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12. Coffee

September 2026,
Ovzdusia, Soare-Luna Kingdom

Alyanna

I was surprised to see the door to Jay's suite open. I peeked in and saw a tall, wiry man walking out. He was wearing the staff uniform so I assumed that Jay had called for room service. But why so early in the morning?

He was surprised to see me standing right outside the door. "Could I help you with something, Miss?" he asked with a pleasant smile. Thankfully, he didn't recognize me. A lot of people didn't and that was a very good thing.

"I'm here for Jayden. Is he in?"

The man looked at me and then at Gillian, my bodyguard, standing a step behind me. He looked a bit intimidated by the presence of the mountainous man. He quickly looked back at me and smiled. It looked a lot less natural than his previous one. "He indeed is. Mr. Carlton had requested a wake-up call with coffee," he said, explaining what he was doing there. That made sense. "He should be awake now if you wish to see him."

"Thank you." I smiled.

He tipped his head and left quickly.

I elbowed Gilly. "Chill, will you? You scare everyone away!"

"One of my many charms," he grinned. Both my bodyguards were tall, bulky men who could put the fear of God into anyone with one look if the person in question didn't know them personally and knew that they were secretly teddy bears. And Gilly, mischievous as he was, found great amusement in intimidating others with just a look.

I sighed and shook my head but smiled anyway. It was kinda fun.

Now for the hard part.

I looked at the open door in front of me. I just had to walk in and Jay would be there. But even walking through the doorway felt like a difficult task. I picked at the hardened skin near my nail.

I could admit that I was nervous. This seemed like the point of convergence of infinite alternate realities. So many different possibilities. Anything could happen. I was going to see him after years and I didn't know how he was going to react. I hoped he accepted me with open arms, just like Kate did.

Kate had assured me that Jay had been 'hoping and praying for this moment for years' so he would be nothing but happy to see me. I really hoped that was true.

My heart started racing and my palms grew sweaty but I walked inside. Gilly put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. "I'll be here, right outside the door. Say my name and I'll barge right in," he told me seriously. I nodded, appreciating his concern even though both of us knew that Jay wasn't a threat. The only thing that had the possibility of getting hurt in there was my heart. But for Jay, I was more than willing to risk it.

I continued walking inside. The living room area was immaculately clean and unused. I noticed that the bedroom door was ajar. He had to be in there.

I took a deep breath and gently opened the door.

Jay was sitting up in the middle of the bed, his back resting against the headboard, a cup of coffee in one hand and a book in the other. A lock of hair fell on his forehead as he focused on reading this book. The sight made me smile. It was a sight I had seen thousands of times.

The moment I took one step in, his eyes shot up and met mine as if he instinctively knew that I was here. They widened for a fraction of a second before they crinkled at the corners. A dazzling smile spread across his face. I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Hi."

"Hi," I breathed. He looked happy. Jayden looked happy to see me. This had to be some sort of a dream. Both Kate and Jay were nothing but delighted to see me.