The sunlight was unusually warm that morning. It streamed through the thin, sheer curtains of Amara Castellanos' small bedroom, casting pale golden stripes across the walls and floor. The tiny, cramped space she called her own seemed almost magical under the tender glow of dawn.
Amara stirred beneath her quilt, her lashes fluttering as she woke. Usually, mornings were battles for her. She often woke up heavy and groggy, her body reluctant to move, her mind dreading the long day ahead at work. She would stare at the ceiling for a while, trying to summon the energy to leave the warm cocoon of her bed and face another day where she was mostly invisible to everyone around her.
But today…
Today was different.
The moment her eyes opened, she felt it—a lightness in her chest, a bubbling warmth that made her lips curl upward into a smile before she even realized it.
She sat up, her thick blanket pooling around her waist. The old wooden bed creaked beneath her weight, but the sound didn't bother her. She swung her feet to the floor, her toes meeting the soft, worn rug at her bedside. The world outside was stirring: distant chatter from street vendors, the rhythmic clacking of bicycle wheels, and the faint honking of early morning traffic.
On any other day, these sounds were just background noise. Today, they felt like music.
Amara hugged her knees to her chest for a moment, holding in the happiness threatening to burst from her. Her heart was beating fast—not from fear or anxiety, as it so often did, but from pure, unfiltered joy.
Yesterday had changed everything.
The memory rushed back to her in vivid detail: the warm glow of the sunset filtering into her family's modest living room, the familiar scent of tea leaves steeping in the pot, and the kind, lined face of Mr. Navarro sitting across from her.
Mr. Navarro had been part of her life for as long as she could remember. He was the grandfather of Kael Navarro— her childhood companion, and the man she had secretly loved for seven years. Kael was her closest friend in the world, though he didn't know about the depth of her feelings.
Growing up, they had been inseparable. Kael was the one who dragged her into mischief when she was too timid to try things on her own, the one who wiped her tears when she skinned her knees, the one who always knew how to make her laugh when she was sad.
Over the years, that childhood fondness had blossomed into something deeper, richer, and far more terrifying.
But Amara had never confessed her feelings. She couldn't.
Kael was so bright, so full of life, while she was… her. Quiet, awkward, shy. She couldn't imagine him ever seeing her the way she saw him.
At least, that was what she thought—until yesterday.
Mr. Navarro had reached across the small wooden table, his weathered hands warm as they covered hers.
"Amara," he'd said, his deep voice carrying the weight of years and love, "you've always been like a granddaughter to me. I've been thinking about the future lately—Kael's future. I want to see him settled with someone who truly understands him, someone who has been by his side through it all."
Amara's heart had pounded so hard she could barely breathe.
Then he'd smiled, his eyes twinkling like stars. "I want that person to be you. I want you and Kael to be engaged."
Her breath had caught. For a long, dizzying moment, she couldn't speak, couldn't move. The room seemed to spin as her mind tried to process his words.
Engaged.
Mr. Navarro wanted her to marry Kael.
The tears had welled up before she could stop them. She nodded, her hands trembling. "I… I would be honoured," she whispered, her voice breaking.
Mr. Navarro patted her hands warmly. "Good. We'll bring it up at dinner tomorrow night, when we're all together. I believe Kael will agree—he trusts me, and I know he has a soft spot for you."
Amara found herself quietly agreeing with Mr. Navarro. A memory stirred—faint but vivid—of Kael as a wide-eyed boy, declaring with all the seriousness of childhood that he'd marry her someday. Back then, it had felt like a game. Now, it felt like a promise echoing through time.
That night, Amara hadn't slept a wink. She lay in bed, her heart soaring with hope and dreams she had never dared to entertain before.
And now, as the morning sun kissed her face, that same joy carried her out of bed and into the day.
After a quick shower, Amara dressed in her usual work attire: a crisp white blouse buttoned to the collar and a long black skirt that reached all the way to her heels. Her hair, long and silky black, she left down as always, with her straight bangs falling just above her eyes.
She put on her thick, round glasses and glanced at herself in the mirror.
To anyone else, she might have looked gloomy—maybe even a little eerie. She knew people sometimes found her appearance unsettling. She'd heard whispers, caught strange looks, though she never understood why.
Unbeknownst to her, her co-workers' had a nickname for her: Sadako, after the ghostly character in the horror movie Ringu. With her dark hair, solemn expression, and tendency to stay silent, she seemed like someone who had walked out of a horror film.
Amara didn't know this, of course. She assumed people didn't talk to her simply because she didn't talk to them.
It wasn't that she disliked anyone. She was just painfully shy. Conversations were hard for her—small talk especially. The fear of saying something wrong, of being laughed at or misunderstood, kept her lips sealed most of the time.
At work, she only spoke when it was absolutely necessary. Questions about reports, clarifications about deadlines—that was it.
Her colleagues had taken her silence as disinterest or disdain, and so they, too, kept their distance.
A quiet truce of mutual avoidance had formed over the years.
But today, Amara felt bold.
Today, she would smile. She would greet people.
Because today, her heart was so full of joy it was impossible to keep it inside.
The publishing house where Amara worked was a modest building tucked between a coffee shop and a flower boutique. The lobby was always faintly scented with paper and ink, a smell she found oddly comforting.
As she stepped through the front doors, her footsteps light, she saw Mia, the receptionist, yawning behind the desk.
"Good morning, Mia," Amara said, her voice warm and cheerful.
Mia's yawn cut off with a choking sound. She blinked rapidly, as if unsure she had heard correctly. "…Good morning, Amara."
Amara offered her a small smile before heading toward the elevators.
As she moved through the halls, she greeted others she passed. "Morning, Daniel. Morning, Leila."
Daniel, a tall man with a perpetually serious expression, actually stumbled over his response. "Uh—morning."
Leila gave a startled wave. "Morning, Amara."
They watched her walk away, then immediately leaned toward each other.
"Did she just… smile at us?" Leila whispered.
"I think so," Daniel said, still looking dazed. "She even said good morning."
By the time Amara reached her department, a quiet buzz of confusion had spread through the office.
"What's going on with her?"
"Did something happen?"
"Do you think she finally got a boyfriend?"
Amara, completely oblivious to the stares and murmurs, floated to her desk. She powered on her computer and began her tasks with an enthusiasm that stunned even herself.
Her head was filled with thoughts of Kael and the dinner they would share tonight. She imagined sitting beside him and Mr. Navarro making the announcement.
Kael would look surprised, of course, but then he would smile. A gentle, affectionate smile that said, I've always wanted this too.
The daydream made her cheeks warm.
The hours slipped by quickly.
At lunch, Amara did something truly shocking: she joined a group of co-workers in the break room instead of eating alone at her desk.
She sat quietly at first, listening to their chatter. When Kenji from accounting cracked a joke about a typo in one of the manuscripts, she let out a small laugh.
The others stared at her as if she had grown a second head.
"…Did she just laugh?" Mia whispered to Leila later, wide-eyed.
"This is so weird," Leila murmured back.
"Maybe she's possessed," Daniel suggested darkly.
Amara didn't notice any of this. Her thoughts were far away, dancing through a future she longed to claim.
By late afternoon, her anticipation was almost unbearable.
Just a few more hours, she told herself, her heart thudding. Then I'll see Kael. Then everything will be real.
At 5:45 p.m., the office began winding down. People shut off their computers, gathered their belongings, and chatted about their plans for the evening.
Amara decided to make herself a cup of coffee before heading home. She wanted something warm to steady her nerves.
The break room was empty when she entered. The rich, bitter aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted her. She moved quietly to the machine, humming under her breath as she prepared her drink.
That was when she heard it.
A familiar laugh floated in from the hallway—a sound that made her heart leap.
Kael.
Amara froze, her pulse racing.
He was here? At her office?
She turned toward the doorway, ready to step out and greet him, but then she heard his voice clearly.
"…Yeah, my grandfather's been talking about weird stuff lately," Kael said, his tone amused. "He keeps hinting that I should settle down. Even mentioned Amara, of all people."
Amara's breath caught. She stayed hidden, listening, her hands trembling.
Another male voice—probably a friend of his—chuckled. "Amara? You mean the girl that you grew up together, right?"
"Yeah," Kael said casually. "She's sweet and all, but come on. She's not my type."
The words slammed into Amara like a physical blow.
Kael kept talking, unaware of the knife he was twisting in her heart. "I mean, she's nice, but she's so quiet. Always so timid, and she's got this gloomy vibe, you know? With her long black skirt and those huge glasses… She kind of looks like a country bumpkin."
His friend laughed. "Man, that's cold."
Kael laughed too. "I'm just being honest. She deserves someone who matches her vibe better. But me? I need someone lively, someone who fits my energy."
The world seemed to shatter around Amara.
Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. She clutched the edge of the counter for support, her breath coming in shallow, broken gasps.
The warmth that had carried her all day drained away, leaving her cold and hollow.
She had spent the entire day dreaming of a future with him, believing that he would be as happy as she was when Mr. Navarro announced the engagement.
But now…
Now she knew the truth.
Outside, Kael's voice faded as he and his friend walked further down the hall, their laughter echoing faintly before disappearing completely.
Amara stood alone in the break room, the coffee machine still humming softly beside her.
She stared blankly at the cup in her hands, tears dripping onto the counter.
Tonight's dinner, which she had imagined as the most beautiful moment of her life, loomed ahead like a cruel joke.
Her dream wasn't just slipping away—it had been shattered before it could even begin.
And worst of all, Kael would never know that he had just broken the heart of the girl who had loved him silently for seven long years.