3 | ☕️ Atlas Is Now a Regular （Whether Anya Likes ItNot） ☕️
By the time Atlas walked into the café for the third day in a row, the staff had completely surrendered to the strange new reality.
Kaia, who had been working the counter for the past few hours, clutched her apron like she was witnessing a rare, once-in-a-lifetime event.
Her fingers tightened around the fabric as she watched the door swing open, heralding Atlas' entrance.
His steps were measured, confident, as if he was well aware of the effect his presence had on the room.
"Three days, Anya. Three," Kaia whispered urgently, leaning in toward Anya, her voice barely more than a breath.
Her eyes never left Atlas as he crossed the room, gliding through the space with the fluidity of someone who owned it.
"You don't understand. He never comes back to the same place twice, let alone three times! This is like-like a rare Pokémon encounter, and you just-"
Before Kaia could finish her sentence, the door chimed again. Atlas had arrived. The room fell into an almost unnatural silence, the faint sounds of clinking cups and murmured conversations fading into the background as if they, too, recognized the significance of his appearance.
Anya, unbothered as ever, didn't even need to glance at the door.
She was used to the flurry of activity that came with the morning rush, and Atlas' presence was just another part of the routine at this point.
She didn't even look up from cleaning the counter when she greeted him.
"Back again, Mr. Valtieri?" she asked with an easy grin, her voice light, as though she were welcoming any other regular.
But the reactions of everyone else in the café were unmistakable.
Patrons froze mid-sip, their gazes riveted on him.
The baristas at the counter stopped what they were doing, eyes flicking from their machines to the man who seemed like he didn't belong in such a humble place.
Atlas was no ordinary customer-he was the ruthless CEO of Valtieri Enterprises, a name that struck fear into the hearts of even the most powerful business tycoons.
Yet here he was, walking into a small, unassuming café, ordering the same drink every day without fail. It was almost absurd.
A customer in the far corner of the café choked on their drink, not from the sight of Atlas but from the sheer absurdity of the situation.
Atlas, a man used to intimidating boardrooms and high-stakes meetings, had now become a daily fixture in this quaint café.
He made his way through the room as though he were on autopilot, bypassing the curious gazes of everyone else and heading straight for Anya, the one person who had not once treated him like anything other than a regular customer.
Anya's grin widened as she finally lifted her eyes to meet his.
"Back again, Mr. Valtieri?" she repeated, only to realize mid-sentence that he hadn't signed for the usual.
She paused, tilting her head in confusion, but Atlas didn't seem bothered in the least.
Instead, he stood before her, his expression unreadable but intense as ever.
He stared at her for a long moment before slowly signing-his hands moving with smooth, deliberate precision. "Atlas," he signed, his fingers creating the shapes in the air with practised elegance.
Anya blinked, unsure of what she had just witnessed. "Huh?"
Atlas repeated the motion again, this time with a bit more emphasis. "Atlas."
The realization hit her almost immediately, her expression shifting from confusion to surprise to a hint of amusement.
She couldn't help but smile, a little disbelieving.
"Oh! You mean I can call you Atlas?" she asked, her voice light and easy as if she were just asking a new acquaintance for their preferred nickname.
Atlas responded with a single, slow nod, his eyes never leaving hers. His stoic expression didn't change, but there was something in the slight tilt of his head-a softness to his gaze-that hinted at a quiet approval.
Anya's smile widened. "Cool! Well, Atlas, your coffee's coming right up!" She turned away from him, starting the familiar motions of making his order, the gentle hum of the espresso machine filling the space as she expertly prepared the coffee.
Atlas didn't immediately take a seat or move away from the counter.
Instead, he stood there, an almost unnerving stillness to him as he observed her every motion.
He wasn't looking at her like a customer admiring the service.
No, he was watching her with the focus of someone studying a rare, fascinating phenomenon.
His gaze followed the way her hands moved with practised ease, the subtle flick of her wrist as she adjusted the cup, the way her lips parted slightly as she hummed a little tune to herself.
Behind the espresso machine, Kaia watched this silent interaction, her mouth slightly agape as she took in the scene. She couldn't help but lean forward, her voice hushed in awe. "He's imprinting on her like a baby duck," she whispered, almost in disbelief.
Anya continued making the coffee, oblivious to the effect she was having on the most powerful man in the room.
She hummed to herself, clearly enjoying the mundane rhythm of the task-grinding the beans, steaming the milk, creating the perfect froth.
To her, Atlas was just another customer.
She had no idea how unusual the situation was for someone of his stature to return day after day, to seek out the same simple pleasure in the form of a cup of coffee made by her.
But to Atlas, it was more than that. It was the unspoken familiarity.
It was her unshakable warmth and the way she treated him like a normal person.
She didn't look at him like a CEO, a mogul, or a man to be feared.
She saw him as Atlas, the guy who liked his coffee black and who liked to enjoy the simple pleasures of life without anyone complicating it.
That was something Atlas hadn't realized he needed until now.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silent observation, Anya handed him the cup. "There you go! Brooding CEO Special, round three," she said, her voice playful as she slid the cup toward him, her grin wide and bright.
For a moment, Atlas didn't take the coffee. Instead, he signed again, his fingers moving deliberately. "Tomorrow."
Anya's eyes sparkled with amusement. She laughed softly, the sound warm and genuine. "You're getting predictable, Atlas," she teased, her tone light, but there was something in the way she said it-almost like she was enjoying this strange little ritual they had started.
Atlas didn't respond, but there was a flicker in his eyes.
Something that almost resembled amusement-or perhaps it was just the faintest acknowledgement that, for once, he was enjoying the predictability.
He didn't speak another word. With a quiet nod, he turned and left the café, the door swinging softly behind him as he exited, leaving behind a stunned silence.
Kaia, who had been watching the entire exchange with wide-eyed astonishment, collapsed onto the counter in sheer disbelief, her hands gripping the edge as if she needed something solid to hold onto.
Her gaze was locked on the door that Atlas had just exited, still processing the impossibility of the situation.
She let out a dramatic, almost theatrical sigh, as though the weight of the moment had just hit her all at once.
The café, which had only moments before buzzed with the quiet hum of daily activity, now felt eerily still, as if it were holding its breath along with her.
"Anya," Kaia finally breathed out, her voice strained with both incredulity and a hint of panic. "What have you done?"
Anya, completely unfazed by the turn of events, took a slow sip of her coffee, the rich warmth of the drink filling her senses.
She didn't seem to notice the storm of disbelief swirling around her.
Her eyes glanced up lazily at Kaia, a single eyebrow raised in mild curiosity as she took her time to answer, clearly unaware of the full gravity of what had just occurred.
"Hm?" she replied, as if this were any ordinary morning, as though Atlas hadn't just strolled into their café-again-and acted like a man who wasn't used to being treated like a myth.
Kaia blinked a few times, her mouth slightly agape as she tried to make sense of what she had just witnessed.
She stared at Anya with a mix of awe and exasperation, her expression a blend of disbelief and wonder, as though she were seeing a magician pull off an impossible trick.
"What have you done?" Kaia repeated, this time louder, almost pleading for an answer.
Her voice wavered between admiration and an edge of panic, as if she couldn't decide whether to be amazed or terrified.
"You just turned Atlas Valtieri into a regular. A regular. Do you even realize who that is?"
Anya, however, seemed completely nonchalant, swirling her coffee in her cup with a casual ease that made it seem like this was just another customer, just another routine interaction. She gave Kaia a shrug that was almost too carefree, her grin never wavering. "...I think I got us a new regular."
Her words were spoken with such casual confidence that Kaia's mouth went slack in response.
For a moment, she stared at Anya, her expression frozen in disbelief, as if she hadn't quite heard her correctly.
Her eyes narrowed, then widened again, trying to comprehend the magnitude of what she was hearing.
The silence between them stretched out, an uncomfortable pause that seemed to fill the entire space.
Kaia opened her mouth, but no words came out at first.
Her shock seemed to have stolen her ability to speak, her brain still struggling to process the fact that Anya-who, just moments ago, had been blithely preparing coffee-was completely unaware that she had just made a world-shattering decision.
Kaia's gaze flickered around the café, the other staff members frozen in place, as though none of them dared to break the silence.
Even the usual chatter from the regular customers had died down.
Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for Kaia to either freak out or demand that Anya understand the sheer absurdity of what had just happened.
But Anya, oblivious to the storm brewing around her, just stood there with her usual, easy smile. She took another sip of her coffee, clearly enjoying the moment.
Kaia, still staring at her in wide-eyed disbelief, finally managed to find her voice.
"You don't get it, do you? He's not just any regular."
She threw her hands up, gesturing toward the door Atlas had just exited.
"That man-Atlas Valtieri-is the Atlas Valtieri. The CEO of Valtieri Enterprises. The guy who makes billionaires shake in their shoes. He doesn't come back to places. He doesn't do 'regular.'"
Anya shrugged again, nonchalant as ever. "Seems like he does now."
Kaia's face twisted in a mixture of astonishment and exasperation, her mind still reeling from what she had just witnessed.
"Anya, do you realize what this means?" she hissed, leaning in, her voice dropping to a near-whisper as if Atlas might somehow hear from beyond the door.
"You've just started a trend that could flip the entire power structure of the city on its head! The most powerful man in this city is now... your regular!"
The weight of Kaia's words seemed to hit Anya a little late, though she was still too distracted by her coffee to fully absorb the implications.
She glanced around the room, noticing for the first time the way everyone was staring at her-some in awe, some in disbelief.
She let out a soft chuckle, almost embarrassed, but didn't let it show.
"Well," Anya said, her voice light as a feather, "I guess I'll just have to make sure his coffee is perfect every time, huh?"
Kaia gaped at her, as if she were looking at someone who had somehow tamed a wild beast without even knowing it.
The entire café, still holding its collective breath, seemed to exhale at once, the tension in the air slowly dissipating, but only slightly.
Kaia's eyes remained fixed on Anya, a stunned silence stretching between them.
It was as if Kaia were seeing Anya for the first time-a person who had somehow done the impossible and didn't even seem to realize it.
"I can't believe this," Kaia muttered under her breath, sinking into a nearby chair as she continued to stare at Anya like she was a force of nature.
The whole café seemed to be waiting for something-maybe for Atlas to return, or for Anya to realize the full impact of what had just happened.
But no one moved, no one spoke, not even as the steady hum of the café slowly returned to its usual rhythm.
Anya just shrugged again, taking another sip of her coffee, blissfully unaware of the tornado she'd just unleashed in her own café.