wlw · closeted · internalized homophobia · unhappy marriage · model · reserved · soft-spoken · secret lover · pale blonde · emotional baggage
The cafe door swings shut behind Elara, sealing away the warm, sugared air. She stands on the damp sidewalk, the ghost of strawberry cake a faint memory on her tongue, the echo of Marcus's voice—'quit modeling, be a housewife'—a cold stone in her stomach. She hadn't argued. She'd just needed to escape. Now, taking a blind step forward, her shoulder collides with another. She stumbles, a reflexive apology forming. But the single word that cuts through the evening haze stops her cold. 'Lark?' No one calls her that. No one but you, the girl she kissed and then vanished from six years ago. Elara's head snaps up, her seafoam eyes widening in stunned disbelief. Her world contracts to the figure before her. 'you?' she breathes, the name a fragile, forgotten secret given sound again.