The following day felt endless.
I tried concentrating on work, but my mind kept drifting back to the business card hidden inside Stan’s jacket.
We’ll be ready next month.
Stay hidden until then.
The words echoed in my head throughout every meeting.
Who was he hiding from?
Why would one of the country’s most prestigious law firms be involved with someone who had supposedly spent months sleeping on sidewalks?
Every logical explanation I came up with fell apart almost immediately.
Several times I almost called him.
Several times I picked up my phone before putting it back down again.
If he wanted to tell me, he would.
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
By the time five o’clock arrived, I was mentally exhausted.
The drive home was unusually quiet.
Dark clouds hung over the city, and the fading sunlight painted everything in shades of gold and gray. Normally, I looked forward to getting home.
Stan would probably be cooking dinner.
He’d ask how my day had gone.
I’d complain about meetings.
He’d make me laugh.
The thought alone made me smile.
I didn’t realize how much I’d begun depending on those simple moments until I pulled into my driveway.
Something immediately felt different.
The porch light was already on.
Soft instrumental music drifted through the slightly open living room window.
I frowned.
That’s strange.
Stan usually waited until I came home before turning on music.
I unlocked the front door and stepped inside.
“Stan?”
No answer.
Instead, something caught my eye.
A single red rose lay on the hardwood floor just inside the entrance.
I stared at it.
Then I noticed another.
And another.
A trail of crimson rose petals stretched down the hallway.
For a second, I wondered whether I’d somehow walked into the wrong house.
My pulse quickened.
“Stan?”
Still no response.
I slowly followed the petals toward the living room.
The closer I got, the stronger the scent of fresh roses became.
When I reached the doorway…
…I stopped breathing.
The entire living room had been transformed.
Hundreds of deep red roses filled every corner.
Tall crystal vases stood beside the fireplace.
Fresh bouquets covered the piano.
Candles flickered softly across every shelf, casting warm golden light throughout the room.
Rose petals covered the floor, leading toward an enormous heart arranged perfectly in the center.
It looked like something out of a romantic movie.
Then my eyes found Stan.
For a moment, I didn’t recognize him.
Gone were the jeans, sweaters, and comfortable clothes I’d bought him.
Instead, he stood in the middle of the room wearing a perfectly tailored black tuxedo.
It fit him as though it had been custom-made.
His hair was neatly styled.
His shoes gleamed beneath the candlelight.
Every trace of the weary homeless man I’d met a month earlier had disappeared.
He looked…
Elegant.
Confident.
Like someone who belonged at charity galas and executive board meetings rather than sleeping beneath bridges.
In his hand rested a small black velvet ring box.
My voice barely worked.
“Stan…”
He smiled.
Not the playful smile I saw every morning.
This one was nervous.
Almost vulnerable.
“You made it home.”
I looked around the room again.
“What… what is all this?”
He walked toward me slowly.
“I’ve been planning this all week.”
I laughed nervously.
“You’ve completely lost me.”
“I know.”
He stopped only a few feet away.
“Miley…”
His voice softened.
“When you found me, I had nothing.”
“You gave me food.”
“You gave me clothes.”
“You gave me a home.”
“You gave me dignity.”
I felt tears beginning to sting my eyes.
“You never looked down on me.”
“You never asked for anything in return.”
“You treated me like I mattered.”
“You always mattered.”
The words escaped before I even realized I’d spoken them.
He smiled gently.
“I hoped you’d say something like that.”
He slowly lowered himself onto one knee.
My heart nearly stopped.
“Stan…”
He opened the velvet box.
Inside rested a breathtaking diamond ring.
The stone sparkled brilliantly beneath the candlelight.
It was easily the most expensive piece of jewelry I’d ever seen.
“Miley.”
His voice trembled ever so slightly.
“I wanted to thank you for accepting me when everyone else walked past.”
“You changed my life.”
“This past month has been the happiest month I’ve ever lived.”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“I fell in love with you the day we met.”
“I know our marriage began as an agreement.”
“I know it wasn’t real.”
“But somewhere along the way…”
He smiled.
“…it became real for me.”
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