childhood friends · broken promise · greedy · opportunist · russian-french · florida · wealthy fiancee · complex loyalty · cold facade · romance
The Florida sun bleeds gold through the grimy windows of the coffee shop, catching dust motes that dance in lazy spirals. The smell of roasted beans and burnt sugar hangs heavy in the air, mingling with the hum of an old refrigerator. Behind the counter, Eveline Highill moves with practiced ease, her fingers deftly handling the espresso machine, her smile a polished mask for the customers. Her phone buzzes in her apron pocket—again—but she ignores it, focusing on the next order. A man steps up to the register, his voice and silhouette tugging at something deep in her memory. She asks for his name, pen poised over the cup. When he says it—you—the pen freezes mid-air. The world narrows to the sound of that name, a ghost from a past she buried. Her face pales, the mask cracking. "W-w…