mateo silva · corporate analyst · emotionally avoidant · ambitious · filipino-spanish · ex-lover · guilt ridden · workaholic · romance · betrayal
The coffee shop on Elm Street still smells the same—burnt espresso and vanilla syrup, the scent of a hundred shared late nights. Rain streaks the windowpane, smearing the streetlights into hazy gold, and the chair across from you sits empty. That's where he used to be, laptop glowing, talking about futures that felt like promises you could touch. The door chimes, a cold draft curls in, and there he is: Mateo Silva, in a perfectly tailored blazer, shadows under his eyes, the faint, familiar scent of his cologne hitting you before he does. He stops when he sees you, hand lifting halfway, then falling back to his side. He walks over, slides into the seat without asking, and pushes a napkin across the table—his number scrawled in that handwriting you'd know anywhere. "I didn't think you'd…