CHAPTER 1: JADE SUMMER
1099 Words
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the small café as I arranged another slice of cheesecake inside the display case.
The morning rush had already begun.
Customers came and went, the bell above the glass door chiming every few seconds. Orders echoed from behind the counter while the espresso machine hissed almost nonstop.
It was busy—comfortably busy.
Exactly the kind of chaos I had grown used to.
"Jade, table six!" my coworker called.
"I'm coming."
Balancing two cups of coffee on a tray, I carefully made my way through the crowded café.
A little girl sitting by the window smiled the moment I placed a hot chocolate in front of her.
"Extra marshmallows," I whispered.
Her eyes lit up. "Thank you!"
Her mother laughed. "You remembered."
"She orders the same thing every Saturday."
The little girl giggled, and somehow, that tiny moment made the exhausting morning worth it.
"Jade can you assist the table four?" Chelsea asked, holding an order for the other customers.
"Sure thing." I replied.
"Thanks, you're the best."
I smiled and continued arranging the pastries.
People often asked me why I stayed in a small neighborhood café when bigger establishments offered better pay.
The answer was simple.
Here, I knew everyone's names. I knew Mr. Reyes preferred his coffee black without sugar. I knew the elderly couple by the window always shared one slice of cheesecake instead of ordering two. I knew the little girl would pout if we ever ran out of marshmallows.
It wasn't just work. It felt like home.
This...this was my world.
Simple, peaceful, ordinary. And I liked it that way.
The bell above the entrance rang once again.
I glanced toward the door.
A woman wearing oversized sunglasses stepped inside.
Even with half of her face hidden, I recognized her immediately.
"Czarina?" I said.
She lowered her sunglasses and forced a smile.
"There you are."
She slipped into the empty seat nearest the counter. I raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she suddenly dropped by here.
Czarina never came here. Not because she looked down on places like this. She simply didn't have time.
Every visit from her usually came with a schedule, a driver, and at least one bodyguard waiting outside.
Today...there was no luxury car. No assistant. No designer handbag.
Just her and the exhausted look she was trying so hard to hide.
"I'll wait for your breaktime," she said.
I'm right. Something was wrong. What could it be?
"Three hours," Jeremy said without looking up from the espresso machine. "Hope you're planning to buy something while you wait." He added.
Czarina removed her huge eyeglasses and rolled her eyes at him. They know each other already.
I buried myself in work. One table after another. One order after another.
Every time I looked toward the counter...Czarina was still there.
She looked tense. She wasn't scrolling through her phone. She wasn't drinking the coffee Jeremy had served her.
She was simply...waiting.
For me.
Whatever she wanted to say...it couldn't wait another day.
"Are you okay?"
I lied. "I'm fine."
Jeremy raised an eyebrow.
"You've delivered table three's latte to table seven."
I blinked, "...I did?"
He laughed.
"Go talk to your friend before you burn the whole café down."
I nodded and continued working.
I looked at Czarina again and whenever our eyes met, she'd force a smile.
"Sh*t," I cursed as I burned my hand while making a coffee for another table.
So much for burning the whole café down, I burned myself instead. I sighed as I mended on it.
Jeremy patted my shoulder.
"Go now," he said.
I looked at him.
"I'll cover for you," he continued.
"Thanks. I owe you one," I said and removed my apron.
-
We left the café in silence and walked toward the small park a few blocks away.
Our usual spot.
The same place where we celebrated birthdays, skipped classes during college, and talked about dreams that felt impossible back then.
Funny how life changes.
We used to sit here and talk about our future.
Now it looked like the future had finally caught up to us.
Cars passed but none of us spoke.
Usually, Czarina would fill every silence with stories about work, her family, or whatever drama had happened that week.
Today...nothing.
Even the breeze felt awkward.
I sighed as I glanced at her.
"You are scaring me," I started.
She laughed. But it was fake.
"Okay...what happened? Tell me." I said.
Still...she didn't answer. She just stared ahead.
Then she asked, "How's work? Is Jeremy giving you a hard time?"
I took a deep breath and waited again.
"Have you been sleeping alright? Your vitamins?"
My brows furrowed, starting to get irritated.
I couldn't help but get curious and her avoiding my question is killing me.
"You didn't wait three hours just to ask about all that."
She sighed.
"My grandfather called me yesterday."
I looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"He set the wedding date," she said.
"Wedding?" I asked, confused. "I thought you still had months."
"Yeah, I thought so too."
"Did something happen?" I asked again.
"I've tried everything." she said, exhausted. "I begged. I argued. Everything. Nothing changed."
She took another deep breath.
"I'm getting married in three weeks."
My eyes widened.
Three weeks? That's impossible.
The last time we talked about the arrangement, she still had months. Months...and now, she only had three weeks to get married!
"What do you mean three weeks?" I asked, still trying to process what she said.
Her hands trembled.
"I mean exactly what I said." She stopped and breathed heavily. "I love someone else, Jade."
My chest tightened.
I had expected many things but that wasn't one of them.
Czarina wasn't the type to fall in love easily. She always overthought everything.
For her to say those words...
Whoever this person was...she loved them enough to risk losing everything.
She was the Schuet family's only daughter and her grandfather's first grandchild.
"I'm sorry," I said, trying to comfort her.
"There might be a way out."
I looked at her once again.
"But you're going to hate me for asking."
She looked away—squeezing her palm.
My heart beat faster. Something about this felt wrong.
The world seemed to stop. Even the children playing across the park suddenly sounded far away.
I stared at her.
Waiting for her to smile. To laugh. To tell me it was another one of her ridiculous jokes.
She didn't.
My throat went dry.
She was serious.
"Will you marry Connor Luciano...for me?"
- Writer
