The café was quieter than Selena expected. Not silent like Ashton Park in Willowbrook, but softer than the city outside. Conversations were low, measured. Cups met saucers gently. Even laughter seemed… refined. Selena sat by the window, her fingers wrapped loosely around a cup of coffee she had barely touched. Outside, Aurelia City moved with effortless precision. Inside, she tried to feel like she belonged.
She didn't.
Not yet.
Her gaze drifted across the room. Women in tailored coats, their posture straight, their voices calm. A handbag placed carefully on a chair beside one of them probably cost more than everything Selena had ever owned back home. It wasn't just wealth, it was familiarity.
They knew this world. Selena looked down at her cup, her reflection faintly visible in the dark surface.
"I hope I'm not interrupting."
Selena looked up.
The woman standing beside her table was composed in a way that felt almost practiced. Everything about her from the sleek fall of her coat to the quiet confidence in her eyes—spoke of someone who had never had to question where she belonged. Selena straightened slightly.
"Not at all."
The woman smiled faintly, taking the seat across from her with a natural ease.
"I'm Althea Virelle."
The name lingered.
Elegant. Precise.
Selena nodded.
"Selena."
There was the smallest pause.
Recognition flickered in Althea's eyes.
"I saw you yesterday," she said, her tone light but deliberate. "At Valerié. Crescent Avenue."
Selena's fingers tightened slightly around her cup.
"Oh yes."
"It's not a place people forget," Althea continued, studying her. "Especially not the first time."
Selena gave a small smile.
"I suppose not."
Althea leaned back slightly, crossing one leg over the other.
"So," she said, almost casually, "what did you think of their new collection?"
Selena blinked once.
Collection.
She kept her expression calm.
"It was… beautiful."
Not wrong.
Just not complete.
Althea's gaze lingered.
"The craftsmanship this season is exceptional," she added. "Though I prefer their limited pieces. They're harder to get."
Selena nodded, letting the words pass without forcing understanding.
"I'm still learning about all of this," she said simply.
No embarrassment.
No apology.
Just truth.
Something shifted in Althea's expression.
Not judgment.
Interest.
"I see."
A brief silence followed.
Then
"And the shoes?" Althea asked lightly. "Did you find anything worth keeping?"
Selena let out a soft breath
"They were all very well made."
Althea smiled slightly.
Not mocking.
But not entirely convinced either.
The conversation lingered in that space polite, smooth, but edged with something unspoken. Then Althea tilted her head.
"So what brought you to Crescent Avenue?"
There it was.
The question beneath everything else. Selena met her gaze.
"Someone took me there."
Simple.
Careful.
Enough.
Althea held her eyes for a moment longer than necessary. Then she stood.
"Well," she said, smoothing her coat, "whoever it was… has very good taste."
Selena didn't respond.
Althea paused briefly before leaving.
"It was nice meeting you, Selena."
And just like that, she was gone.
But the air she left behind didn't settle the same way. Selena sat there for a while, her coffee long forgotten. For the first time since arriving in Aurelia City. She didn't just feel out of place. She felt noticed.
—
By the time she returned, the sky had softened into evening. The penthouse was quiet. But not empty. Sebastian stood near the window, his back to the room, the fading light outlining him. He turned the moment she stepped in.
And immediately
He saw it.
"You're quiet."
Not a question. Selena set her bag down.
"I met someone today."
He waited.
"At a café. She said she saw me at the boutique yesterday."
His expression didn't change.
"She started talking about things I didn't understand," Selena continued. "Designers, collections like it was normal."
She exhaled softly.
"I didn't feel embarrassed. Just… aware."
Sebastian stepped closer.
"Aware of what?"
Selena met his eyes.
"That I don't belong here. Not the way they do."
A pause.
Then
"You don't have to."
His voice was calm. Certain.
Selena held his gaze.
"And if I don't want to become like them?"
"Then don't."
Simple.
Steady.
Something in her eased.
After a moment, he reached for his jacket.
"Come with me."
She frowned slightly.
"Where?"
"You'll see."
There was something intentional in the way he said it.
Like he was pulling her away from that feeling.
Selena hesitated only briefly.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
—
They didn't go far.
Somewhere quieter.
Warmer.
Less… watchful.
Selena had just begun to relax when a familiar voice cut in—
"Well… I didn't expect this."
She turned immediately.
And this time
She smiled.
"Jason?"