"You're the only one I trust to do this."
My breath catches.
Craig Clifford trusts me?
I don't say anything. I can't. My brain is buffering like a broken Wi-Fi signal.
He adds quietly, "Please. This one last time."
It hits me harder than it should.
A cold man asking for help is louder than a warm man giving his heart.
I gesture weakly. "Fine. Sit properly. At least pretend like you want to cooperate."
He shifts in his seat. That's it. That's his version of trying.
Then he watches me with those sharp, emotionless eyes as if waiting for me to bring his entire life together.
I sigh, open my laptop, and whisper to myself,
"Retirement is a myth."
---
THE OLD PATTERN - BUT WORSE
I start with the basics, even though I already know the answers.
"Full name?"
"Craig Clifford."
"Age?"
"Thirty."
"Preferences?"
"None."
I give him a look. "Craig, be serious."
"I am."
I glare harder. "Likes? Dislikes?"
"None."
"Craig."
He finally blinks. Once. Slowly. "I don't know what I like."
I stare at him. "You're Thirty."
"Yes."
"And you don't know what you like."
He nods. "Correct."
This man is going to put me in an early grave.
I keep trying-digging into conversation topics, personality questions, hypothetical scenarios. And as always, he answers minimally, concisely, without revealing a single drop of humanity.
It's like interviewing a locked door.
A handsome, perfectly sculpted, unfairly attractive locked door...
but a door nonetheless.
And all the while, he keeps watching me-calm, steady, unreadable.
Like he's observing, analyzing, waiting for something to make sense.
---
THE END OF PART TWO
By the time I finally close the laptop, the sun has lowered and my patience has evaporated.
"You really chose today-my retirement day-to come back with this request."
He stands, adjusting his sleeves. "It was the only day you wouldn't ignore me."
I shake my head. "You're impossible."
He looks at me for a moment-longer than usual-and says quietly:
"And yet, you always helped me."
A strange silence settles between us.
One that feels... different.
He leaves without another word.
But the weight he leaves behind stays piled on my desk with the unfinished retirement forms.
I stare at the papers... at the signed line...
at my future.
And whisper,
"What am I getting myself into?"
---
Sweet Author's Note ✨
Thank you so much for reading Part One and Two!
Our cold, unreadable Craig has finally stepped back into Evonna's life at the worst possible moment, but maybe... it's exactly the moment they both needed.
🌙 Chapter 2 will dive deeper into Craig's strange new behavior, Evonna's confusion, and the first cracks appearing in the ice he's wrapped himself in.
If you enjoyed this chapter, drop a comment, a heart, or a save-it keeps the story warm while Craig refuses to be.
Let's continue this slow-burn chaos together. 💛
YOU ARE READING
When Fate Steps In
Romance"She's a matchmaker. He's her impossible client. But when she becomes the only person he'll talk to... things get complicated." ---------------- Evona Charmante has spent ten years mending hearts that were never her own...
CHAPTER 1 - PART 1 & 2
Start from the beginning
