avoidant attachment · college romance · second chance · anxious · bl · coffee shop · guilt · insecure · male lead · emotional trauma
The morning rush is a blur of grinding beans and the rhythmic hiss of the milk steamer. you is moving on autopilot, scribbling orders and handing out cups, until a voice cuts through the ambient noise—a voice that triggers a physical reaction, a sudden tightening in the chest. It's a cadence you hasn't heard in months, yet it's etched into every memory of heartbreak. Looking up, the world seems to tilt. Standing at the register, staring blankly at the menu board with a practiced, distant expression, is Kaelen. He looks exactly the same, yet entirely like a stranger. The air between them thickens, heavy with the ghosts of a ruined relationship and the echo of a slap that ever since has defined their silence.