saw a white car coming from the front near Florett Bakery. He was very familiar with that car.
Victor got excited, realizing Florence was there!
Soon, Florence and Scarlett stepped out of the car and entered the bakery shop. But today, Florence was acting completely different. She was not searching or waiting for any gifts like other days. She simply opened the bakery and soon got engaged in doing her bakery work.
Seeing this, Victor got upset and blamed himself bitterly. I did wrong. This is totally the opposite of what I wanted.
Suddenly, Victor got a call from his father. He avoided the call at first, letting it ring out. But his father called him again, so Victor finally picked up.
"Hi Dad. Yeah, tell me, what do you want from me now?"
"You will never change!" his father scolded sharply over the line. "Look at your tone. You are similar to your mother."
"I know, as I am her son," Victor replied coldly.
"Stop arguing!" his father said. "Tell me why you are not visiting the office for the last few days? I got a call from the office. Just because I am out of the country for one or two years doesn't mean you can slack off. You are the one who has to look after things for me."
Victor asked in an angry tone, "Why are you always forcing me to do things of your wish?"
His father laughingly said, "Because you can't do anything on your own! And do not show me this attitude, as whatever luxuries you are enjoying today are because of me. First do something on your own, and then you can question me."
Listening to this, Victor made angry expressions and remained completely silent.
His father then ordered him to visit the office today, as many deals were pending with new clients because of him. Since his father owned a jewelry shop—which was the biggest jewelry shop in the entire city—these meetings were very important.
"Ok fine, I will go there today to complete all the tasks ordered by you," Victor said in a rude tone, and then disconnected the call.
Angrily, Victor turned his car in the direction of his father's shop and speeded down the road. He went there, held a meeting with all the clients, and finished the pending work. Afterward, he went straight to a bar to have some wine, as he was super angry and annoyed by his dad. He wanted to calm himself down by drinking.
In a moment of pure rage, Victor threw a glass against the wall. It broke down into sharp pieces, and he got a deep cut on his palm. He continued to drink heavily, as drinking a lot was Victor's usual habit whenever he was upset.
One of Victor's friends was also at the bar. Seeing Victor hurt himself, his friend rushed toward him, grabbed a cloth, and applied first aid to his bleeding hand.
"Control yourself, Victor!" his friend said sternly. "What the hell are you doing at a public place?"
On the other hand, Florence and Scarlett were doing their usual job at their bakery. They were happily feeding everyone, kindly asking people for their feedback, and providing very warm hospitality. On one hand, Florence was extremely kind and sweet, while on the other hand, Victor was very rude and angry in nature.
Florence and Scarlett were very happy with today's earnings. Since they were getting positive feedback from almost everyone, they had total trust that they were doing good work.
Suddenly, Scarlett noticed that a few essential baking items were out of stock. They needed to buy them today, as it would be a major problem for tomorrow's baking.
Scarlett said to Florence, "We have a few items near about to end, and we need to buy them now. If it gets late, it will be a problem for tomorrow because no shops will be open in the early morning."
Florence replied, "As today is Sunday, we are expecting more customers in the evening, so we can't just close the bakery and go to buy the stocks in the middle of the day."
Scarlett said, "Then you stay here, and I am going to take all the materials with the driver uncle. I will make an order at the wholesale shop for our stocks, and then he will load it in the pickup vehicle and send it to our bakery address. I will try to come as fast as I can, but since the wholesale shop is a little bit far away, I need to go now."
Florence said, "Ok Scarlett, you go there, and I will handle everything here."
Scarlett went to get the supplies, and Florence managed the shop properly on her own. As time passed, evening arrived. Florence received a phone call from Scarlett.
"It's too rushed here at the wholesale shop, Florence," Scarlett explained over the line. "It will take more time."
Florence said gently, "It's okay Scarlett, you can go home directly after making the orders. Take care of yourself, and I will manage here. I will go home after closing the bakery."
After selling all the pastries, it was time to close the shop. It was around nine o'clock at night, and their home was far away from the commercial area. Florence was completely alone today.
Looking outside, Florence noticed the weather was getting worse. The clouds were turning pitch black, and she got scared that it might rain heavily. If it rained, she would be stuck there, as the car driver would also take some time to come pick her up.
Suddenly, as she was thinking all this, she heard a loud voice of thunder booming through the sky. Florence was very scared of thunder and loud noises. She thought that before the rain started, she should call her driver to come pick her up while she waited outside below the front shield of the shop.
She quickly locked her shop, pulled the iron shutter down, and locked it. But as she turned around and looked toward the opposite side of the road, she froze.
A man was standing there near a black car. He was wearing a formal shirt and trousers, with the top two buttons of his shirt opened.
Suddenly, rain started pouring down heavily. Florence was not able to see his face properly, but the thunder lightning was passing as a bright reflection across his features. The man was standing with his back supported against the black car, his legs crossed, and both of his hands resting in his trouser pockets.
Florence got terrified. Her mind raced as she thought, Is he a thief or a murderer? God please help me, I don't want to get murdered, I am only sixteen!
As she was thinking all this in terror, the man started coming over to her side, carrying an opened umbrella. It was Victor.
Florence closed her eyes tightly and started loudly chanting god mantras to save herself. In the very next step, he was standing close to her, sharing his umbrella with her. They were both getting partially wet with rainwater, and water droplets were falling throughout their bodies. Standing close together, their height difference was very noticeable—Florence's head only came up till his chest.
Terrified, Florence started babbling frantically without opening her eyes, "Don't kill me please! I only run a bakery shop! I have not done anything wrong to you!"
Victor gently put the first finger of his right hand on her lips, hushing her softly. "Shhhhh... I am not here to harm you, my princess. Why do you always get scared with me? Am I a man with horns, or am I a vampire that you get scared?"
When he said this, Florence cutely looked up at him, moving her head up in the air to meet his eyes because of their height difference. Victor found her expression so adorable that he laughed softly, gently pulled her cheek, and said, "Don't worry my princess, I am here to save you."
Florence pulled back slightly and said in an ignoring, stubborn tone, "No need! I will go by myself. I am calling my driver and he will pick me up."
She pulled her phone out from the pocket of her hot shorts and tried to turn it on, but the battery was dead. She tried again and again to turn on her phone, but it didn't turn on. Her whole focus was completely fixed on her phone.
Suddenly, there was a deafening sound of thunder!
Florence got so frightened that her phone dropped right off her hands onto the ground. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Victor, hugging him so tightly that both of them were able to hear each other's rapid heartbeats.
Victor let go of the umbrella, letting it fall into the rain, and hugged her back tightly.
Florence whispered against his chest, trembling, "I am very scared of loud voices..."
Victor stroked her head gently and said, "Don't worry my princess, I am here."
Gradually, she slowly loosened her tight grip and pressed her palms gently against Victor's stomach, saying, "I am good, don't worry."
As she turned around to step back, a lock of her wet hair got tangled in Victor's shirt buttons. Florence winced, making a soft pain sound, "Ahh! It's hurting!"
Victor said softly, "Wait, wait, wait, don't move! Your hair got tangled in my shirt's button."
Victor calmly untangled her hair with all the love and gentleness. Florence was getting extremely nervous as this was one of her first intimate, romantic moments, and her heart rate was increasing rapidly.
Once her hair was free, Victor picked up Florence's phone, which she had dropped a few seconds before. He said jokingly, "Why do you always drop your phone when you are with me?"
She looked into his eyes and said, "So I was not wrong... it's you."
Florence looked at him and asked softly, "So... you were the one who was sending me all those gifts and notes?"
Victor replied, "Yes, it was me."
Florence asked, "So why did you stop sending me gifts?"
Victor smiled teasingly. "What, were you waiting for my gifts?"
Florence's cheeks turned bright red. With a fumbling voice, she protested, "No! I just asked! I was not waiting for any gift!" She turned around, folding her hands over her chest with a fake angry face.
Victor came closer to her from behind, looking down at her, and said, "So you were not waiting for further gifts or messages when I stopped sending them? And were you not sad at that time?"
Florence stubbornly said, "No, I was not sad at all!"
Victor forcefully pulled her around to his side in a way that her wet hair waved across his face. Holding her arm firmly, he looked into her eyes and asked, "So you didn't realize any connection? Didn't you feel anything for me? And have you not stored all those gifts properly?"
Florence angrily snatched her hand away from his arm and shouted at him with tears brimming in her eyes, "Who are you to ask me this?! I don't even know you! I haven't seen your face properly because you always come in the dark! You don't want to reveal your identity, and I think you were just playing with my emotions!"
Victor asked softly, "Emotions? But you said you didn't have any emotions with me and my things."
Florence shouted loudly, tears finally spilling down her face, "I HAD emotional connections! Even now, I have preserved all those gifts and notes in a safe place in my room! I read all those notes daily! I was falling for a person whom I never saw and never spoke to! I started liking you without even knowing who you really are!"
Listening to all this raw emotion, Victor pulled Florence close to his body, and they shared a hot, intense lip kiss that lasted for a whole minute. At first, Florence tried to resist, but later she surrendered and involved herself completely in the intense kiss.
After the kiss ended, Florence lowered her head in extreme shyness. Victor gently lifted her head up by her chin and said softly, "I want you to know me. I don't want to hide my identity, but I never wanted to make you sad. Trust me."
Florence just nodded her head gently.
Victor wiped Florence's tears with his thumbs and said, "Let's meet at some place where there will be peace, and only you and me. I will tell you everything about myself, and I will know your story too. Then you can take your time and tell me if you want to be with me or not."
Suddenly, Florence noticed the thick bandage wrapped around Victor's hand and asked about it with concern.
He replied casually, "I got hit by my room's door. It's just a small cut, don't worry."
Then Victor held Florence's hand and said, "Ok, let me drop my princess to her home or you will get sick. Let's go."
Florence smiled softly and said, "Ok."
When she moved her legs to walk, her sandal got stuck in the thick mud around the curb, and the strap broke!
Florence gasped, "Oh no, I broke my sandal!"
Victor immediately sat down in the mud and unbuckled both of her sandals while Florence stood there, holding onto his broad shoulders for support.
He unbuckled both sandals, handed them to her, and said, "Hold these sandals in your hand and let's go."
Florence looked at the muddy road in disbelief. "What, walk barefoot in this mud? Your car is on the opposite side of the road!"
Victor smirked and said, "I have an idea."
Florence asked, "What idea?"
In a second, Victor grabbed her waist and carried her like a baby in his arms, with one hand supporting her back and shoulder area and the other placed behind her thighs.
Florence got too shy, her face turning deep pink, and she wrapped her arms tightly around Victor's neck.
Victor teased her softly, "What happened, are you shy?"
Florence said in a low, muffled voice against his shoulder, "No... let's go fast, it's raining!"
They went across the rain to his car, and Victor slowly asked Florence to open the car door with her hand. She opened it, and he gently placed her onto the front passenger seat.
As he leaned in close over her, his face came right near her lips. Florence got extremely nervous, thinking he was leaning in for another kiss.
Instead, Victor slowly pulled the car seatbelt across her lap and tied her in properly. He looked up with a grin and said, "It's for your safety, my little girl."
Then he closed her door and walked around to his side. During that time, Florence slapped her forehead with her palm, muttering to herself in embarrassment, Stupid! He was just tying the seatbelt and you were thinking something else!
Victor sat down in the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove off through the rain toward Florence's home.
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Thanks for reading!!