MAY'S POV
I had never ridden in a car before.
At least... not that I could remember.
When Danny's bodyguard stepped forward and opened the back door of a shinny black car waiting beside the curb, I froze where I stood. The interior was dimly lit, but even from where I was standing I could see the smooth leather seats stretching across the back. They looked impossibly soft-so clean and untouched that it almost felt wrong to even look at them. For three years my world had been cardboard, damp concrete, and thin blankets that barely blocked the cold. Sitting on something like that felt... unreal.
"Get in," Danny said gently.
His voice wasn't impatient. If anything, it carried a quiet reassurance that made my chest tighten.
Still, my feet refused to move.
I glanced down at myself. My sneakers-if the torn, mud-stained things could even be called sneakers anymore-were soaked from rain and worn nearly through at the soles. My jeans were faded and stiff from weeks of grime that no amount of rinsing in public bathrooms could truly remove. Even the jacket wrapped around me-my most precious possession, the one thing that had given me the name May Gray and the fragile hope that it might someday lead me back to the family I had lost-still carried the stubborn scent of rain-soaked alleyways and old garbage bins.
"I'm going to ruin your seats," I murmured softly.
Danny leaned slightly to glance inside the car before looking back at me. For a moment his gaze rested on the spotless leather seats, then on my muddy shoes.
A faint smile curved at the corner of his lips.
"Trust me," he said calmly. "This car has survived worse things than mud."
One of the bodyguards standing nearby let out a quiet chuckle under his breath, the sound low and amused.
Back then, I didn't understand what he meant by that.
Maybe... I should have.
Danny shot the man a brief look over his shoulder. It wasn't loud or dramatic, but the effect was immediate. The bodyguard straightened and went silent, his entire face smoothing into something neutral.
I noticed that they listen to him. Not politely. Not casually. But completely.
Slowly, almost cautiously, I climbed into the car.
The door closed behind me with a soft but expensive-sounding click that seemed to seal me inside a completely different world. The leather beneath me felt warm-almost too warm-and so soft that I instinctively stiffened, afraid that even shifting my weight might damage something.
I sat with my hands folded awkwardly in my lap, my shoulders tense, trying not to touch anything around me.
Danny on the other hand didn't seem to mind how I looked or smelled, he slid into the seat beside me without hesitation.
"Relax," he said.
"I am relaxed."
He raised one eyebrow slightly, clearly unconvinced.
"You're sitting like someone about to be executed."
I shifted awkwardly, my back pressing even straighter against the seat.
"I've never been inside a car like this before."
"What kind of cars have you been in?" he asked lightly.
I hesitated before answering.
"...none."
That made him pause.
For just a brief moment, something flickered across his face. It wasn't pity exactly, but it was close enough that it made something uncomfortable twist in my chest.
The car began to move.
The engine was so quiet I barely noticed at first, but the scenery outside the window slowly started sliding past us. Streetlights stretched into glowing streaks against the rain-soaked pavement, and the city unfolded around us in ways I had never truly seen before.
For three years I had walked these streets, but walking and watching from inside a warm car were two completely different experiences.
Restaurants glowed with golden light through large glass windows. People laughed inside them, leaning over tables filled with steaming food. Couples walked along sidewalks beneath shared umbrellas, their shoulders brushing together as they talked softly. Bright store displays reflected against the wet pavement, turning the city into a river of moving colors.
I pressed my fingers lightly against the window.
Everything looked so... alive. It was like I was in beautiful dream I didn't want to wake up from.
"So," Danny said beside me, his voice softer now, "where are you from?"
I stared out the window a little longer before answering.
"I don't know."
He didn't speak right away.
"I woke up three years ago on a sidewalk," I continued quietly. "No memories. No family. No idea how I got there." My hand instinctively brushed the inside of my jacket where the small tag was sewn. "The only thing I had was a name stitched into my clothes."
"May," he said.
I nodded.
"So I decided that must be who I was."
Danny watched me for a moment, his expression hard to decipher.
"And for three years you survived out there alone?"
I shrugged slightly.
"You learn quickly when you have to."
His gaze lingered on me a little longer before he looked forward again.
"Where are we going?" I asked quietly after a while.
"Home."
The word made something inside my chest tighten.
Home.
I hadn't had one in three years.
The drive continued for nearly forty minutes before the car finally began to slow. The city gradually changed as we moved farther away from the crowded streets and noisy traffic. Buildings became larger, quieter, more spaced apart.
Then the car stopped.
Ahead of us stood massive iron gates taller than any wall I had ever seen. Two armed guards stood on either side, their dark uniforms crisp beneath the bright security lights.
One of the guards stepped forward as our car rolled to a stop and leaned down slightly toward the driver's window.
But the moment his eyes landed on Danny in the back seat, his posture changed instantly.
He straightened like a soldier snapping to attention. "Good evening, Mr. Morgan."
The gates slowly opened.
My stomach dropped.
The car rolled forward.
Beyond the gates stretched a long driveway lined with perfectly trimmed trees wrapped in soft golden lights. The road curved gently through a wide garden filled with fountains and sculptures that shimmered under the rain.
And at the end of it all...
A mansion.
Not a large house.
A mansion.
It stood tall and silent against the night sky, its white stone walls glowing beneath rows of elegant lights. Massive glass windows stretched across the front, balconies curved along the upper floors, and fountains spilled water in graceful arcs near the entrance.
I leaned closer to the window without realizing it.
"This place is so... huge," I whispered.
Danny glanced sideways at me.
"You don't like it?"
I blinked, shaking my head quickly.
"No-I just..." I struggled to find the right words. "I feel like I accidentally wandered into a palace."
The car slowed to a stop in front of the entrance.
Two more guards stepped forward immediately to open the doors.
Danny stepped out first.
Rain misted lightly in the air now, clinging to the stone steps leading up to the enormous front doors.
Then he turned and held out his hand toward me.
"Careful."
For a moment I stared at it.
His hand looked clean. Strong. Steady.
Then I slowly placed my dirty ones in it. His fingers closed gently around mine as he helped me step out of the car.
The polished stone beneath my feet felt foreign after years of rough pavement. Everything around me was too clean, too perfect, too quiet.
My clothes were dirty.
My hair was tangled.
Standing there, I suddenly felt like a stray animal that had wandered into the palace of a king by mistake.
Danny must have noticed the tension in my shoulders because his voice softened.
"Come inside."
He guided me toward the massive front doors, which opened before we even reached them.
The moment I stepped inside...
I froze.
The interior was even more breathtaking than the outside.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, spreading a warm glow over the shiny marble floors. A wide staircase curved up to the second floor, its railing decorated with detailed carvings. Big paintings covered the walls, their gold frames catching the light.
The air itself smelled different-clean, warm, and faintly sweet.
My mouth slowly opened.
"This is... your house?"
Danny nodded.
"You live here?"
"Yes."
I turned slowly in place, staring at everything like someone who had just stepped into another universe.
"Are you... secretly a king or something?"
One of the guards behind us burst out laughing.
Danny shot him a brief warning glance.
The man immediately cleared his throat and looked away. Danny turned back to me, his expression calm again.
"No," he said simply.
"Just a businessman."
And standing there in that enormous mansion, with warm light surrounding me and his hand still loosely holding mine...
I believed him.
At least... at that moment. I believe everything.