The café was filled with soft background music, a tender melody that curled gently through the air like smoke, mingling with the quiet murmur of patrons' conversations. Now and then came the faint clinking of silverware against porcelain, but otherwise, the atmosphere was calm and subdued. Stella sat stiffly in her chair, her body poised as though her very posture could shield her from the uncertainty clawing at her heart. Her makeup had been meticulously applied, every line precise, every shade carefully chosen, as though the layers of powder and color could provide her with a fragile shield of security and the illusion of confidence she no longer truly possessed.
