Chapter 68:

Third Person POV

Inside the mart, Layla and her staff stood in quietly, waiting with a patience that was slowly being tested by time itself, their eyes drifting again and again toward the entrance as if customers might suddenly remember the way and walk in.

They didn’t.

For eight long hours, they remained there surrounded by clean floors that reflected the lamps, shelves arranged with almost painful neatness, utensils stacked like disciplined soldiers, and fruits and vegetables laid out so carefully that it felt wrong no one was there to disturb them. The place looked less like a market meant for living people and more like a shrine built in honor of effort.

Outside, the sun had begun its slow descent, dragging the day with it, clearly uninterested in waiting any longer. Soon, it would sink completely, marking the end of another failed opening day.

The idea behind the mart was ambitious—open twenty-four hours, without pause or excuse. Two shifts of workers would rotate endlessly, day