Stranger's Promise

The rain had a way of cleansing the city, scrubbing the filth off the sidewalks while leaving the people just as bitter. Anika Cole leaned back in her leather desk chair, watching the downpour slap hard against the glass wall of her office. It was past 11 PM, and the building had emptied hours ago-except for her, of course.

That was her routine. Work late. Lock emotions in a vault. Sleep, repeat.

She rubbed her temple, glaring at the unfinished design spread across her desk. Deadlines didn't care if your heart was bruised or your ex-fiancé had run off with your best friend. In fact, they were merciless. And so was she-now.

A buzz on her phone startled her. Security cam alert.

She tapped into the app without thinking and saw a tall man standing just outside the building entrance. No umbrella, soaked to the bone, motionless. His face was hidden beneath the shadow of a hood, but there was something about his stillness-almost too still.

She narrowed her eyes. Homeless maybe? But he wasn't pacing, begging, or talking to himself like the others she'd seen downtown. He was just... waiting.

Anika reached for the intercom to call security, then stopped.

He looked up. Straight at the camera.

Her stomach fluttered with unease.

Ten minutes later, the power flickered.

She swore under her breath and got up to check the fuse box. As she passed the front glass door of her office, thunder cracked so loudly it shook the windows. That's when she saw him-again.

Closer this time. On the steps. Watching her.

He didn't knock. Didn't shout. Just stood there in the rain, dripping and completely unfazed, like he belonged there. Their eyes met through the glass. Something about him stilled her-like the moment before a storm fully breaks.

Her fingers curled into fists. "Nope," she muttered, reaching for her phone.

Before she could dial, a deep voice rumbled through the door, low but clear.

"You left your lights on downstairs. I figured you'd want to know."

Anika froze.

How the hell did he get inside the building?

She opened the door a crack, just enough to speak through it. "Who are you?"

His hood slid back slowly.

He wasn't what she expected.

Wet dark hair clung to a chiseled face. Stubble traced a square jaw. He had the kind of eyes you couldn't forget-cold steel with a flicker of something dangerous behind them. A thin scar ran from the corner of his left eyebrow to his temple. And yet... he wasn't threatening.

He was calm. Too calm.

"I saw you through the lobby glass," he said, stepping back respectfully. "You left the lights on. I was just-being neighborly."

"You a neighbor?" she asked, skeptical.

"No," he replied. "But I was passing by."

Anika's eyes narrowed. "At 11:30, in a storm, without an umbrella?"

He gave a half smile. "I like the rain."

That made her blink.

He turned without another word, heading toward the street like none of it mattered. Like she didn't have a dozen questions. And before she could stop herself, she called out-

"Wait. You didn't say your name."

He paused. Then looked over his shoulder with a slight tilt of his head.

"I didn't think I was staying long enough for it to matter."

And just like that, he disappeared into the storm.

Anika stood in the doorway long after he was gone, heart thudding.

He shouldn't have intrigued her.

But he did.

And somehow, she knew this wasn't the last time she'd see him.