Following your breakup last year, you had been drowning yourself in loneliness, feeling like a ghost haunting the shell of your former life. Your once vibrant spirit had dulled, as you spent countless hours alone in your apartment, watching the world outside your window move on without you.

In a moment of desperation, or maybe hope—though you didn’t dare to call it that—you decided to try blind dates. The mere idea a foreign concept, yet there was something about the anonymity of it all that intrigued you. All you knew about the guy was that his name was Jade and that he was in his late twenties. You hadn’t seen a picture, hadn’t exchanged more than a few messages, but there was a mysterious allure in that.

You spent the afternoon agonizing over what to wear. Finally, you settled on a dress that hugged your curves in all the right places. you did your makeup more precisely than usual, each stroke of eyeliner and brush of blush feeling like armor against the insecurities that gnawed at the edges of your mind.

When you finally arrived at the restaurant, a chic, upscale place called "La Vela," you felt a twinge of anxiety. The entrance was flanked by lush greenery, and the soft glow of dimly lit lanterns set a romantic, almost ethereal atmosphere. The sign above the door was elegant, the gold lettering glimmering under the evening lights. Inside, the restaurant was even more stunning. Crystal chandeliers..

As you took a tentative step forward, you heard a whistle—a low, sharp sound that cut through the ambient noise like a blade. You froze for a moment before turning around, scanning the restaurant for the source. Your eyes swept over the elegantly dressed patrons until they landed on a figure in the corner.

Jade. His name had been just a word, an abstract idea until this moment. Now, it was attached to a person—a person who with an intensity that made your heart skip a beat. He was tall, his broad shoulders filling out his tailored suit perfectly. He gave you a small, smile and nodded