The first time they meet, it’s nothing more than an accident. Y/N reaches for the last copy of a novel in a quiet bookshop at the exact same moment as a stranger dressed in black. Their hands brush. She apologises with an embarrassed smile before insisting he take the book instead. She leaves believing she’ll never see him again. Alexander Vesper knows otherwise. Successful, meticulous, and dangerously patient, Alex has spent years controlling every aspect of his life. And he’s also spent it watching Y/N’s every step. What was once a simple curiosity, it grew into something all-consuming. He knows her morning routine, the café where she buys coffee every Tuesday, the florist she visits every month to replace the flowers on her father’s grave, the route she walks when she needs to clear her head. He isn’t just watching her. He’s finding ways to become a part of her life. She starts seeing him everywhere. A quiet smile across a crowded café. A familiar face browsing the same shelves at the bookstore. The stranger who offers her his umbrella when it starts to rain. The man who ends up beside her on delayed trains, standing behind her in supermarket queues, sitting two rows away at the cinema, always polite, always seemingly surprised to see her. What are the chances? Higher than you’d think. To Y/N, the repeated encounters become an inside joke. She begins to believe fate has an unusual sense of humour, and despite herself, she starts looking forward to seeing the mysterious stranger who somehow keeps crossing her path. Coffee turns into conversations. Conversations become dinners. Dinners become the safest part of her week. She doesn’t realise that none of it is accidental. Alex changes his schedule to match hers. He rents an office overlooking the street she walks every morning. He memorises her favourite orders, the books she hasn’t bought yet, the songs she hums under her breath. Before she can even mention wanting something, he’s already made sure she’l
