Three years ago…..
Narrator
The soft hum of indie jazz laced the air inside the Starbucks on Queensway Street. Warm aromas of roasted coffee beans and cinnamon muffins clung to the atmosphere like perfume.
The city moved restlessly outside, but inside the café, time slowed around the trio of women nestled by the window—a corner seat they unofficially claimed every Saturday afternoon—when less busy.
Elizabeth stirred her latte gently, her eyes trailing the swirl of foam like it held answers. Dressed in an elegant beige trench coat, headscarf, Palazzo and long neck sleeve. She looked every bit the decent and modest fashionista she was—modest not by lack of beauty, but by the quiet restraint of her faith.
"So guess who I ran into yesterday at the apartment hallway?" Elizabeth's voice broke the calm like a pebble dropped into still water.
Bianca raised a curious brow, sipping from her matcha. Natasha was preoccupied with scrolling through her phone, only half-listened.
"I was heading out to deliver dresses when I bumped into Sebastian," Elizabeth said with deliberate calm, though her gray eyes flickered with something unsure—an unease she couldn't explain.
Bianca's lips curled knowingly. "Sebastian," she repeated, dragging the name. "The cousin of Antoni—my Antoni."
She's been dating Antoni—secretly for now ever since that day. The two agreed to keep their relationship on a low for odd reasons because of the outside world.
Though, Natasha and Elizabeth already knew about it.
Elizabeth nodded. "He offered me a ride to my client's place. Said it was on his way."
Bianca chuckled. "Sebastian doesn't do things 'on the way.' That man calculates every step like it's a chessboard."
"Exactly," Elizabeth said, her brows slightly furrowed. "But I didn't want to be rude. He was persistent about helping me. He was already holding the door open…and I just…."
"You got in the car," Bianca teased. Grinning.
"I got in," Elizabeth admitted, then quickly added, "But I don't know. There's something... dangerous about him. And you know I don't want anything that looks or smells like trouble. Am just too fragile for such."
Bianca bit her lip, tempted to spill everything she knew—about Antoni, about the cult, about the organisation they belong in, about how power often walked hand in hand with darkness. But she said nothing.
"I mean," Elizabeth went on, "He didn't say anything inappropriate, but there's this... way he looks at me. Like he's trying to write a story I didn't agree to be in. And the way he talks to me with ease like am some kind of unique item in his life he doesn't want to chase away. The way he treats me like a queen... everything he does feels so odd, I don't understand. You won't even believe that last night, he called to check up on me. I don't know what he really wants from me. Am not even his type of ideal person to start with."
"How did you know you're not his type, Elizabeth." Bianca teased. She knew there was an actual point she wants to fish out from her. "I believe he knows you're not a real nun. You're just religious, that's all. So, stop being dramatic."
Elizabeth stirred her foamy latte she barely touched. "I don't know how all these things work, Bia. I'm just certain that….. you know what? I don't really know why he is hovering around me. I wish I could get a revelation to see what he really wants from me."
Bianca gave her the So, you still don't know why he revolves around you look. "Not everything has to do with revelations and dreams, Lizzy. Sometimes, you just have to use your brain to understand the situation."
"I'm afraid he might kiss me one day." Elizabeth murmured and Bianca burst into laughter. "Yeah, for real. Just look at what he told me yesterday. He said there's only one man in my life now and that man is ready to murder any man that dares crosses his line on his woman. And when I asked who the man was, he said I'll soon find out. What does that even mean?"
Bianca was like WOW, he said that? "Damn, that guy is so into you, can't you see?"
"Bianca, please don't say that." Elizabeth groaned, whining. "I don't want to hear anything like that."
"Girl, you need to clean up that room downstairs." Bianca said, sipping her matcha. "The room is so stuffy and dusty. I don't think it has been touched ever since it was built."
"What room?" Elizabeth was lost.
Bianca rolled her eyes and facepalmed. "Lizzy, you're twenty-three, try to act mature. You clearly know what am talking about."
"No, I don't." Elizabeth sipped her latte.
"Okay, I was talking about your V-card." Bianca points her eyes at Elizabeth's abdomen. "Being celibate all your life will not give you a rank in heaven. I already lost mine when I was fifteen. So, come on."
Elizabeth almost choked on her latte. She gave Bianca the What the hell look. "Jesus, that's what the bible addresses as formication."
Bianca rolled her eyes, murmuring, "Whatever."
"You can't be serious, Bia." Elizabeth gasped. "You lost your Virginity at fifteen? Holy Mary, that's bad."
"It's not bad, Lizzy. It's called maturity."
Elizabeth frowned. "Foolishness of the highest order. If giving out my V-card would make me show how much I love someone, then I'll rather die being a virgin all my life."
"Really?" Bianca raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
Bianca leaned in, poking Elizabeth's thighs. "Let somebody clean up the cobwebs."
Elizabeth slapped her hand off, "Shuu."
Natasha suddenly squealed beside them, making both girls jump.
"What the—Tasha?" Bianca blinked.
"He's here!" Natasha beamed, clutching her phone like it was made of gold. "Leo just texted me. He just landed from Victoria. Oh my god, I have to go."
Leonard Wegmans is a born Asia-American man from victoria, Hong Kong. He is a medical doctor and Natasha's long time boyfriend.
They both attended same highschool and university in America and has been dating since then.
He has been out of the country for over five years now for medical missions in different countries, causing a long distance relationship between him and Natasha.
Elizabeth blinked. "Leo? Wait, now?"
"Yes! I haven't seen him in forever. He's waiting outside!"
Bianca rolled her eyes, but there was affection behind the exasperation. "Tell Mr. Doctor to treat you to something fancy."
"Oh, he will. You know I'm getting my Asian babies one way or the other," Natasha sang as she grabbed her purse and skipped toward the door, practically levitating.
The bell above the door jingled as Natasha disappeared into the world outside.
Bianca leaned back in her chair with a low sigh. "One day that girl's going to write a whole K-drama just by living."
Elizabeth smiled, but her mind was far away—still caught in the memory of Sebastian's car, the scent of his cologne, the weight of his silent gaze. Something stirred in her chest that felt too much like curiosity.
Too much like danger.
Bianca was mid-sip when her phone buzzed across the table. She glanced at the screen—Antoni. A little frown crept over her features.
"Excuse me," she said, slipping the call in. "Hey, babe... yeah, we're at Starbucks."
Her eyes flicked briefly to Elizabeth, and then her tone shifted slightly. "What? Wait... Sebastian's been calling her?"
Elizabeth looked up. "Me?"
Bianca's brows furrowed deeper as she listened, then said a quick, "Alright. I'll check." She ended the call and turned back to her friend.
"That was Antoni," she said carefully. "He said Sebastian's been trying to reach you for a while now. Like—nonstop."
Elizabeth blinked, confused. "What? My phone didn't ring."
"Check it."
Frowning, Elizabeth pulled out her phone from her coat pocket and tapped the screen. Her face changed almost instantly.
"Oh my God," she murmured. "Twenty missed calls... from Sebastian." Her cheeks flushed with a mix of confusion and guilt. "It's been on silent. I completely forgot I muted it earlier during church."
Bianca gave her a look. "Girl, twenty calls? What, does he think you're being kidnapped?"
"I don't know," Elizabeth said, fumbling to open a message. She typed quickly: "Sorry, I didn't realize my phone was on silent. I just saw your calls."
The reply came back almost immediately.
Sebastian: Where are you? Send pictures. Now.
Elizabeth stared at the message, slightly stunned. "He wants... pictures?"
Bianca leaned over. "Pictures of what?"
"Proof, I guess. That I'm okay. That I'm here."
"That's... a little intense."
Elizabeth hesitated, her fingers hovering above the camera icon. She didn't know whether to feel flattered or alarmed. "Do I look like someone who needs a bodyguard?"
"Well," Bianca said slowly, "You do look like someone being tracked by a rich mafia tycoon who doesn't know how to say 'I love you' with words."
Elizabeth sighed and angled the phone toward her. She took a picture of herself, Bianca in the background, coffee cups visible, Starbucks sign in the window.
She sent it.
The reply was just three dots for a few seconds.
Then came:
Sebastian: Okay. Don't leave without texting me first next time.
Elizabeth put her phone down, her mind spinning. That line wasn't a request. It was a command—dressed in silk, wrapped in control.
And for the first time, she realized this wasn't a simple crush anymore.
It was affection spelling itself. Coming from the world's most dangerous man.
Now, she understood his former words
You'll soon find out.