Since Esmera was abandoned on a stranger's doorstep as a baby, the only person who has looked out for her is herself.
Until a lark starts visiting her, leaving behind exotic flowers and iridescent pebbles that the internet doesn't recognise.
Esmera...
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"Marry me, Esmera."
"Dude, all I ask for in return for making your coffee is three dollars." Esmera giggled as she placed the plastic lid over Julian's steaming cup. "A diamond ring and a legal commitment would totally ruin what we got going."
That was something Esmera knew too well. Marriage had been the one thing she thought would give her the stability and love she had always yearned for, but like everything else in her life, it had distorted into some warped version of itself.
It had nearly trapped her in its ruins when it collapsed. It had grown so rotten with hate that it had infected Esmera with hate for herself.
She was weak. She had been so desperate to be loved that she had sped past all the red flags. She had let Stephan get away with everything he did to her because she was afraid of speaking up. She had let it go on for too long in the mistaken belief that it would stop of its own accord.
Everything that had happened to Esmera was her fault.
So, she wouldn't let it happen again.
Esmera wasn't ready to remarry. She'd have explained all her reasons to Julian if he didn't have a pattern of proposing to her in jest.
She was free from the shackles of a violent marriage, yet every joke she heard and told still came with an edge sharp enough to cut.
Julian tilted his head as he regarded Esmera. An unmistakable playfulness lingered in the quirk of his mouth. "I think I might like to keep you in my kitchen so I can have good coffee at any hour without making a detour that I might regret." He looked down at his watch, frowning as he registered the time.
"Late class?" Esmera plucked a napkin from the folded pile behind the counter.
"Late exam. Serves me right for choosing to study things better seen in the night sky."
"Hey, don't pretend you don't love astronomy."
Esmera saw it in the way Julian's voice brightened when he had a fascinating fact to share with her. She saw it in the faraway look in his eyes after he had a thought-provoking class.
She never understood much of what he said, but she loved basking in the passion radiating from him. She hadn't met many men who had such enthusiasm for a topic of education.
"I do love it." Julian looked up with a hurried smile. "I really need to run, but if I survive this paper"—he pointed at himself, then Esmera— "you and me, ring shopping, tomorrow."
"Whatever you say." She rolled her eyes, holding out his coffee with the gold and black logo of The Buttery Croissant Coffeehouse pressed against her palm. "But I must warn you, I have expensive taste."
Julian's hands were warm against Esmera's as he took the cup. "My student budget is not happy to hear that, but I'm sure I'll come up with something." Julian laughed. "See ya!"
