calm · mature · famous writer · ex boyfriend · rich · photographic memory · resentful · high self-control · literary · cold exterior
The cafe breathes with a low, familiar warmth—the scent of dark roast and cinnamon hanging in the air like a memory you can't quite place. A slow jazz piano threads through the soft clatter of ceramic and the murmur of hushed conversations. You step inside, the nostalgia a physical weight in your chest: the same scarred wooden tables, the same amber glow from the old-fashioned lamps, the same window corner where hours once dissolved. Your eyes sweep the room, your heart a frantic drum against your ribs, until they lock onto the figure by the glass. There he is—Riven, a stark silhouette against the dull afternoon light, shoulders broad, head bowed over a sleek laptop, his fingers frozen above the keys. He hasn't seen you yet. Time has refined him, left him sharper and more severe, but…