Three weeks passed.
In Willowbrook, time had a quiet way of smoothing things over. The sharp edges of excitement faded, the whispered rumors died down, and the town slowly returned to the peaceful, predictable rhythm it had always known. The reporters were gone, having chased fresher leads back to the city. The unfamiliar cars that had once lingered at the end of the street disappeared one by one. Little by little, the strange moment when the world seemed to notice the tiny bookstore became nothing more than a passing story, a local legend that people mentioned less and less. Life returned to normal.
Every morning, Selena unlocked the doors of Ashton Park and breathed in the familiar, comforting scent of old books and polished wood. Sunlight poured through the tall windows, stretching across the floor in long golden lines that shifted as the hours ticked by. Customers came and went as they always had. Some wandered quietly between the shelves, others asked for recommendations, and a few simply settled into the reading corner near the window—into the same wingback chair he had chosen every time.
Selena tried not to look at that chair too often. But sometimes, her eyes drifted there anyway, tracing the space where he used to sit with such unnatural stillness.
Emilia noticed, of course. She always noticed. One afternoon, she leaned against the counter, watching Selena rearrange the same stack of novels for the third time in ten minutes.
"You know," Emilia said casually, "if you move that pile again, the books might start complaining."
Selena sighed softly, placing the last novel down with a forced finality. "I'm not doing anything strange."
Emilia lifted an eyebrow, her expression skeptical. "Selena, you've reorganized that shelf three times. The alphabet hasn't changed since this morning."
Selena avoided her gaze, focusing on a stray bit of dust on the counter. The bell above the door chimed as a customer stepped out, and the bookstore returned to its quiet afternoon calm. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Emilia leaned a little closer, her voice softening. "You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"
Selena hesitated. The reading corner near the window was empty. It had been empty for twenty-one days. "He hasn't come back," she finally admitted.
Emilia shrugged lightly. "He told you he wouldn't pressure you. He's a man of his word, apparently."
"I know."
"And he gave you his card."
Selena's fingers brushed the edge of the counter drawer where the matte black metal card still rested, tucked away like a secret. "I haven't called."
Emilia studied her carefully, her sharp eyes searching Selena's face. "You don't have to pretend it didn't matter, Sel."
"I'm not pretending."
"Yes, you are." Emilia walked around the counter and leaned beside her. "You met someone different. Someone who doesn't belong to this town, and for the first time in years, I saw you look at something other than a ledger or a dust jacket."
"That doesn't mean anything, Emilia. We live in different universes."
"Maybe it does mean something." Emilia nudged her arm gently. "Selena, you've spent years taking care of everyone else. Your grandmother, Julia, this bookstore. When was the last time you did something just for yourself? Something that scared you?"
Selena didn't answer. Because she didn't have one.
That evening, after closing the shop, Selena and Julia locked the front doors and stepped through the narrow hallway that connected the bookstore to the small, cozy house behind it. The sky outside the kitchen window was painted in soft shades of pink and orange.
"You know what Emilia told me today?" Julia said suddenly, kicking off her shoes as soon as they stepped into the kitchen.
Selena raised an eyebrow, sensing a trap. "What?"
"She said you might go to the city."
Selena blinked, her heart skipping. "She told you that?"
Julia nodded eagerly, her eyes shimmering with excitement. "That would be amazing. Think of the shops, the lights... the actual life happening there."
"You think so? It's loud, Julia. It's crowded."
"Of course I think so," Julia said. "You've never gone anywhere, Selena. You're like a character in one of your books who stays in the first chapter forever."
"I've gone places," Selena protested.
"Name one."
Selena opened her mouth, then closed it again. Julia grinned triumphantly. "That's what I thought."
Their grandmother sat at the small wooden table, a cup of tea warming her hands. She looked up as they entered, studying Selena's face with that uncanny intuition she always possessed. "You seem troubled tonight, child," she said gently.
Julia didn't hesitate. "She's thinking about going to the city to see the Mystery Man."
"Julia!"
But it was too late. Grandmother raised an eyebrow and gestured for them to sit. Selena slowly took the chair beside her.
"Remember the man who came to the bookstore a few weeks ago?" Julia explained, her words tripping over each other. "The one the reporters were looking for? He asked Selena to visit him in Aurelia City."
Grandmother turned toward Selena, her gaze calm. "Is that true?"
"Yes," Selena whispered.
"And who is this man, truly?"
Selena took a slow, steadying breath. "His name is Sebastian McGrey."
For a moment, her grandmother said nothing. Then, her eyes widened slightly. "The Sebastian McGrey?"
Selena nodded. Julia blinked in confusion. "Wait... he's famous or something?"
Grandmother chuckled softly. "More than famous, Julia. That young man runs one of the largest engines in Aurelia City. His family has been in the papers since before you were born."
Julia stared at Selena, her jaw dropping. "You're kidding. You've been flirting with a titan?"
"I wasn't flirting," Selena said, looking down at her hands. "I didn't tell you before because I didn't want everything to become... complicated. More than it already was."
Grandmother placed a gentle, paper-thin hand over Selena's. "Selena, are you thinking about going?"
"I don't know," Selena admitted. "Everything we know is here. My life is here."
Grandmother smiled softly. "And everything you don't know may be waiting out there. You have spent years caring for this family, Selena. You helped raise your sister. You kept this bookstore alive when the floors were sagging and the roof was leaking. Perhaps it is time you allow yourself to see the world you've only read about."
Later that night, Selena sat alone in her room. The house was quiet; Julia was asleep, and the soft humming of the refrigerator was the only sound in the dark. She opened her bedside drawer slowly.
The card was still there. Sebastian McGrey. Aurelia City.
The number stared back at her like a doorway waiting to be opened. For three weeks, she had ignored it, pretending the silence was enough. But the silence had grown heavy. She picked up her phone, her heart beginning to beat a frantic, uneven rhythm.
One call. That was all it would take to bridge the gap between Willowbrook and the rest of the world. Her thumb hovered over the screen, the blue light reflecting in her eyes. She stared at the number for a long, breathless moment.
Then, slowly... she pressed dial.