One Dinner
703 Words
The next morning, Aria woke up hoping the proposal had been a dream.
It wasn’t.
The white envelope still rested on her bedside table, untouched since the night before.
She sighed, got dressed, and left for work.
The streets were already crowded. Vendors shouted over one another while impatient drivers leaned on their horns.
It was a normal morning.
She wished her life still was.
“You’re late.” Her manager looked up from the register as she entered Café Étoile.
“Only three minutes,” Aria replied apologetically.
“Three minutes is still late.”
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head.
“Just get to work.”
She tied on her apron and threw herself into the morning rush.
Orders came one after another.
Two cappuccinos.
One latte.
Three americanos.
For the next few hours, she almost forgot about Kael Blackwood.
Almost.
At exactly eleven-thirty, Daniel walked into the café.
He wore the same perfectly tailored black suit.
The same calm expression.
The same unnerving confidence.
Aria’s stomach tightened.
He chose a table near the window.
“Just black coffee,” he told another waitress.
Nothing more.
He wasn’t there for coffee.
He was waiting for her.
When the lunch rush slowed, Aria walked over.
“I told you I haven’t made a decision.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I’m here to deliver a message.”
She folded her arms.
“I’m listening.”
“Mr. Blackwood would like to have dinner with you tonight.”
She frowned.
“I haven’t accepted his proposal.”
“He isn’t asking you to.”
“Then why dinner?”
“So you can decide whether the proposal is worth considering.”
Aria let out a dry laugh.
“Does he always conduct business over dinner?”
“When the business concerns his future wife…”
Daniel paused.
“…yes.”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“I’m not his future wife.”
“That depends on your answer.”
Aria looked around the café.
Customers chatted over coffee.
Plates clinked.
Someone laughed near the counter.
Everything felt so ordinary.
Yet one conversation was threatening to change her entire future.
“What if I don’t come?”
Daniel reached into his pocket and placed a small card on the table.
“The address is on the back.”
“And if I throw it away?”
“Then Mr. Blackwood will respect your decision.”
“No more visits?”
“No.”
“No more letters?”
“No.”
“No pressure?”
Daniel smiled politely.
“None.”
For some reason…
That answer unsettled her more than persistence would have.
After work, Aria took the bus to the hospital.
Her mother looked weaker than she had the day before.
But she still smiled.
“You look exhausted,” her mother said.
“Long day.”
“You work too hard.”
Aria laughed softly.
“I learned from the best.”
Her mother reached for her hand.
“You’ve always carried more than someone your age should.”
There was a long silence.
Then her mother asked quietly,
“If someone offered to solve all your problems… would you trust them?”
Aria’s heart skipped.
“What makes you ask that?”
“I’ve lived long enough to know that nothing valuable comes without a price.”
Aria looked away.
She couldn’t tell her.
Not yet.
That evening, back in her apartment, Aria stood in front of her wardrobe.
Two dresses.
One was faded from years of washing.
The other she had bought for her university graduation.
She hadn’t worn it since.
Her eyes drifted to the small black card Daniel had left behind.
Blackwood Manor.
7:00 PM.
She checked the time.
6:18 PM.
If she left now…She could still make it.
Aria closed her eyes.
“This isn’t a date,” she whispered.
“It’s just dinner.”
She picked up the graduation dress.
Then reached for her bag.
She still didn’t know if she would say yes.
But tonight…
She was finally going to meet the man who thought marriage could be negotiated like a business deal.
- Writer
