"I don’t know what happened," Naomi said for the third ti that afternoon. "But whatever it is, you can’t just keep it all to yourself. Lunara—"
"I’m not asking you to fix it," Lunara cut in gently. Her voice didn’t rise. If anything, it had grown smaller. "I just... needed to say it out loud. Just once."
Naomi sighed, folding her arms. "You think I’m not dying to grab Eryx by the collar and yell at him? Because I am."
Lunara gave a sad laugh, shaking her head. "Please don’t."
"You can’t be serious."
"I am." Her gaze dropped to her lap. "I don’t want him to co to because you pushed him, or because soone guilted him into checking on . I want him to co because he wants to. Even if it’s just to say it’s over."
Naomi’s eyes softened. "But that would hurt more."
Lunara nodded. "Yes. But at least it would be real."
Silence fell between them again, only the low hum of the café filling the space. Lunara wrapped her palms around the cup of her now-lukewarm drink, her mind adrift. She hadn’t expected this conversation, hadn’t even wanted it but now that the words were out, she felt lighter. Not healed. Just... able to breathe.
"Thanks for listening," she muttered.
"Are you sure you don’t want to ask Eryx what’s going on?" Naomi pressed, her voice softer now, more cautious.
Lunara shook her head. "I was the one who asked for space. And... I think he needs it too."
She paused, eyes fixed on the swirl of coffee in her cup.
"If he wants to talk, he will," she added, barely above a whisper. "And if he doesn’t... then maybe that’s the answer I’ve been too afraid to face."
"Nah... knowing Eryx since I was born, he’s just plain annoying," Naomi said, scrunching her nose. "He doesn’t an to be, but when it cos to relationships, he’s like... emotionally constipated or sothing."
Lunara let out a soft laugh, the sound faint but genuine.
Naomi huffed. "Seriously. He gets all serious about work, handles a crisis like a pro, but feelings? He just... stalls. Like he’s waiting for so manual that doesn’t exist."
She leaned back in her chair, her expression softening. "He probably doesn’t even realize how much ti has passed. Or how quiet hurts louder than shouting sotis."
Lunara looked down at her drink again. "Yeah. Maybe."
Naomi’s voice dropped to sothing gentler. "I’m not saying you should wait forever, but... don’t think he doesn’t care just because he doesn’t know how to show it."
Naomi tilted her head, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. "Shall we test it?"
Lunara blinked. "Test what?"
"Eryx."
That pulled a surprised laugh from Lunara. "What are you talking about?"
Naomi leaned in, eyes gleaming with the kind of energy Lunara hadn’t seen in a while. "I an, you said if he cares, he’ll co to you, right? So what if we... nudge the universe a little?"
Lunara’s brows lifted. "You’re scheming."
"I’m brainstorming," Naomi corrected with a grin. "Think of it as a harmless experint. I’m not telling him anything but maybe we give fate a little push. You in?"
A flicker of excitent sparked in Lunara’s eyes despite herself. "Okay... how?"
Naomi tapped her fingers against her glass, clearly enjoying the mont a little too much. "Okay, so... What if you show up at Solterra?"
Lunara’s eyes widened. "What? No. I just said I wanted space."
"Exactly," Naomi said, unbothered. "You’re not going there for him. You’re going for sothing else like maybe your modeling campaign follow-up, or to drop sothing off. Totally casual."
"I don’t have anything to drop off."
"Then I’ll give you sothing." Naomi grinned, clearly too pleased with her plan. "A decoy mission. Sothing dumb but legit enough to bring you into his orbit. If he ignores you completely, then fine. We cry over cake and think of another plan. But if he looks at you like he’s dying inside, we’ll know."
Lunara stared at her best friend, torn between amusent and exasperation. "You’ve put way too much thought into this."
"Trust , ssing with Eryx’s feelings? That’s classic sibling training. I’ve been doing it my whole life," Naomi replied with a smug shrug. "And co on, Lunara, don’t pretend you’re not at least a little curious."
Lunara bit back a smile, rolling her eyes. "Fine. But I’m not going up to the top floor. As desperate as I might be... I’d like to think I still have so dignity left."
"Deal! Let’s go now!" Naomi shot up from her seat.
"Wait—now?" Lunara blinked in confusion.
"Yes, now. What are we waiting for? The building’s right next to us." Naomi walked around the table and pulled Lunara to her feet.
The cold air inside Solterra’s lobby wrapped around Lunara the mont she stepped through the glass doors. Her steps slowed, while Naomi strutted in beside her like she owned the place.
Lunara’s eyes scanned the open space, half-expecting to catch a glimpse of Eryx. She didn’t. But soone else caught her off guard.
"Lunara?" a voice called out, as usual, sweet and smooth.
She turned and there she was—Seraphine.
Dressed in a cream belted coat and glossy waves cascading over her shoulders, Seraphine walked toward her with a glint of polished charm in her eyes. She extended a hand with an effortless smile.
"I couldn’t wait to cooperate with you," she said brightly. "I heard we’ll be the faces of the new campaign together."
Lunara blinked, startled, before reaching out to shake her hand out of pure instinct.
Seraphine tilted her head, clearly amused. "I guess you ca here because they called you to sign the contract too, right?"
Naomi’s eyes flicked between them, her expression confused.
Lunara opened her mouth to respond, but no words ca out.
Because no—she hadn’t been called.
"Oh, Naomi, right?" Seraphine turned to face Naomi, who was standing on Lunara’s left. "It’s been a while since I heard about you."
But Naomi, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden familiarity, replied flatly, "Oh, I’ve never once heard about you."
It sounded harsh, but it was the truth. Naomi didn’t even know who the woman standing in front of her was, let alone why she was acting so friendly.
Seraphine blinked, clearly thrown for a second, but recovered with a soft laugh. "Well, I suppose Eryx never ntioned . We used to be close... years ago."
Naomi’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Right."
Seraphine tilted her head, still smiling, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. "If he didn’t tell you, then I guess it’s not important anymore."
"Then let’s keep it that way," Naomi said coolly, folding her arms. "Let’s go, Ara." She tugged gently on Lunara’s hand, ready to leave.
But just as they turned, Seraphine stepped forward. "Oh—Lunara?"
Lunara looked back over her shoulder, her body tensing.
"I actually ran into Eryx earlier today. We had brunch... just caught up a little. He ntioned he wasn’t that hungry, though... I guess he was saving room for lunch with you?" Seraphine smiled, her voice light.
Lunara’s breath hitched. For a mont, she didn’t move.
She forced a small smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "I see. I hope it was a nice brunch."
And with that, she turned and walked out of the building.
She didn’t wait for Naomi.
She didn’t look back.
Because if she did... she knew the hurt might show.
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