Chapter 5: When Strangers Wear Familiar Faces
The air in Florence was soft with spring, but inside the Bellavita Conservatory's dormitory, tension quietly bloomed like bruised roses.
A Girl Named Mei
"Your hands were trembling," whispered Mei Xiaoyu, Elia's roommate and closest confidante in Florence. A half-Chinese girl from Chengdu with a witty tongue and mismatched socks, Mei had the unique gift of sensing when Elia was lying — even when Elia didn't speak.
"I'm fine," Elia said as she removed her earrings.
"Mm-hm." Mei rolled her eyes, brushing back her shoulder-length curls. "You came back from the performance like you saw a ghost."
Elia paused.
Not a ghost, she thought.
A memory. In a human form.
"I thought I saw someone I used to know," she admitted softly, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Boy or girl?"
Elia hesitated. "A boy. Older. Cold."
Mei smirked. "Dangerous type. Probably rich. You always did have mysterious taste."
Elia looked at her, barely suppressing a smile. "It's not like that."
"Oh?" Mei threw her a pillow. "Then why did you look like someone just stabbed your soul with a violin string?"
---
The Boy in the Shadows
At a quiet café tucked behind a fountain square, Lucas Lu sat sipping bitter espresso. Across from him, his assistant — a young local named Antonio Marini, barely twenty-two, with a mop of curly brown hair — was reviewing Elia's known schedules.
"She walks in the park near the Conservatory every Tuesday morning," Antonio said, tapping his tablet. "Sometimes she volunteers at a nearby children's hospital too — under the name Elia W."
Lucas said nothing.
Antonio glanced at him. "Sir… may I ask why her?"
Lucas's voice was low. "She was… someone I should've protected."
Antonio tilted his head. "Girlfriend?"
Lucas stared at the small café spoon. "She was just a child."
There was a silence. Then Antonio said gently, "And now she's not."
---
A Quiet Meeting Among the Flowers
The next morning, Elia walked the cobbled path toward the flower market. Bells rang from the cathedral tower as she passed street vendors selling calligraphy scrolls, handmade ribbons, and candied almonds.
And then, from behind the row of peonies, a voice stopped her.
"Elena."
Her steps halted. No one had called her that in eight years.
She turned slowly.
Lucas stood under the awning of a tea stall, hands in his pockets, face unreadable. He looked the same — and not. His hair was slightly longer, swept back. His eyes were still cold… but full of something deeper now. Regret. Sadness.
"I go by Elia now," she said softly.
Lucas's throat bobbed. "I know."
They stared at each other for a moment. Strangers. But not.
"How did you find me?" she asked.
"I never stopped looking."
She laughed quietly — bitter, beautiful. "You didn't even come when I asked you to… on my birthday."
Lucas winced. "I thought— I didn't know how much it meant to you."
"I waited until sunset." Her voice cracked. "I thought you hated me."
"I didn't," he said, stepping forward. "I just didn't know how to show it."
She shook her head. "And now you're here? After all these years? For what? To apologize and disappear again?"
He looked at her seriously. "To protect you this time."
---
Meanwhile: A New Arrival
Back at Bellavita's front gates, a car pulled up.
A girl stepped out in a designer trench coat and sunglasses — tall, poised, and calculating.
Anya Huo.
She handed a paper to the front desk — her falsified application letter as a visiting student.
She turned and looked up at the grand building.
"So this is where the little ghost hid herself," she murmured. "Let's see how long you stay hidden."
---
Elsewhere in the City
Madame Isobel, director of the Conservatory, stood in her office reviewing new applications. Her assistant, Nicolette, peered over her shoulder.
"There's something off about this one," Nicolette muttered, pointing to Anya's records. "No contact history. No references."
Madame Isobel narrowed her eyes. "Keep an eye on her. If she disturbs the balance here, she's gone."
Meanwhile, the children's hospital where Elia volunteered was preparing for their annual Blossom Festival. Staff and volunteers gathered to rehearse a performance with the children. Elia had promised to play the piano with the youngest group, and Mei was teaching the little ones a dance.
But as Lucas watched from afar, unseen, he knew…
Elena had built a life here.