Billionaire Pretends To Be Homeless To Find True Love, Then This Happened
Chapter 3
Adrian’s experiment was supposed to last thirty days.
By day twenty-one, he no longer cared about the experiment.
He cared about Emily.
He had started looking for excuses to see her.
Sometimes he helped her close the bakery.
Sometimes he walked Noah home from therapy.
Sometimes they simply sat on a park bench and talked.
Emily never asked for anything.
Not once.
That bothered Adrian more than he expected.
One evening, he said:
“If you could have anything, what would it be?”
Emily smiled.
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
She thought.
“A house.”
“That’s it?”
“A safe house.”
Adrian frowned.
“For Noah.”
Emily looked down.
“He deserves a place where he can be comfortable.”
“Where would you want it?”
“Somewhere quiet.”
“How much?”
She laughed.
“I have no idea.”
“Guess.”
“Maybe four hundred thousand.”
Adrian nearly laughed.
Four hundred thousand dollars was less than the cost of his garage.
But Emily wasn’t dreaming about luxury.
She was dreaming about security.
“I’d also open the café,” she said.
“What kind?”
“Simple.”
“How simple?”
“Good coffee. Cheap food. Books. A place where people can sit for hours without being told to leave.”
Adrian smiled.
“You’d lose money.”
“Probably.”
“Then why do it?”
“Because not everything has to make money.”
That sentence stayed with him.
He had spent his entire life believing otherwise.
Two days later, Adrian’s temporary job disappeared.
The restaurant owner told him they were cutting staff.
Adrian suddenly found himself without income.
He had enough cash hidden away to survive, but using it would violate the experiment.
Emily noticed he was worried.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You lost your job.”
“How did you know?”
“You’ve been staring at the same coffee for twenty minutes.”
He smiled.
“I’m fine.”
Emily reached into her purse.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“What’s that?”
“My rent money.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“I can help.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“It’s not charity.”
“Then what is it?”
“A loan.”
He stared at her.
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough.”
He refused.
Emily put the envelope back.
“Fine.”
Then she said something that surprised him.
“You’re allowed to accept help.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because needing help doesn’t make you worthless.”
He remembered his father.
His father had once told him:
“Never let anyone see weakness.”
Emily was telling him the opposite.
For the first time, Adrian understood how lonely his wealth had made him.
The next morning, he received a call from Marcus.
“How long are you planning to keep doing this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your board meeting is next week.”
“Cancel it.”
“Adrian.”
“I said cancel it.”
“You can’t disappear indefinitely.”
“I know.”
Marcus sighed.
“Are you in love with her?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Marcus laughed.
“That’s a yes.”
Adrian ended the call.
That evening, he met Emily at the park.
She was sitting on a bench.
He sat beside her.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“If someone lied to you about who they were, would you forgive them?”
Emily looked at him.
“It depends.”
“On what?”
“Why they lied.”
“What if they were afraid?”
“Afraid of what?”
“Being loved for the wrong reason.”
Emily was silent.
Then she said:
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“If someone is afraid because they don’t trust people, I can understand.”
“But?”
“But if they lie to manipulate me, that’s unforgivable.”
Adrian swallowed.
He wanted to tell her.
But fear stopped him.
Emily looked at him.
“Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“You can tell me anything.”
He almost did.
Then his phone rang.
It was Marcus.
The Blackwell Holdings board was in crisis.
Someone had leaked confidential information.
Adrian had to return.
Immediately.
He stood.
“I have to go.”
Emily looked confused.
“Where?”
“Something came up.”
“Is everything okay?”
Adrian nodded.
But it wasn’t.
Someone was trying to take control of his company.
And Adrian was about to discover that his decision to disappear had created a much bigger problem than he expected.
