Chapter 1.
Chapter 1 – Meet Cute
If Lila had known that a simple trip to the café would change everything, she might have taken a different route.
The morning air was crisp, and the scent of freshly brewed coffee drifted from the small café on the corner. Lila pushed open the door, shivering slightly, and was immediately enveloped by warmth and chatter.
She reached for a menu when her shoulder bumped someone else.
“Oh! I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed.
The man she collided with didn’t react like most people. He paused, his gaze assessing her, sharp yet curious.
“It’s… fine,” he said. His voice was calm, measured, yet there was a faint edge to it.
Lila noticed his eyes—green, intense, like he could see more than she intended to show.
“I didn’t mean to—” she started again.
He smiled faintly, just enough to unsettle her. “I know.”
Something about the interaction made her stomach twist in a strange, unfamiliar way. She shook her head, trying to dismiss it as imagination.
The café was busy. People moved around, their conversations blending into a soft hum. Lila found a table, still stealing glances at the man—Ethan, she would later learn—who had quietly taken a seat at the counter, sipping his coffee and reading something on his phone.
He looked up and caught her looking. For a heartbeat, their eyes locked, and the world seemed to shrink.
Then, abruptly, he stood, grabbed his coat, and left the café.
Lila blinked. The moment was gone. Just like that.
Her mind whirled. Who was he? Why did he make her feel so flustered? And why couldn’t she stop thinking about him even as she sipped her own coffee?
Cliffhanger: Ethan leaves mysteriously. Who is he, and why does Lila feel inexplicably drawn to him?
