Fragile Ties

Chapter 1

For Serena, there was only one thing pushing her forward. She would have given up many times but she had to persevere. One of the times she would have given up was when she found that her tuition was no longer being paid for by her family. She had tried calling them and even sending messages but still no one had replied to her so she took matters into her own hands because she knew that if she failed to keep her end of the bargain she had struck with her family her brother would suffer the consequences. To pay for tuition She decided to work at a cafe.

The cafe had a rustic feeling and made her feel at home. There was just something about the design that reminded her of her home country China. Maybe it was because it had a decoration that she suspected was from her country. Another thing she loved about the cafe was the fact that she could design to her heart's content, especially when she wasn't on duty. But even with that, for every advantage, there is a disadvantage and one of those regarding the cafes she was working in was the fact that every man who walked into the cafe tried to hit on her. She had no idea if it was such a common thing in the UK and also, most times, it had to do with the fact that she was Asian like the man who was currently in the cafe.

“Are you Asian?”

Serena fought hard not to roll her eyes at something so obvious. Her looks were of a very typical Asian female although her eye colour was a bit different because her mother was not Asian, but every other thing about her screamed Asian. Her father's genes were dominant.

Serena had straight black hair. Her eyes were a blue colour and she had a mole just beneath her left eye. Her nose was perfectly shaped and her lips were heart-shaped. Each feature suited her face perfectly. She was currently wearing a white long sleeve and a black skirt as was the dress code for workers in the cafe when the blonde-haired man walked in.

His teeth had a black colour that made her wonder just what he had been doing to make it look like that. He wore a raincoat due to the weather and he gave her a leering look.

Even with how annoyed Serena was at the situation, she had to control her rage and smile at the man. Besides, when it came to businesses, the customers were always right and she knew how wrong it would be for her to lift a hand first. She could be charged with battery for hitting him, or assault for intending to hit him bringing down the reputation of the cafe which was just now having a steady influx of customers.

“Yes,” Serena said to the man replying to his previous question.

The man licked his lips. “How about me and you go out sometime?”

“Sorry, but I'm busy.” She told him.

“Come on. You can take some time off from serving coffee. I reckon it's not as good as the time you are going to spend with me.” He told her.

Serena smiled at the man and gave him the coffee he asked for. She was very certain serving coffee would be more entertaining than spending time with someone like him. And besides, this was the last time she was working here. She was done with her education and it was finally time to return home. Serena was happy because there was one person she was sure would be excited to see her return home; Lucas, her brother.

“I'm sorry but I'm going to have to turn you down. Maybe some other time.” Serena said to him with a smile that was more fake than the emergency call she was about to make if he kept on pestering her.

Although, lucky for her, there was no need to do something that extreme because the man seemed to take her reason at face value and he willingly left the cafe.

Serena heaved a sigh of relief as the man walked out of the cafe with a limp she had not noticed. She was very lucky. Sometimes, they become rude because she gives them excuses. Serena heard a small chuckle from her coworker which quickly transformed into a sigh and turned to her coworker who watched her with watery eyes.

“I'm going to miss you,” Amara said to her with a sad smile.

Serena did not make a lot of friends because of how reserved she was but there was just something about Amara. Maybe it was the fact that the black girl who happened to be her junior I'm university was very friendly and wouldn't receive any from Amara when she suggested they should be friends and Serena had been unable to refuse the girl.

“I know and that's why we have the internet,” Serena said to her with a smile.

Amara laughed. “Would it hurt you to be straightforward and just say you would miss me too?”

Serena shrugged. “That's not how I do things so I can't do that if not it would mess with my image.”

Amara chuckled and moved in for a hug. “At least text me when you get there okay?”

Serena hugged her back. She appreciated the fact that there was at least one person she could relate to during her stay. There was someone else but it's been three years since she last spoke with him.

“I have a request for you,” Serena said to Amara who released her from the hug.

“I'm curious.”

“Remember that person I talked about?” She asked Amara.

Amara released a sigh. “Serena, I told you to forget him. How do we trust someone who always wears a hoodie and face mask when he speaks to us? He was always trying to be mysterious.”

“I know. But I can't deny that he was the first person to stretch out a hand when I was in need. I don't know if you'll ... .no if I'll ever see him again but on the rare chance that he walks into this cafe once more, could you give him something for me?”

Amara sighed. “You always speak a lot when it comes to this person.”

Serena laughed. “Would you at least help me?”

“You know I will. But I can't give you the hope that he would show up though.” Amara told her.

“I know. I know, but just do this for me.”

“What am I giving him?” Amara asked her.

Serena hurriedly opened her bag and brought out a brown envelope. It wasn't one filled with letters. And it was a bit larger.

“What exactly is in this thing?” Amara asked her.

Serena blushed. “It's a secret.”

Amara chuckled. “Duly noted.”

There was no time to continue their conversation because they had more customers coming into the cafe. Serena had little time to say goodbye to Amara because she had to hurry home to ensure all her things were in order. She still has some last-minute packing to do.

After ensuring that her things were packed, Serena made some finishing touches to a design but it still wasn't giving her what she wanted so she closed up her sketchbook. Before going to bed, she sent a message to the same person she had given the letter to.

‘I don't know when we'll see each other again, it's not goodbye yet…I hope.’

She did not wait to see if it was delivered. There could be a chance that he was no longer using the number she had sent the message to but she wasn't ready to face that harsh reality yet.

Morning came faster than expected and Serena had her bath, her body humming with excitement at the idea of seeing her brother. She knew she was going to face some drastic changes because one of the clauses of the deals she had signed with her family was that in return for providing for her brother's medical expenses, she was going to study abroad, and when she finally came back, she was going to get married to whoever her family chose for her. She had no idea how they would choose or who the person would be but she was determined to face the hard reality of her life if it was going to save her brother's life. Nothing was going to stop her from saving him.

Serena lost track of how long the plane ride was, but one thing she did notice was how she was more comfortable travelling back to her country than she was when she was travelling out of the country. She had informed her family of her return to the country but she had no idea that they would send a driver to pick her up and he wasn't a driver she knew. But it wasn't like she cared. She was on her way to finally meet her brother.