"๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐."
โทโฆ; welcome โ
The midday breeze blew fiercely, catching and blowing strands of her long black hair. In front of her, the waves lapped, creating a random melody that filled her ears. The atmosphere slowly pulled the girl back from the peaceful sea air, forcing her to open her eyes.
"Geo..." she whispered softly, her voice almost lost in the crashing waves.
She stared at the endless expanse of sea with a wistful gaze. 'What should I do, Geo?' she murmured again, as if he were there, listening beneath the howling wind.
'I want to give up! But... can I?' she asked the void, letting the question hang unanswered among the sand and sea foam.
She drifted off into her own thoughts for a long time, until she realized the heat of the sun was starting to sting her skin and dazzle her eyes. Zevanya finally got up, leaving footprints in the sand that were slowly being washed away by the water.
The girl was Zevanya Caroline Amor Delton, a twenty-year-old law student who should have been engrossed in thick books in the lecture hall. However, her restless soul preferred to skip class and seek escape here.
Vanya strode gracefully toward a black Lamborghini SVJ parked majestically on the shore. The car's engine roared ferociously as she started it, shattering the silence of the beach. With a gaze still filled with emptiness, she turned the steering wheel, driving her luxury vehicle through the streets toward campusโtrying to return to the reality she had so desperately wanted to escape.
Upon arriving at campus, Vanya parked his black SVJ precisely in the designated parking space. He got out of the car and slung his clear glasses over the bridge of his noseโtrying to hide the remnants of his blank stare. However, instead of heading towards the austere law faculty building, he turned towards a cafe tucked away in a corner of the campus.
Why?
To eat, of course. Daydreaming on the beach for hours turned out to be far more draining than listening to a civil law lecture. His stomach wouldn't compromise on matters of the heart, and the cafe was the only logical destination before he had to return to the real world.
The tinkling of the bell above the door seemed to announce her arrival. A staff member standing alertly by the door immediately bowed respectfully, greeting her warmly.
"Welcome to the coffee shop, Sis," said the female staff member with her trademark sweet smile.
Vanya only responded with a slight nod. The aroma of roasting coffee beans and the cool air conditioning immediately assaulted her, providing a welcome respite from the searing heat. She glanced around the room, searching for the quietest corner she could find to hide from the campus bustle.
After choosing a table in a somewhat secluded corner, a waitress approached him with light steps. She placed the menu on the table with a polite gesture.
"Excuse me, Miss. Please take a look at the menu. When it's ready, I'll take your order," she said politely, complete with a professional smile.
Without touching or even opening the menu in front of her, Vanya answered immediately. She had memorized every single flavor of this placeโor perhaps, she was simply too tired to choose something new. Her gaze was fixed straight ahead, and her voice was flat as she announced her order, leaving the waiter momentarily stunned by her confidence and cool aura.
"I'd like potato wedges and a coffee without sugar. That's all," Vanya said curtly, without taking her eyes off the waiter. Her sharp yet blank gaze made the atmosphere around the table feel a little colder.
"Okay, Sis. Please wait a moment," the waiter replied politely. After swiftly taking the order, he quickly left, leaving Vanya to her own world.
Vanya leaned back, looking around the cafe. It was apparently peak hour. The din of laughter and the clinking of cups filled the bustling room. She could see the tired expressions on the faces of the cafe staff as they moved back and forth to fulfill the never-ending orders. Amidst the bustle, Vanya felt like an anomalyโshe was physically there, but her mind was far away at the beach.
Vanya looked away, trying to escape by staring out the window. However, her gaze was drawn to a couple sitting four tables away. She couldn't stop watching them.
The couple seemed lost in their own worldโfeeding each other the lingering afterglow of laughter. They seemed oblivious to the noise of the cafe, nor did they realize that they had become the center of gravity for the onlookers. Some might have bitten their fingers in envy, while others were busy longing for a similar romance.
In Vanya's eyes, they looked like the two leads in a perfect romance movie. Meanwhile, everyone else in the cafeโincluding herself, sitting alone in a dark cornerโwas merely extras, meant to sweeten the background of their story. The sight suddenly became a subtle thorn, stabbing back into the wound she had tried to forget on the beach earlier.
There was only one person who disliked this intimacy: Vanya. Honestly, she didn't just dislike it, she hated it. A feeling of disgust crept up at the sight of their seemingly carefree laughter. However, her common sense was still working; there was no way she would go there just to ruin their moment and allow herself to be branded bad by the entire cafe. That wasn't her style.
Unable to bear the sight of happiness that felt like a mockery to her, Vanya stood up abruptly. She hurried to the cashier's desk, slamming three hundred-thousand-dollar bills onto the counter without waiting for change or for her unannounced order. Without a word, she turned and exited, leaving the scent of her rose perfume lingering in the air.
"I'm going crazy," she hissed as the outside wind blew against her face again. She strode back toward the faculty area, desperately trying to bury the anger and sadness that threatened to explode.