Chapter 2 THE STRANGER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

Damian sat still.

The man in the long coat stayed longer by the cafeteria door, brushing off raindrops from his shoulders like he had all the time in the world. His face was half-shadowed by the poor lighting, but the posture, the sharp gaze-it was all too familiar.

Maya returned from the kitchen, drying her hands with a towel she held. She looked at the man. "Sorry, kitchen's closed."

The stranger gave a polite nod. "Not here for food."

He wasn't looking at her. His eyes were locked on Damian.

Damian pushed his chair back slowly, trying to look casual. "I was just leaving," he said.

The man smiled faintly. "Don't rush on my account, Daniel."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "You two know each other?"

Damian faked a laugh. " I think he's got me mixed up with someone else."

The man stepped more close, still smiling. "You could say that, or maybe I'm just surprised to find a billionaire pretending to be a broke guy in the middle of nowhere."

Maya froze.

Damian stood. "Outside. Now."

The man followed Damian outside, the screen door closing gently behind them. Maya stayed back, but her face had already shifted-curious, suspicious.

Outside, it began to rain again. It was light, but steady. The stranger leaned against the rail, unbothered.

"You're not good at disappearing, Damian," the man said. "You think changing your name and hopping on a bus makes you invisible? You have entire Reddit threads tracking your last known location."

"Who sent you?"

"No one. I sent myself. You vanished, and people started panicking. Boardroom's on fire, your CFO's a mess, and your shareholders are planning a mutiny. Ivy's covering for you, but even she's running out of excuses."

Damian exhaled slowly. "Why are you here, Marcus?"

Marcus, his head of PR and longtime friend, shrugged again. "To see if you've lost your damn mind; Turns out, yeah, you have."

"I'm not going back."

"Oh, I know," Marcus said. "But you need to at least let people think you're alive. Fake a call, leak a sighting, send a message from a beach in Bali. This? This is career suicide."

"I don't care."

Marcus studied him for some seconds, then his voice dropped, "What's her name?"

Damian didn't answer.

Marcus sighed. "Look, whatever this is... find your peace. Just know that the longer you are here, the more difficult the fallout when the truth unfolds. People don't forgive secrets easily."

"Neither do I," Damian muttered.

They stood in silence. The rain started to whisper on the rooftop.

Marcus finally got his hands into his coat pockets and said, "I'll give you time, but not forever. We've got a company to keep from falling apart."

He started to take a walk-out, then paused and turned to him. "She seems decent, but if she finds out the wrong way, you'll lose more than just your company."

When Marcus disappeared from the sight of the street, Damian stayed where he was, letting the rain drench on his shirt

Inside, through the window, Maya was cleaning the counter. She paused when she caught his eyes, then looked away.

Damian re-entered, dripping wet. Maya looked at him but said nothing.

"I'm sorry about what happened," he quietly said.

"Who was he?" she asked, in an unfriendly way.

"No one important," he replied.

Maya met his eyes, unmoved. "He called you a billionaire."

Damian forced a tight smile. "Some people just like to joke."

"Mm-hmm," she said, still not convinced. "You lie often, Daniel?"

"Only when I have to."

"Sounds like something a liar would say."

He giggled softly, "Fair enough."

She nodded toward the mop closet. "There's a towel in there, Dry off before you catch something."

Damian heeded to that while stepping away; As he closed the door behind him, Maya stared after him-her mind spinning.

Outside, She could feel the weather changing, it was about to rain heavily.

---

The next morning, Damian stood outside the town's small hardware store, taking a look at the faded signage.

The owner, a short man named Joe who had a habit of chewing gum loudly, looked at him from head to toe.

"You're the new guy Maya mentioned?"

"She did?"

"Yeah. Said you were strong, quiet, and probably desperate."

"Sounds about right."

Joe nodded. "You start now, Keep your head down, don't steal anything, and we'll get along fine." He went ahead to show him all that he needs to know.

It wasn't pleasant, It wasn't even clean. By noon, Damian was already covered in sawdust while he helped an old couple load shelves into a van as he tried to forget what life used to be.

He liked it more than he thought.

During lunch, Maya showed up with two sandwiches in a brown paper bag. She didn't talk much, she brought out a plate of rice, handed it to him and sat beside him on a bench.

None of them talked as they ate.

Finally, she said, "You're not who you say you are."

Damian wiped his hands. "You still gave me food."

"I was raised to feed people, doesn't't mean I trust them."

He smiled, "That's fair."

Maya glanced at him. "Don't fall in love in this town, you'll be heartbroken ."

"I'm not here to find love," he said.

She looked away. "Good."

But neither of them moved.

And that's when her phone buzzed.

Maya looked down, and her eyes narrowed.

Damian watched her face shift.

"What is it?" he asked.

She turned the screen to him.

A local gossip blog. Headline: "Billionaire CEO Disappears, last Seen in Our Town?"

Under it, a photo taken through the cafeteria window the night before, it was Damian, Sitting at her counter.

Her voice dropped. "What the hell did you bring into my life?"