Manish Surve, the owner and operator of the cafe Chad was sitting in, was nothing like the man he'd been imagining in his head.

The image in Chad's head had been of a quiet, demure Indian man, with chestnut tan, pitch-black hair, and similar kind eyes to the mother he and Jo had shared a cup of tea with. Perhaps in a nice comfy pair of business pants and a white shirt. Not at all like the man sitting opposite Jo, leaning against the hardback chair like he was a modern-day Bond.

The man who sat across the table was suave, debonair, and—edgy. He wore skinny black jeans, black Onitsuka Tiger, and a semi-fitting white shirt with top buttons undone and sleeves rolled up high, revealing the ample ink spanning the length of his arms. His hair was in a styled coif, his body fit and ripped. If Chad wasn't sure this was Manish Surve, he'd have mistaken the man for a model, posing for a photo shoot, the way he was lounging on the back of the chair.

What made it worse? The guys seemed to know Yumi much better than Chad had ever done, and a part of him wondered, 'how well' did the guy know her? Or rather, did she know how far that ink spread beneath the shirt for one? This guy put Ben the demi-God to shame.

"Why are you looking for her?" the guy asked again, a hint of annoyance in his deep voice, perhaps at the inconvenience the visitors were causing him and his business.

Chad tried to appear bigger than he was, flaring his chest out like a silly peacock. "She left this for me a couple of days ago and disappeared." He slipped the 'Dear Chad' letter out of his pocket and slid it across the table as if it were a piece of covert intel he was slipping to the dashing Mr Bond.

Manish didn't make a move to grab the letter. Instead, he addressed Jo as if she were the boss. "And what makes you think I know where she is?"

Jo gave him one of her looks Chad knew very well. The 'you're kidding me, right?' look. Turns out, Jo was the boss, and that look did the trick. Manish shifted in his seat a little under her scrutiny.

"I don't know where she is, but she came a week ago, asking for help, in case this actually happened."

"In case what happened?" Chad sat up a little straighter. A week ago, she had been with him, busy planning to attend the ceremony. He hadn't even popped the question yet.

"She said you might come looking for answers one day." Manish shrugged. "That you might show up asking a bunch of questions... I guess this is that time."

Chad fiddled with his coffee cup, no longer interested in the drink. He met Jo's gaze then. "She was planning to leave me a week ago? And what a dumbass I was, proposing."

That's when Manish sat up in his chair, intrigued. "You proposed to Yumi?"

Chad nodded.

"When?"

That was an odd question, and Chad wasn't sure he wanted to answer it.

"The night before she left," Jo volunteered.

Manish chewed on the inside of his cheek as he studied Chad before reaching for the letter. He pulled it towards himself and eyed the first page. "One thing I've learned about Yumi over the years, is she doesn't enjoy dredging up the past..."

Manish flipped through the pages as if trying to see how long it was, but gave up and slid the papers back to Chad, saying, "She doesn't like talking about it. Thinks she'll influence one's opinion if she tells you her past herself. She'd rather you hear it from others and form your own opinion."

Chad's brows furrowed with curiosity then. It was definitely an interesting notion. Why she ran away and sent him on a goose chase, rather than tell her story herself? "Are you telling me she wants me to make a decision about her without her influencing it?"

Manish touched the tip of his nose to say bingo. He called over a waitress and ordered a round of loaded fries, seeing how Jo was quietly polishing her plate of food in front of her, while Chad barely touched his tart.

"The letter told you to go meet people, didn't it?" Manish asked.

Chad nodded, slowly. The man had barely even glanced at the contents of the letter, so how did he know she'd asked him to 'meet her past'? "You know what she wrote?"

Manish shook his head. "When we were kids, I received a similar novel. She thought I'd want to know just how naughty she'd been, in case I wanted to end things with her. In her head, she owed me that. To allow me to understand her and choose either way, forgive, or break up."

Jo swallowed her scrambled eggs quickly and beamed. "So you're her ex?"

Manish gave them an amiable smile. He was.

So Yumi's seen the tattoo and how far up—or down—it goes. Chad grimaced at the thought.

"How long were you dating?" Jo asked, eagerly digging into the loaded fries that arrived at that point.

Manish grabbed a fry and popped it into his mouth. "We dated since high school. Let's just say we were each other's first everything."

Chad did not miss the gloating look Manish threw his way.

"Give or take, we were on and off for years till we got to uni, or rather till he showed up," Manish managed in a sour demeanour.

"He who?" Chad couldn't help himself. Obviously, the 'he' who soured Manish's mood wasn't Chad. He'd only met the guy ten minutes ago.

Manish leaned forward, hovering conspiratorially over the table as if he was about to reveal a nasty secret. The notion sent a nervous flutter through Chad's tummy. "Understand something about Yumi. She wasn't always like this. Before I tell you what she can't herself, she changed, from this sweet little innocent girl I grew up with and loved, to this secretive, careless person the last year I knew her. Yumi was shy, risk-averse. I mean, she thought lying to her folks about who she was hanging out with after school was a big thing when we first decided we liked each other and wanted to try out dating. Both our parents would have killed us if they knew we were more than friends. We were too young in their eyes."

A smile played on Manish's lips as if he were recalling memories. He leaned back against his chair again. 

"So what happened between the two of you?" Jo asked, finally satiated with plentiful food. She leaned back against the padded backing of the crescent booth she occupied mostly, with Chad allowed a small perch on the other end.

Chad felt an odd sense of dread settle in his stomach, a dread that was heavier now than the moment he'd first read that letter. Yumi had dated this guy for years and something had made her leave him? The way Manish was talking about her, Chad could tell the guy would drop everything in a heartbeat if he could be with her again. Manish still loved her, or at least a part of him did, the part that couldn't kill the smile as he talked about their past.

Worries niggled at the back of Chad's mind. He tried to lean back as casually as possible to appear calmer and nearly fell off the booth.

As Chad steadied himself, Manish studied him. "You're all right?"

"He's fine!" Jo's patience ran thin as she tutted at Chad. "What were you saying about you two? Who came in between?"

Manish chewed on his lips, tittering between wanting to spill his guts, but restraining himself. "I don't like to gossip."

Jo glared at the kid opposite her with hate in her eyes. Chad only hoped Manish would squirm again and go for option one: spill the beans.

"Then why did she come to you a week ago? What did she want you to do? Stare at Chad, so he feels worse about himself?" Jo gritted her teeth. "We didn't come here to be ridiculed for loving too much or loving blindly. She had something to say to him. She should have done it herself. Instead, she took the coward's path, and now we are running around trying to find her so my brother doesn't get heartbroken again for no reason other than he loved someone too much."

Warmth spread over Chad as he watched his sister defend his honour. But another part of him wanted Jo to stop talking. Please stop talking. "Jo," he tried to get her attention, but Jo was far too gone and far too heated for him to stop her.

Jo got to her feet then or tried to. Her hips hit the table. It was too close to the seat and bolted to the floor that one couldn't truly stand straight. She plonked herself back on the seat and sneered at Manish. Her narrow little nose flared. "So what is it? She is just out to make him feel like a fool, so he'll take the question back? So she doesn't have to marry him? It's not like he's forcing her!"

Patrons on the nearby table turned then to glare at the trio, and Chad shrunk away from their looks. "Jo, please. Stop."

Jo heaved a deep breath, jaws still gritting. "Fine."

Manish shifted in his chair, eyeing the siblings with newfound curiosity. "She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Chad wasn't even sure if he'd spoken or just moved his lips. Curious busybodies still threw looks their way.

"She wants to marry you."

"But?" Jo's tone was demanding, but Chad was glad she'd asked what he couldn't. He's sensed a 'but' too.

"But, she wants you to know her past, the things she's done that she's perhaps ashamed or, or sorry for. She's giving you a chance to opt-out now rather than years down the track." Manish calmly said as he slowly rose to his feet. "I'm sorry she went about this the wrong way. I agree with you. She should have just been brave and told you everything she wanted to tell you, but she's always been like this. She doesn't enjoy talking about herself. And it's not a cry for help or attention. She genuinely believes—I suspect—that you deserve the truth, a truth that she hasn't tainted in her own retelling."

Manish slowly tucked his chair away. "I'm sorry I have to get back to my kitchen, but since you've come all the way here, perhaps you should go talk to her best friend from uni. She'll know more about the guy than I can tell you. All I know was, she met him at uni, and fell in love, hard. From what I could tell, he was a big influence, but she'd never tell me about him. Just said, there was nothing more left between us other than friendship. Here, I'll give you her name and number." Manish grabbed a pen out of his pocket and scribbled a name and number on his unused napkin, sliding it over to Chad before he left them.

"You're not the first man to fall in love with her, and you might not be the last, but she came to me for help. You're obviously special. I hope things work out between you two, truly. This is the happiest I've seen her in a long time." Manish walked away from them then. "Go see Echo. She'll have answers for you."

Chad watched Manish walk away. "What sort of name is Echo?"

"The name a parent gives to their child." Jo slid out of the booth, sniggering. She picked up the napkin with Echo's number. "I gotta say, that man was yummy with a capital y, but not very helpful! He's probably jealous you got the girl, kinda..."

"I thought you were fully into Tom." Chad threw her a look, pouting. "And I didn't get the girl. She ran away, remember?"

"Don't mean a girl can't look—I got eyes! And I'm sure you'll find her. Ready for round three?" Jo held her bag to Chad, 'carry it,' her eyes said. "I ate too much and I can't breathe, and I'd like to be home soon and put up my feet."

Chad rose to his feet and carried Jo's bag out of the café. It weighed a ton! What did women usually carry, anyway? Everything but the kitchen sink?

"What do you think this Echo will say?" he asked, exiting the café.

"Hopefully, not just echo Manish!"

Chad could hear Jo laughing as she dialled the number on her phone.