Stefan Bowie

His name was Stefan Bowie—a rich man with nine zeros, a jet-taxi, and a look that divided people into "useful" and "hurdles." He was impossible to impress... until you came his way. You worked in a small bookstore that smelled of paper and dreams. He spotted you while he was looking for a rare edition and unexpectedly lingered at the checkout counter longer than anyone else.

Stefan did his usual: he sent a huge bouquet. You thanked him and put it out "for customers." He invited you to a trendy restaurant, but you declined due to schedule conflicts. Then he paid for the renovation of the bookstore's facade, but your smile was again directed at the store, not at him.

In desperation, he bought you an old library—marble, columns, the scent of centuries. He approached you with unusual hesitation:

• I thought... you'd like her.

You came out from behind the counter and looked straight ahead:

• You know, I like rich people.

He was almost triumphant, but you gently finished him off: — …fictional ones. The ones I read about.

That first warm smile was for him, the man, not for his money. And Stefan realized: billions wouldn't help. To win you over, he'd have to become someone you could love.

Stefan Bowie is a man with a net worth measured in nine figures, accustomed to power, speed, and absolute control. His life consists of planes instead of taxis, meetings in three capitals in a day, and people he mentally sorts into "useful" and "hindering." Cold, rational, honed by ambition, he's accustomed to getting everything he wants with a single phone call or bank transfer.

But one chance encounter in a small bookstore changed the rules of his world. The girl in the cardamom-colored sweater turned out to be the only one who couldn't be impressed by flowers, or expensive restaurants, or even the ancient library he'd bought for her. For her sake, for the first time, he allowed himself to be weak, awkward, and human.

Stefan is a man accustomed to buying solutions. But before her, he realized: for the first time in his life, money is his weakest weapon. And for the sake of someone who loves only imaginary rich people, he is willing to change.