Omnia Vincit Amor | Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 3: An Unpleasant Memory

Chapter 3: An Unpleasant Memory

"One house special Cappuccino for my favourite customer today!"

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air as Lucy set the tray down on the counter. The steam emitting from it mildly soothed their senses, as well.

"I'm your only customer today," her customer pointed out and snickered.

Sitting on one of the barstools was her fellow Slytherin and best friend since fifth year, Imelda Reyes. Imelda looked the same except for a few wrinkles on her forehead and her height—the Latina had a growth spurt. She had also started letting her shiny black hair down, except when she decided to visit directly after a Quidditch practice.

"Hey. I heard Sallow's back from who-knows-where," she reported.

Lucy inhaled sharply. The mere mention of the name can make her jolt. She turned her back from Imelda, feigning busyness, as she was sure her body language would give out signs of her being bothered.

When the blonde did not reply, Imelda continued, "I mean—he literally disappeared from the face of the Earth after graduating. No one had seen him since. Did you know where he was?"

"No, we lost communication even before that."

She tried to sound as disinterested as she could, hoping the black-haired witch would drop the topic.

"Oh. I assumed you two would stay friends, at least months after the breakup. After all, your friendship was resilient before you two decided to snog the living hell out of each other," she took a sip of her coffee to hide the smirk.

Lucy rolled her eyes at her and snorted. "Thanks for reminding me I used to snog a prick, Imelda."

She did not mean that, of course. But at times, she forced herself to call him derogatory names to mask the fact that she still longed for him.

Imelda eyed her suspiciously.

She knew about their past. She, Ominis and Anne did, at least. The two had been secretive about their relationship that they only show intimacy when they were alone.

If not for Ominis and Imelda being their best friends, they might not have noticed, as well.

—And of course, because Ominis had regrettably walked in on them in the Undercroft.

Aside from that, there were also plenty of times, much to their displeasure, when they noticed that the two did not retire to their respective dorms at night.

When she found out that the two had broken up, she did not try inquiring why, seeing how bad it breaks the blonde witch whenever she was reminded. But now that it had been years since, she expected that Lucy had fully moved on and would finally be ready to talk about it.

"Why did you break up, anyway?" she finally asked. She made sure that her tone was far from intimidating.

Lucy was hesitant at first. Talking about the past no longer pains her. However, Sebastian had treated her well during the entirety of their relationship. The least she wanted was people's unsolicited opinions on the brunet wizard.

But, as much as she wanted to protect him from possible distressing remarks, she also felt like she owed the people who cared for her during her desolate times a proper explanation.