It was a Friday night, around 10 o’clock. The bar was full of crowds. It was like people weren't ready to leave yet. The staff was busy serving beverages.

Sherlyn took another order from a customer and came back to the counter, “Another order for scotch.”

The young man behind the counter flashed a warm smile at her, “Are you tired?”

“Huh…” Sherlyn sighed dramatically, “Hell, yeah. My legs are giving up.”

She leaned back on the counter with her elbows on it. Her eyes moved to the dance floor, crowded with young people, swaying their bodies and throwing their hands in the air with the beat of the music.

A smile surfaced on her face to see those happy people.

“Your scotch is ready.” The profound voice of the bartender pulled her out of her trance.

She offered him a charming smile, “Thank you, Damian.”

“My pleasure.” Damian also smiled back at her.

“Hey…”

A crisp female voice from behind caught Sherlyn’s attention. She turned back and saw her colleague and friend Lily smile and wink mischievously at her.

Sherlyn shrugged and took the tray of the scotch.

“Have you noticed that someone is staring at you… since long…” Lily leaned on her and murmured in her ear.

Sherlyn followed her gaze and saw a middle-aged man on the corner table. He was literally staring at her. But he withdrew his gaze as soon as she looked in his direction.

She frowned as she watched him suspiciously. But she shook her head as though she didn’t want to think about that man, “Don’t bother about him.”

She went to the customer who ordered the drink while Lily followed her closely.

“But he is still looking at you,” Lily whispered from behind.

Sherlyn flashed a smile to the customer and served him the drink, “Your drink, sir.”

She totally ignored Lily.

The man seemed happy and tipped her a few bucks.

The smile on Sherlyn’s face grew wide, “Thank you.”

Lily pulled her to the other side, “I am telling you that man is interested in you. Go ask if he needs anything.”

“Are you serious?” Sherlyn wrinkled her nose as she watched her with displeasure.

Lily rubbed her long ponytail, smiling sheepishly, “I know he is a little old for you. But look at him…”

Her eyes went to the man, “He looks wealthy. We know almost all the rich men in this town. But he is new around here."

She nudged her, “He is not at all bad looking. If you can date him, your financial problem will be solved.”

“Lily, the bar is still crowded. We need to attend to the guests.”

Sherlyn turned around and went across to the bar. However, she could not help but look at the man. His eyes were still glued on her. It was so uncomfortable.

Sherlyn’s heart began to pound. An unknown fear leaped into her mind. She wondered what this man wanted from her.

She tried to divert her attention by taking orders from the guests, but she couldn’t get rid of that eerie feeling of being watched. She looked back at the man and found him staring at her like a hungry cheetah.

That’s it…

She couldn’t take it anymore. What was his problem? Sherlyn approached him, clenching the fists. But the man stood up and walked away.

“What the…” Sherlyn went after him, but the man disappeared in the crown.

“Scoundrel…” She muttered and came back to the counter.

“I am done for this evening. I am going home.” She removed the apron and folded it.

“Hey, is everything alright?” Damian sounded a little worried.

“Yeah… But it’s almost 11 now. Mamma had a fever in the morning.” She sighed in dismay.

Damian squeezed her shoulder, “I understand. Go home. I will handle the manager, and let me know if you need anything.”

Sherlyn smiled gratefully upon him. He was not just a colleague, but a friend as well. After waving at him, she went out. However, she was not aware that the two prying eyes were still following her.

The owner of those eyes phoned someone and informed, “It’s a miracle. I am absolutely astonished. The same face, the same height, the same hair color… She is the carbon copy of young madam. If only her eyes are not amber, I would have thought that young lady has come out of the grave.”

The man's eyes were still glued to the cab on which Sherlyn boarded. After hearing something from the other end of the phone, the man said, “I understand. I will call you back soon.”

He disconnected the call and commanded the driver, “Follow the car.”

The driver nodded and drove the car after the cab.

Half an hour later, the cab halted in a worn-out old building and Sherlyn got out of the car. She paid the bill and went into the building.

Her legs hurt a lot because of the high heels. She prayed in her mind that the lift should be running. She had no energy to take the stairs up to the fifth floor. However, her bad luck was really bad.

‘LIFT IS OUT OF ORDER.’

These words were written on a piece of paper in bold letters and affixed to the adjacent wall of the elevator.

“Fuck you…” She cursed with despair. In the morning it was running, and now it was out of order.

“Why doesn't this elevator work all the time?” She yelled and flailed her arms in the air.

Then she looked at the stairs despondently. She muttered something under her breath, removed her heels, and took the stairs.

Huffing and puffing, she finally reached her apartment and opened the door with the key.

“Mamma, I am home.” She called her mother and closed the door.

But little did she know that the man followed her to her house.

…………………..

The sound of colliding plates and the smell of egg toast disrupted Sherlyn's sleep. A smile surfaced on her pretty face gradually.

This smell… She missed her mother’s cooking. But nowadays, her mother was so sick that she couldn’t cook at all.

Sherlyn's smile faded straight away, and she opened her eyes as soon as she realized that her mother was cooking. She got out of the bed and ran to the kitchen.

“Mamma, what are you doing? I told you not to work.” She snatched the spatula from her hand and glared at her.

Maria smiled, “I feel pretty good today. So I thought about making toast for you.”

“Ugh, Mamma…” Sherlyn groaned with frustration. You had a fever the day before, do you remember? If you don’t rest, you will collapse. The doctor told you to rest, right?”

“Sherlyn…”

Ding… Dong…

The doorbell interrupted their conversation. Sherlyn turned off the gas and walked up to the door.

But she gasped and took a couple of steps back involuntarily to see the same man from the bar. Horror was evident in her wide amber eyes. Her hair sprang on her back.

She immediately tried to close the door. However, the strong muscular young man beside the middle-aged man put his hand on the door to prevent it from closing and pushed it back.

Sherlyn staggered and stepped back, “How did you know my address? Did you follow me?”

“Miss Cooke, we are not here to hurt you.” The middle-aged man came in followed by the young man.

Sherlyn's dreadful eyes wandered between the two men.

In the meantime, she heard her mother's voice in the kitchen, “Sherlyn, who has come?”

Sherlyn’s face turned pale to think that these men could hurt her mother.

“What do you want? Why are you here?” Her voice quaked due to fear.

“Miss Cooke, you don't have to be scared. I just want to talk to you for a moment, please....” The middle-aged man tried to sound as gentle as he could.

“Sherlyn, who are they? Do you know them?” Maria came out of the kitchen and approached them with a smile on her face.

A/N: Hello my dear readers. This is another book of mine on this app. I am participating in the ongoing billionaire romance writing contest. I hope you will support me as usual. Thank you to all who are reading this book...

This book is a work of Fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents narrated in this book are imaginary. Any resemblance to someone living or dead, locals or events is entirely coincidental.