Love's Redemption



Whenever Lena wasn't too busy, she'd come to Keira's café to learn how to make coffee and desserts.

"Look at this! Doesn't it look even better than yours?" Lena bragged, showing off her latest creation with a grin.

As a teacher, Keira believed in encouragement over criticism. "The student surpasses the master. You've done great.

"I think so too," she said, smirking. “If-l-ever-lose my job, at least I'll have a skill to fall back

on."

Keira chuckled. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you planning to steal my livelihood?" "A thriving industry isn't built on one success-it flourishes when it's full of competition," she declared with her own brand of logic.

She wasn't wrong; no industry thrived with just one dominant player.

"Teaching the apprentice only to starve the master," Keira joked with a sigh.

"No worries. If you go bankrupt, I'll hire you for a ridiculously high salary to work for me," she replied with mock seriousness.

Keira gave her a thumbs-up. "Between the two of us, you're definitely the better boss- ruthless enough to succeed."

She laughed. "That's right! I wield a scalpel for a living. If I weren't ruthless, I'd never get anything done."

They spent their days laughing and chatting like that, and with her company, Keira was genuinely happy.

Hayden was busy with his own work but still stopped by the café every day to help out. He even took care of most of the cleaning in the evenings, essentially becoming her free labor.

“Rea, having a husband is pretty great. I think I want to get married too,” Lena mused for the umpteenth time.

Keira teased her. "What's wrong? Feeling lonely, or is your estrogen surging and demanding a release?"

"Both," she admitted freely, unbothered by pretense.

“Well, then, just go and pick someone up," Keira suggested cheekily.

Lena leaned back in a lounge chair, staring at the sky. "Those kinds of places don't feel... clean."noveldrama

"Don't tell me you're still thinking about Professor Neumann. If you reach out to him now, he

might still be waiting for you," Kelra teased, referring to Nate, who had vanished after leaving.

A good horse doesn't graze on old grass. Besides, I've already chewed on that grass-it's boring now," she replied with a grin that hinted at her playful, cavalier attitude,

Keira smirked. "Then find someone interesting someone who'll give you a run for your money."

Lena seemed to catch Keira's drift, rolling her eyes at her. "What did Aaron feed you to make you keep pushing me toward him?"

"I just think he's too good to let go. If another woman snatches him up, it'd be a shame. Better to keep it in the family," Keira joked.

"Stop it," Lena said, her tone half-joking, half-serious. "I'm already on edge thinking he might one day cut ties with the Ace family. My parents wouldn't be able to handle it."

She glanced at Keira thoughtfully. "Do you think his silence lately means he's having second thoughts because of what I said?"

“Not necessarily," Keira replied. “Maybe he's just waiting for the right moment. Aaron isn't impulsive. If he's made up his mind, he'll see it through, but he'll take his time to prepare."

"Look at you, acting like you know him so well. Don't tell me you've got something going on behind my

back?” Lena teased, laughing as only close friends could.

"Wow," Keira said, feigning shock. "You've found me out. Now you'll have to cover for me so my sour plum of a husband doesn't find out."

"Sour plum? There's a monster like that in this café?" Hayden's voice suddenly cut in, startling both of them.

Lena raised her eyebrows at Keira, clearly amused and waiting to see how she'd handle this.

Keira extended my hand toward Hayden with a smile. He walked over, took her hand in his, and gently brushed her cheek before turning to Lena. "Don't corrupt my wife," he said in a calm but firm tone.

Lena's face lit up with mock surprise as she turned to Keira, her expression full of exaggerated incredulity.