Unexpectedly Him

He saw her before she even noticed him. Not in a glance, not in passing. He noticed the way she moved, the way she frowned at small annoyances, the way she laughed when she thought no one was watching. It was… immediate. Irresistible. She, on the other hand, noticed him only once—and it was enough to irritate her. He was too calm. Too confident. Too… respected. The kind of man who made people like her feel small, like they didn’t belong. And she didn’t. Not here. Not anywhere near him. Yet he kept showing up. In the marketplace. On the roads she walked. At the small café she reluctantly liked. Always polite. Always distant. And he was falling, piece by piece, while she was determined to hate him.