On Tuesday, Celina woke up determined to fully embrace this new chapter of her life. After breakfast, she spent the morning building her author profile on social media. She carefully chose every word for her bio, tested different versions of her profile picture, selected images for the banner, and began following authors, publishers, and bookstores.

Twenty minutes before Zoe’s lunch break was over, Celina’s phone buzzed. It was her.

“Girl, got time for some gossip?”

“Always. Spill it!”

“You’re not gonna believe this,” Zoe began, laughing on the other end. “Arthur drove me to class yesterday—dropped me off like I was some princess. Then he picked me up! And on top of that, he took me out. We went to Bar Brahma! The man’s a total gentleman. I’m serious.”

Celina laughed warmly.

“Girl, this is turning into a telenovela romance, isn’t it?”

“Friend, I really like getting to know him. For real. Arthur’s respectful, kind, funny… But listen, I’m holding back, okay? I’m dying to kiss that man,