Coffee Stains and Cracks
POV: Dan (Present)
The aroma of espresso clung to the silk of his tailored suit. Dan Alexander was standing at the corner of Lafayette and Spring, one hand wrapping around a paper cup from Birch Coffee, the other clenched in his coat pocket. The city buzzed around him, horns, heels, hurried footsteps but inside his mind, silence warred with insane memory.
His phone buzzed.
Prestige: Can't wait to see you tonight, babe. Wear that black shirt I love♥️.
He stared at the text, thumb hovering over the screen. Then, he locked it.
Tonight. Dinner with Prestige at La Sirena. The press would be there. Paparazzi, eager fans, the whole sparkling lie.
He sipped his coffee☕. It was too bitter for his liking. Or maybe his mouth just couldn't taste sweetness anymore.
THEN: A Month Ago
Kate had laughed at the rain.
They'd been walking through Washington Square Park when it poured suddenly, washing over their heads, soaking her lavender dress to her knees.
"We should run," he said, tugging her hand.
"Why? It's just rainfall."
She twirled beneath the trees like something out of a dream. A thousand-dollar dress ruined, but her joy was intact. Dan stood under the awning of a bookstore and watched her, heart thudding against his ribs like it wanted out.
That was when he knew.
He wasn't pretending anymore.
But feelings weren't enough.
Not in his world.
He brought her home to his penthouse that night. Fire in the fireplace, wine poured into crystal, her laughter warming his frozen soul. They lay on the couch, she laid her head on his chest, tracing the ridges of his palm with her finger.
"Why do I feel like you're always one foot out the door?" she asked.
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he gently kissed her forehead.
"Because I don't want you to get burned," he said. And it was the closest he had come to telling the truth.
NOW
Dan stepped into the revolving glass doors of Ellis Media Headquarters. The marble lobby gleamed. Cameras scanned, and his assistant trailed close behind, listing numbers and names. He didn't hear a word.
His mind was stuck on coffee and cracks.
And Kate.
She'd become a ghost in his penthouse but a storm in his thoughts.
It had started with a conversation he never intended to overhear.
Prestige, laughing on the phone with Kate.
"He calls me Sunshine. Isn't that cheesy? But cute, right?"
That word.
"SUNSHINE!".
He had used it first on Kate. One summer evening when she wore a yellow dress and he swore she turned the whole sky gold.
He'd forgotten that detail. Or thought he had. But Kate never said a word.
She'd just smiled. Too quietly.
Too politely.
And he knew.
She knew.
They met once more after that. Quietly and Secretly.
A jazz bar in Chelsea. No cameras, no phones.
Kate wore a black turtleneck and a look that no longer softened for him. Her lipstick was the color of blood and vengeance.
"You wanted privacy," she said, "but now you want headlines."
He ordered two bourbons and said nothing.
She looked down at the glass, swirling it. "Is she better at pretending she doesn't know who you are?"
He didn't answer.
Because the truth was simple:
Prestige was safer. Kate was a risk he hadn't figured out how to stop loving.
"You still have the bracelet?" he asked, stupidly.
Her smile cut deep. "You should ask your Sunshine."
Dan (Past)
A year ago, Noah Ellis had walked into his office and dropped a file on his desk.
"This one," he said. "She's clean. Perfect image. Massive following. Aligns with your branding."
Dan opened the file. Prestige Belle's face smiled up at him.
"You want me to date her?"
"I want you to marry her," Noah replied, adjusting his cufflinks. "The Board wants stability. That means a sanitized story. This girl? She's every headline we need."
Dan had protested. At first.
Until Kate missed a flight.
Until he started sleeping in an empty bed.
Until FEAR whispered in his ear that love doesn't pay dividends.
So he obeyed.
First a charity event. Then a magazine cover. Then the ring.
Kate became a secret.
Prestige became THE PLAN💍.
But the cracks showed early.
He'd wake up some mornings and whisper Kate's name by mistake.
Prestige never noticed.
Probably, she did.
NOW
His phone buzzed again.
Kate: You left your c
ufflink in my drawer.
mini-silence.
That was all.
But his hands went cold.
Because those cufflinks were new. A gift from Prestige. He'd only worn them