Chapter 3
Izzy’s stomach twisted with anxiety as she sat in the back of the taxi. She had been staring at Seth Santiago’s message for so long that she could probably recite every word from memory.
“Are we almost there?”
She asked the driver, trying not to sound impatient. She winced when he sighed.
She couldn't blame him. She had asked the same question less than two minutes ago.
“Five more minutes, ma’am. Traffic is terrible, so it’s taking longer than usual. You must be going somewhere important.”
Izzy glanced at him sharply.
Her nerves were already stretched thin, and the driver's curiosity wasn't helping.
“You’re not much of a gossip, are you?”
The driver chuckled awkwardly.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. You just look like you’re about to meet someone important. Just be careful, though. The world isn’t as safe as it used to be.”
His tone became more serious.
Izzy gave him a faint, bitter smile before looking out the window.
“Do you still have your mother?”
The question caught him off guard.
“Yes. She’s getting older, but she’s still doing well. She gets sick sometimes, but that’s part of getting older, I suppose. Why?”
Izzy smiled sadly as her eyes filled with tears. She quickly turned toward the window so he wouldn't notice.
“You’re lucky.”
She swallowed.
“Can I ask you something? How far would you go for your mother?”
The driver didn't hesitate.
“I’d do anything. You only get one mother. After everything she sacrificed for me, I’d give her anything she needed.”
Izzy nodded slowly.
“You’re right. I feel the same way. I’d do anything for my mother.”
She took a shaky breath.
“If you’re wondering why I’m going there, it’s because I’m trying to save her life.”
The words barely left her mouth before she spotted the man she had come to see.
Seth Santiago stepped out of a large, imposing building across the street.
He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, looking as though he had just walked out of a boardroom. Everything about him screamed wealth, power, and confidence.
Izzy looked down at herself.
She was still wearing her black coffee shop uniform. There were visible coffee stains on the fabric, along with a few marks she didn't even want to identify.
Standing beside someone like Seth, she looked completely out of place.
“Ma’am, we’re here.”
The driver's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
Izzy swallowed hard, paid the fare, and sat there for another few seconds, gathering enough courage to leave the taxi.
When she finally stepped out, she immediately tried to fix herself.
She ran her fingers through her messy hair and straightened her uniform, though she knew it wouldn't make much difference.
No matter what she did, she would still look like a poor girl standing beside a man who belonged to an entirely different world.
“Isabel Vergara. It’s nice to see you again.”
Izzy nearly jumped out of her skin.
She spun around and found Seth standing behind her.
“S-Seth Santiago. Good evening.”
Her voice came out embarrassingly weak, especially when she saw that he wasn't smiling, his expression remaining completely unreadable.
“I’m sorry for contacting you so suddenly. I just needed to ask you for a favor…”
“Let’s not talk here.”
His interruption made her freeze.
“Pardon?”
“I said we’re not discussing this here. We’re in public, and I don't want this conversation happening where anyone can overhear us.”
He turned toward the building.
“If you don't mind, come with me.”
His voice was stern but controlled.
Izzy could only nod.
“All right.”
“Follow me.”
Izzy followed him, trying not to let her anxiety show.
She couldn't help wondering whether the man had forgotten how to smile.
The way he carried himself made him look like the kind of person who could silence an entire room simply by walking into it.
Is this what being rich does to someone?
Turns them into an emotionless statue?
Despite everything, a tiny smile tugged at her lips.
It disappeared the moment Seth stopped in front of an enormous door.
“Relax, Isabel. I’m not going to hurt you.”
He glanced at her.
“I can practically feel how nervous you are.”
There was a faint edge of irritation in his voice as he pressed his thumb against a scanner beside the door, and the lock clicked open.
Izzy stared at the biometric security system in disbelief, suddenly feeling completely out of her depth because she had never been inside a place anything like this.
“Are you planning to stand there all night?”
Seth's impatient voice snapped her back to reality.
“N-no.”
She hurried inside, nearly stumbling when her trembling legs failed to cooperate.
“Sit there and wait for me.”
He pointed toward a sofa before walking into another room, leaving Izzy to nod silently.
Once he was gone, she slowly sat down and glanced around, taking in the enormous house that seemed almost too grand for someone like her.
Everything looked expensive, polished, and perfectly arranged. Even the furniture looked like it cost more than everything she owned combined.
How rich is this man?
She was still staring around when a woman's voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Good evening. Would you like something to drink?”
Izzy immediately straightened.
A woman wearing a neat maid's uniform stood nearby. She looked only a few years older than Izzy, but she carried herself with effortless confidence.
“Would you prefer coffee or juice?” The woman smiled politely.
Izzy shook her head.
“Water is fine.”
The maid nodded and left, returning a moment later with a glass of water, which Izzy accepted gratefully.
Her throat was painfully dry from anxiety, so she drank the entire glass in one go, only to choke when she looked up and found Seth standing directly in front of her, his suit replaced by a fitted white tank top and black joggers that somehow made him look even more intimidating.
Izzy stared at him for a moment before realizing she had been caught.
Seriously? Is this man even real?
Her throat suddenly felt dry again.
“Stop staring at me.”
His flat voice broke through her thoughts.
Izzy blinked rapidly.
“I wasn't staring.”
“You were.” He walked past her and sat in the armchair across from the sofa.
“And stop calling me ‘sir.’”
Izzy looked confused.
“I know I'm older than you, but you don't need to make me feel ancient. You're twenty-two, and I'm thirty-five. That's not exactly a lifetime apart.”
Izzy's eyes widened.
“How do you know my age?”
Suspicion immediately replaced her embarrassment. A faint smirk appeared on Seth's face.
“Lucky guess.”
“That doesn't sound like a lucky guess.”
“We're not here to discuss your age.”
His expression hardened.
“Tell me why you came, Isabel Vergara.”
Izzy’s stomach tightened. She had been nervous the moment she arrived, but now the tension was so overwhelming that she could barely breathe.
She closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath, and when she opened them again, Seth was watching her with an intense, calculating gaze.
“I know we barely know each other. I'm just the woman you accidentally ran into earlier today, but I need to ask you for a favor.”
Her fingers tightened around each other.
“My mother is in the hospital…”
“How much?”
His question came so quickly that she stopped. Seth didn't look away.
“How much money does your mother need?”
Izzy swallowed.
This is for Mom.
She reminded herself why she was here.
“I-it’s a lot. I can't just ask you to give it to me…”
“How much, Isabel?”
His voice remained firm, making Izzy lower her gaze as she trembled slightly in her chair.
“One hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
Silence filled the room.
Seth studied her for several seconds.
“Money isn't a problem for me.”
His voice was calm.
“I could make that much in a few weeks, perhaps a month. If necessary, I could cover all of your mother's medical expenses myself.”
Izzy’s heart jumped, and a small spark of hope flickered in her chest before Seth continued.
“However…”
Her hope immediately faltered.
“What can you offer me in return?”
Izzy stared at him.
“I'll do anything.”
The words came out before she could think twice.
“Anything, as long as you help my mother.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Anything?”
Izzy nodded.
“That means you'll do whatever I ask?”
She hesitated for half a second before nodding again.
“Yes.”
Seth leaned back in his chair.
“Hm.”
His gaze remained fixed on her.
“I don't need money. I don't need favors. I have almost everything I could want.”
He paused.
“So tell me, Isabel. What could you possibly offer a man who already has everything?”
Izzy’s heart pounded violently as she gathered the courage to say what she had come here to ask. She wasn’t sure she could actually go through with it, but the moment she pictured her mother lying helpless in that hospital bed, along with the mounting bills, the doctors’ warnings, and the possibility of losing her, she knew she had no other choice.
Izzy forced herself to meet Seth's eyes.
“One night.”
His expression didn't change.
“One night with you.”
Her voice trembled, but she refused to look away.
“I don't have anything else to offer.”
She swallowed hard.
“If that's what it takes to save my mother's life, then I'll spend one night with you.”
She lowered her gaze, her hands trembling in her lap.
“Just help my mother.”
