CHAPTER 3 – Secrets and Tea
The café was quiet — the kind of quiet that made secrets feel safe.
Mila and Zayn sat across from each other, steam rising from their mugs like fog between them. She sipped her lemon tea, trying not to stare too hard. He didn't say much — just watched her like she was a song he was still learning the words to.
"So…" she began, trying to sound casual, "you always stalk girls at coconut bread stalls?"
Zayn chuckled. It was soft… but real.
"No. Just one girl."
Mila's cheeks warmed. She hated how easily he made her feel like the only one in the room. Stop it. He's a stranger, remember?
Still… she couldn't stop the question from slipping out.
"Why me?"
His smile faded a little. "You remind me of someone."
"Someone you lost?" she asked gently.
Zayn looked away, his fingers tightening around his cup. "Yes."
Mila felt the weight in his voice — like sorrow wrapped in velvet. She wanted to know more… but didn't want to push too hard.
"I'm sorry," she said.
He looked back at her, his gaze suddenly intense. "Don't be. You being here… maybe it means something."
Their eyes locked.
For a moment, the rest of the world disappeared.
What is this? she thought. This feeling like I've known him forever — even though we just met.
Zayn broke the silence.
"Can I show you something?"
Mila hesitated. "Like what?"
He pulled out a small, worn notebook from his pocket. The cover was cracked, its pages lined with ink and time.
"It's a journal," he said. "From someone I cared about."
"Yours?" she asked.
Zayn didn't answer.
He simply slid the book across the table.
Mila opened it — and gasped.
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Her name was written on the first page… long before they ever met.
→ What secret is Zayn hiding — and what does this journal mean?
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💌 Would you read the journal… or walk away fro
m something that already feels too deep?
👉 Chapter 4 is waiting…