The doors to Blue Dreams Café swung open with a cheerful chime.
A handsome young man stepped inside carrying an enormous bouquet of fresh red roses.
Niklas looked particularly polished tonight.
His light brown hair had been carefully combed back with enough styling cream to keep every strand perfectly in place, while his gray plaid shirt hugged his lean frame just enough to look attractive without seeming overly formal. Excitement gleamed openly in his amber eyes as he checked the silver watch around his wrist.
5:40 PM.
Twenty minutes early.
Under normal circumstances, Niklas would never arrive early for a date. In fact, Kaija used to joke that he treated punctuality like a personal enemy.
But tonight was different.
The woman he was meeting tonight existed in an entirely different category from the girlfriend he had gradually grown tired of over the years.
Kaija was ordinary.
Predictable.
Always exhausted from work. Always stubborn. Always arguing with him lately.
A flight attendant.
Meanwhile Marja Ralpha—
Marja was breathtaking.
A successful supermodel with magazine covers and luxury endorsements attached to her name. More importantly, she came from the absurdly wealthy Ralpha family, one of the richest families in Country S.
Just imagining himself standing beside someone like her filled Niklas with a sense of superiority he secretly craved.
'A girl like that deserves effort,' he thought smugly.
Besides, Marja always arrived early to everything. Even casual hangouts with Kaija back then.
So naturally, Niklas had made sure to arrive before her tonight.
He smoothed down his sleeves before taking a seat near the window, bouquet resting proudly beside him like some romantic hero waiting for his leading lady.
Exactly five minutes later, the café doors opened again.
And Marja walked in.
Niklas's breath caught instantly.
The black bodycon dress wrapped around her curves like liquid silk, elegant and dangerously seductive at the same time. Her golden walnut hair cascaded in soft waves over her shoulders while expensive perfume drifted faintly through the air around her.
Every detail about her screamed luxury.
Beauty.
Money.
Attention.
The moment her deep sapphire-blue eyes landed on him, her face lit up beautifully.
"Marja, baby," Niklas called immediately.
He barely waited for her to reach the table before pulling her into a hungry kiss.
"Niklas!" Marja laughed breathlessly against his lips, though her arms wrapped eagerly around his neck anyway as she kissed him back.
The bouquet nearly fell sideways onto the booth from the force of it.
Their mouths finally parted several moments later.
Marja glanced around the café nervously.
"You're sure Kaija doesn't know this place?" she whispered.
Niklas immediately scoffed.
"She's working today," he replied confidently. "Still obsessed with that lowly little job."
Disdain coated his voice effortlessly now whenever he spoke about Kaija.
It came naturally these days.
Marja's expression softened with what looked disturbingly close to pity.
"Aw…" she murmured. "I honestly feel bad for her sometimes."
Niklas rolled his eyes.
"I mean, I know she needs the money," Marja continued gently, "but serving coffee and pushing trolleys around on airplanes all day?" She shook her head faintly. "I really don't know how she tolerates it."
"She could never compare to you, baby," Niklas said immediately before leaning in to kiss her again. "You're on the cover of Dazzle magazine again. Do you know how insane that is?"
Marja squealed softly in embarrassment.
"Stop!" she whined while pushing weakly against his chest. "You're making me shy again."
Niklas grinned.
God, she was adorable.
Nothing like Kaija lately with her constant exhaustion and coldness and arguments.
Marja still acted feminine.
Sweet.
Soft.
The couple kissed again, longer this time, completely absorbed in each other as they finally settled into their seats.
Neither of them noticed the figure seated several tables away.
Dressed entirely in black.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kaija Sepala had arrived at Blue Dreams Café at exactly five o'clock.
She had chosen a corner seat with the perfect line of sight toward the entrance and spent the last forty minutes sitting in silence beneath oversized sunglasses, a black cap pulled low over her face. A matching black mask concealed everything except the faint glimpse of pale skin around her eyes.
Even her jacket was black.
She looked less like a woman about to catch her cheating boyfriend and more like someone preparing for a covert assassination.
Only her eyes remained visible.
Cold sapphire-blue eyes hidden behind tinted lenses.
Eyes currently fixed on the scene unfolding before her.
Her phone stood upright against a sugar dispenser on the table, camera angled perfectly toward Niklas and Marja.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Kaija calmly snapped photo after photo while her boyfriend devoured her best friend's mouth across the café.
"That's right, baby," she murmured under her breath. "Give her another kiss."
Click.
"Oh, excellent angle."
Click.
"Good job, Marja. Pull him closer."
Click.
The bitterness inside her should have hurt more.
Strangely—
It didn't.
Not anymore.
The moment she saw them together, something inside her had simply gone cold.
Dead calm.
No screaming.
No tears.
Just clarity.
'So this is what I meant to them.'
Niklas, who once held her hand while promising forever.
Marja, who used to sleep over at her apartment and steal fries off her plate while gossiping late into the night.
What a joke.
And honestly?
Watching them now—
They suited each other.
Two fake people kissing in public while talking about her like she was some pathetic burden dragging behind them.
Kaija continued taking photos diligently like a professional paparazzi photographer documenting celebrity scandal material.
Soon she had over a hundred.
Hugging.
Kissing.
Touching.
Whispering.
Every angle beautifully captured in crystal-clear betrayal.
A slow, satisfied smirk finally curved beneath her mask.
Perfect.
With her mission complete, Kaija rose quietly from her seat and headed toward the exit without sparing the couple another glance.
As she walked, her fingers moved rapidly across her phone screen.
"The next time you text someone, make sure you check who you're sending it to, baby."
Her thumbs paused briefly.
Then continued.
"We're done, Niklas. You and I."
Another pause.
"Here's my early wedding gift, if you two ever make it."
She attached every single photograph.
Then hit send.
Back inside the café, a soft ding sounded from Niklas's pocket.
Marja hummed curiously against his shoulder.
"You got a message?"
Niklas groaned.
"That's probably just my email." His brows pinched in annoyance. "Maybe exam results or spam or something."
Still holding Marja around the waist, he lazily pulled out his phone.
Then opened the message.
And froze.
Every trace of color drained from his face instantly.
His eyes widened.
The phone nearly slipped from his fingers.
Photo after photo stared back at him.
Him kissing Marja.
Him touching Marja.
Him cheating.
Documented from across the café.
Fear punched violently through his chest.
"Kaija Sepala!" he suddenly roared, shooting up from the booth so abruptly Marja flinched hard.
Nearby customers jumped in shock.
Niklas whipped around frantically, eyes darting across the café.
"Where the fuck are you?!" he shouted. "You stalked us?!"
Marja stared at him in confusion.
"Niklas—what happened?"
But he barely heard her.
Panic exploded through him as he stormed from table to table searching desperately for Kaija's face.
He yanked chairs aside.
Leaned over strangers.
Ignored angry protests from customers.
But no matter how hard he searched—
She was gone.
Long gone.
Outside, Kaija walked slowly down the evening streets with both hands tucked into her jacket pockets.
The cool breeze brushed against her face as twilight deepened overhead, painting the sky in rich shades of darkening blue.
The city lights had begun flickering alive one by one.
"Well," she muttered to herself quietly, "mission completed, I guess."
To her own surprise, she didn't feel devastated.
Tired, maybe.
Annoyed.
A little hollow.
But not shattered.
Maybe because the relationship had already been dying for a long time now.
Maybe because deep down, she'd already sensed the truth before seeing it.
Her thoughts drifted toward more practical concerns almost immediately.
"What should I eat tonight?" she wondered aloud. "Dim sum? Pizza?"
She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Or maybe just noodles…"
Then another realization hit her.
"Oh." She sighed heavily. "I probably need to change my apartment lock too since Niklas still has keys."
God.
Breakups were exhausting.
"Who knew ending a relationship involved this much paperwork?" she muttered.
Right then, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Kaija frowned slightly.
'Already?'
She fully expected Niklas's name to appear on the screen.
Instead, it was an unfamiliar number.
Assuming it was probably a delivery driver or telemarketer, Kaija answered casually.
"Hello?"
The voice that responded was deep.
Cold.
Mature.
And immediately familiar.
"Is this Kaija Sepala's number?"
Kaija slowed her walking slightly.
"…Yep." Her brows furrowed. "Who's this?"
A brief pause.
Then:
"This is Charles Kosonen. I was on your flight earlier today."
Silence.
Only the faint sound of Kaija breathing reached him through the phone.
On the other end, Charles suddenly found himself strangely tense.
More tense than multimillion-dollar negotiations ever made him.
He loosened his tie slightly while standing beside the hotel window overlooking City Z's skyline.
"Anyway," he continued carefully, his voice lower now, "regarding what I wanted to discuss earlier…"
He checked the time unconsciously.
6:01 PM.
"I hope you're free now."
Another tiny pause.
Then, with surprising hesitation for a man like him:
"In case you haven't had dinner yet…" Charles said quietly, "would you like to have dinner with me?"