Chapter 6 Vanelle Cafe

• Zara took a step forward, then another, weaving through the neatly arranged tables of Vanelle Café until she stood in front of him, it was him.
• Not just Leoington96. Not just the stranger behind the words that had cracked her open. He was the man from that rainy night.
• The memory hit her like a sudden wave of cold water.
• She had been standing on the sidewalk, soaked, heartbroken, frozen in place after seeing Jayden and Elena together that evening without shame and without guilt. Her world had tilted that night. People had walked by, some had stared, no one had stopped.
• Except him.
• He hadn’t said much. He hadn’t asked questions. He’d just removed his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders with a kind of quiet reverence. And when she’d finally found her voice enough to ask why, he’d whispered:
• “Because I couldn’t let you face that type of pain alone. Not when I was right there.”
• She hadn’t seen his face clearly then, only the softness in his voice and the steadiness in his gaze. She remembered thinking his eyes looked like dusk, tired but warm.
• “You’re...” she began, the words catching in her throat.
• He looked up at her, recognition dawning slowly in his features. “Zara?”
• She nodded. “You must be... Leoington?”
• He chuckled softly, the rasp in his voice somehow grounding. “You can call me Leo.”
• He gestured to the seat in front of him. Zara sat, her fingers twitching with nervous energy. He looked slightly different in daylight clean-cut, sharper jawline, more composed, but it was him.
• Zara sat down, unconsciously smoothing the fabric of her dress. For a few seconds, silence stretched between them comfortable, but thick with curiosity.
• “I almost didn’t come,” she admitted.
• “I wasn’t sure you would either,” he said. “But I hoped you would.”
• “I had no idea it was you,” she said quietly. “The coat... I kept it. I didn’t know who to return it to.”
• “You kept it?” He smiled, a small, surprised tilt of his lips. “I’m glad. I didn’t think you’d remember me.”
• “How could I forget?” she asked, her voice softer than she intended.
• He met her gaze, then looked down briefly, as if collecting a thought. “I saw you that night and… I don’t know. Something about the way you stood there, completely still, completely alone. It didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t walk past.”
• Zara nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. “That night was the worst and best kind of blur. You were like... the only part of it that didn’t feel cruel.”
• “I’ve been angry,” Zara continued, looking out the window. “Still angry, sometimes. But it’s not just about Jayden. It’s about how easy it was for me to lose myself.”
• He nodded slowly. “That’s the part people don’t talk about enough. Not just the breakup but the identity you built around someone else… crumbling.”
• She looked back at him, surprised at how accurately he understood. “Exactly.”
• Her coffee arrived hers a flat white, his a black Americano. The barista smiled at them, sensing something tender in the air, then disappeared quietly.
• “Why did you message me?” Zara asked.
• Leo didn’t hesitate. “Because you looked like someone worth knowing. Even in pain.”
• Zara looked down, the heat of vulnerability rising in her cheeks. “That’s a weird thing to say.”
• “Maybe,” he said. “But I meant it.”
• Leo took a slow sip from his coffee before answering. “I just wanted you to remember there’s more to you than what happened with him. You’re not anyone’s half. You’re whole.”
• Zara blinked.
• He smiled, calm and unbothered. “Not in a creepy way. I’ve been following your page for a while. Even before the whole Jayden drama blew up.” Her guard slipped further. It wasn’t just his words it was the way he said them, with quiet understanding, not pity.
• “You were also there?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper. Her heart thrummed. It wasn’t just a question, it was a realization. Of something that had been blooming quietly in the background, unnoticed until now.
• He nodded, gaze unwavering. “Yes. I saw it all.”
• A thousand questions buzzed in her mind how long had he been watching? Why her? Was he real? But only one question escaped her lips.
• “So you reached out… as Leoington96.”
• Leo nodded. “Yeah. I know it might’ve sounded strange. But, your posts. Even your silences say things.” He paused, looking directly at her. “I just felt like the person everyone was talking about that wasn’t really you.”
• She studied him carefully, his handsome, quietly composed face. There was no smugness, no awkwardness, no sign this was some kind of elaborate prank. He was just... present. Calm. Like he belonged at the moment.
• “You said something that stuck with me,” Zara said slowly. “About not wanting to meet Jayden’s half.”
• “I’ve seen what they’ve done to you,” Leo said quietly, his voice still calm but laced with steel. “The lies. The public humiliation. It’s despicable.”
• Zara’s breath caught she lowered her gaze, fingers brushing the rim of her coffee cup. “I didn’t realize how much I’d let myself be shaped by him,” she murmured. “Even after he cheated, I was still acting like my story needed his permission to continue.”
• Leo leaned back slightly, giving her space but never breaking eye contact. “It doesn’t.”
• She smiled, a small one, but real. “You talk like a therapist.”
• He chuckled. “Nah. I just think people deserve to be reminded of who they are… when they forget.”
• That made her chest tighten, in a good way.
• They talked. For nearly an hour, maybe more. The world outside the café blurred and fell away.
• Books. Music. Her favorite type of poetry. Her modelling career. How exhausting it was to smile when your world was caving in. How silence sometimes hurt more than words.
• Leo didn’t interrupt. Didn’t fill the silence just to be heard. He listened truly listened. And when he spoke, his voice was steady, unhurried. It made her feel... seen.
• “You deserve better, Zara,” he continued. “And you deserve to fight back.”
• A spark ignited within her small, but fierce. “You said... thirty ways to get back at your ex?” she asked, her voice steady now, charged with adrenaline.
• Leo leaned forward, eyes locked with hers. “I meant a comprehensive plan. A strategy. Something that doesn’t just hurt them but rebuilds you and your brand.”
• He paused, letting the weight of his words settle between them. “This isn’t just about making them pay, Zara. It’s about winning.”
• Zara phone buzzed.
• Dad: Home, sweetie. Can’t wait to see you.
• Reality tugged her back. She looked at the time and sighed.
• “I should go,” she said reluctantly, standing. Then added, “How about we meet here again tomorrow? But in the evening.”
• Leo smiled. “Of course.”
• Zara gathered her things. “Thanks… for reaching out. And for seeing me.”
• “I didn’t do anything special,” he replied softly. “You’re just finally starting to see yourself again.”
• He stood when she did, just like someone raised right would. As she turned to leave, he called out softly, “Zara?”
• She turned.
• “Keep the coat.”
• She laughed. “I was planning to.”
• As she stepped out of the café, the warm breeze brushing against her skin, Zara didn’t look back.
• She didn’t need to.
• For the first time in a long while, she wasn’t just surviving. She was beginning to rewrite her story.
• And this time, she’d be the one holding the pen.