The next morning, Alexandra woke up to a headache and bad news. She dragged herself to the table, coffee in hand, as Matteo read from his phone. He’d been on the phone since early in the morning to ensure she had all the details when she woke up.

“It will take three to six months to get your new passport.”

Alexandra spewed coffee, “WHAT?!” This was not what she expected. 

Isn’t there something they could do to expedite the process? 

Matteo didn’t even blink, “This is standard procedure ma’am.”

“Standard bull—” she groaned, dropping her head onto the table.

“Your new license will be here in a week or two. They needed verification before they were willing to send it here.” 

“I also got your Black card overnighted,” Matteo continued. “And the men who stole your purse were taken care of last night.”

Taken care of? She looked up, “And?”

“Someone got to them first and finished the job.”

“Finished the job? Like killed them?”

“Yes.” 

“That's unexpected. Did they find anything at the scene?” she questioned, confused how this all happened in the span of 24 hours. 

She’d noticed that  Matteo was being short with her today. Well at least more than normal. 

“Sorry ma’am no. No purse. No passport. No wallet.”

“Then where is it?” she sighed.

Matteo said with clenched fists, “They sold it, and likely tossed out the IDs.”

Alexandra groaned, throwing her head into her hands. “Great. So some random dude is walking around with my identity, probably using my miles to book a first-class flight to Thailand or something.”

Matteo responded, trying to reassure her, “Don’t worry I cancelled all the cards.”

“Good,” she grumbled. “Because I’m officially stuck in Korea.”

She had no idea what these next few months had in store for her. 

***

This was supposed to be a quiet morning, but a knock at the door shattered that expectation.

Knock, knock. 

Alexandra groaned, still groggy and only one coffee in. Her body was sore and her head ached. When she pulled the door open, shock spread across her face. Jae-Yong stood there, grinning, a bouquet of bright flowers in hand.

Jae?

“Surprise!” he said cheerfully, holding a bouquet of beautiful flowers. .

She narrowed her eyes, confused  how he knew where she lived.  “How did you find out where I live?”

Jae-Yong paused, unsure if he had made a mistake. 

“–I’m not a stalker or anything, I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he stuttered

“It's fine, I don’t usually allow people into my home,” a slight annoyance slipped through as she moved her arm to let him in.

 “Wow, this is nice… somehow nicer than mine. I might need to ask for an upgrade,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Alexandra’s penthouse was nothing short of breathtaking. Massive, spacious, and effortlessly luxurious, the floor-to-ceiling windows framed an unbeatable panoramic view of Seoul’s skyline. 

The natural light, accentuating the expensive artwork and hand-picked luxury decor made the place feel like home.

Alexandra crossed her arms. “I’ll ask again—how did you find out where I live?”

“I have connections,” Jae-Yong shrugged innocently.

Before she could interrogate him further, more voices echoed from the hallway.