Affair of the heart
Act I - Diamond of the season
Elira had learned to play the piano at the age of five, mastered embroidery by the age of seven, spoke fluent French and Italian, and never spoke out of turn. She was the very image of perfection.
Since her mother had passed away on a cold December night, her father had made it his mission to shape her into the most refined young lady, the ideal wife for a future earl.
And yet, despite being the perfect lady, at eighteen years old Elira had never loved anyone.
Not for lack of suitors, she was one of the most sought‑after young women of the Season, yet even the Duke of Waterbury himself seemed common to her…
“They seek your name, not your soul,” her sister Mira would say.
Mira, the black sheep of the family, had refused to make her debut two years ago despite their father’s desperate attempts to turn her into a proper young lady.
She now lived in Edinburgh, devoting herself to painting and reading.
One day, during a visit to the city, Elira slipped away to the back of a bookshop, seeking fresh air away from her chaperone. There, on the pavement, she found a young man reciting poetry to passersby.
He had tousled hair, simple clothes, and dreamer’s eyes.
“Are you lost, my lady?” the young man asked, noticing the look of admiration and wonder in her eyes as she stopped in front of him.
His name was Elias, son of artists, a poet without a title, raised in the untamed freedom of art.
In the weeks that followed, Elira and Elias met in secret. He would read her his verses, while she gazed at him as if he were the only thing in the universe. In return, she would play haunting pieces on the piano in the old abandoned conservatory.
For the first time in her life, Elira felt she was no longer playing a role. She could simply be herself. She was living.
But it could not last.
Act II - Dreams that burn
The summer social season was drawing to a close, and Elias had to leave. He had been invited to Edinburgh to publish his first book, a collection of poems he had written over the years, including several inspired by Elira. It was his dream, the one he had spent his entire life working toward.
The night before leaving, he handed Elira a letter.
“Read it when you are ready, but do not seek me if you choose to stay here.”
She never opened it. She feared losing the only person who made her feel like herself, the only one who saw beyond the facade of the “Diamond of the Season.”
But she feared even more losing the image of the perfect daughter her father had fought so hard to preserve.
And so… she let him go.
Two years passed. Elira attended balls, turned down proposals, not only because she wasn’t interested, but because she still hoped that, by the will of fate, Elias would one day return for her.
She surrendered herself to an empty routine… until Mira returned from Edinburgh.
“I’ve met someone,” Mira said with a flirty smile.
“So soon?” Elira asked.
“He’s special… strange… free. He writes poetry with such passion, as if he could not breathe without it.”
The surprise came when Mira brought this “someone” home.
And there was Elias, standing in the drawing room, holding a white rose, with the same dreamy eyes from years ago.
When their eyes met, there was no scandal... only a silence that spoke louder than a thousand words.
“A pleasure to meet you, Lady Elira.”
“The pleasure is mine… Mr. Elias.”
They both pretended not to remember… all the afternoons spent behind the bookshop, sharing their deepest secrets, playing like children.
Mira suspected nothing; her life was different, rebellious, free, carefree.
Their father no longer tried to control her.
Elira, on the other hand, was still trapped between duty and her desire for her father’s approval.
One night, finding each other in the library during a bout of insomnia brought on by the situation, Elias approached Elira.
“You opened the letter, didn’t you?”
“I burned it,” Elira whispered. “I could not allow my love for you to destroy everything I have worked for.”
Act III - When the sun begins to rise
The following days were tense. Elira began to see Elias with her sister, laughing, sharing poems he had once only read to her. Her heart broke a little more with each passing day.
But fate was not finished.
One afternoon during a social gathering, Mira introduced Elira as her sister to a group of artists.
Until then, Elias had not known they were sisters.
He withdrew at once. He sought her in the gardens.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what? That the woman you share your verses with is my own blood?”
“But I would have understood. I would have done something.”
“It’s too late now, Elias.”
They both knew they could not go back.
That same night, Mira noticed something.
She looked at Elira with a mix of understanding and sorrow.
“You loved him too, didn’t you?” she asked.
“I still do.”
And without another word, Mira packed her things and left the next day.
She did not complain.
She left only a note:
“Sometimes freedom is choosing to let go of what you love, so it can truly be free.”
“Do you still think it’s too late? That we’re not part of the same world?” Elias asked.
She looked at him, without piano, without verses, only with the eyes of someone who had finally chosen herself.
“No… I think this is the right moment to start writing my own story… our story.”
And just like that... they fled to the north, leaving behind all the limits placed upon their love.
There was no public scandal, only whispers.
Years later, a small bookshop in the heart of the city would bear its name: “Affair of the Heart”
Founded by an elegant woman who had learned to live for herself,
and a poet who had loved her since the very first note.
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About the author / Author's bio
My name is Lahira Palmero, and I am a 17 year old rising senior at West Haven High School in Connecticut. I wrote this narrative as part of the Yale Pathways to Arts and Humanities program, during the Storytelling workshop. In this story, I wanted to explore the balance between romance, drama, and the pursuit of personal freedom. I believe that people should be able to make the choices that bring them the most happiness even if it means disappointing others.
For this narrative, I was inspired by the deep tension and emotional connection of Bridgerton season 2 (Kate and Anthony), the challenges and unconditional love of The Notebook, and music that captures longing and nostalgia: songs like “Flawless” by The Neighbourhood, “The Blonde” by TV Girl, “Something About You” by Eyedress and Dent May. Through this narrative, I hope to transport readers to worlds where your desire to live a certain way defies expectations and freedom becomes the most powerful expression of love (especially self-love when you decide to stop living for others.)