Chapter 5
Steve took the cake out of the fridge.
He dipped a finger into the cream and put it in his mouth, his eyes gazing blankly.
The wind chime hanging by the door rang as a breeze blew through, and Steve’s eyes lit up with surprise.
“Rita, you’re back.”
Steve turned around, and Evelyn froze for a moment. But soon, a smile reappeared on her face.
“Henrieta hasn’t come home this late. Is she mad at me?”
Steve shook his head. “She’s just being
1/9
Chapter 5
+5 Points
childish. Once she calms down, she’ll come back.”
As he spoke, Evelyn had already walked over to Steve’s side.
Seeing the cake on the table, she cried out in excitement.
“There’s cake! Steve, is it your birthday today? Happy birthday!”
Steve paused slightly in the act of eating the cake.
He explained to Evelyn, “Today isn’t my birthday. It’s our wedding anniversary!”
Evelyn quickly apologized, but Steve didn’t
seem to care.
See, those who are favored always act with
2/9
Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
impunity.
Not remembering his birthday, yet still the untouchable first love.
A pang of bitterness surged in my heart.
Evelyn grabbed the spoon from Steve’s hand, took a bite, and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“This tastes awful.”
When Steve heard that, he frowned slightly.
“It’s delicious.”
His expression grew serious, as if he was defending something precious.
His solemn demeanor sparked a fleeting, unrealistic hope within me.
3/9
Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
Maybe Steve did care about me after all.
Evelyn asked why there was a cake.
Steve might not have heard, because he didn’t answer her.
My thoughts drifted away.
After Evelyn left, even when Steve was with me, he was always moody and withdrawn.
From a young age, I believed that eating cream could make people happy.
I wanted Steve to be happy, so I started learning how to make cakes.
Birthdays, anniversaries, Independence Day, Valentine’s Day…
Every holiday, important or not, I would
4/9
Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
remember them, and then make a cake.
It had become an unspoken agreement between me and Steve.
I still remember my first cake, which wasn’t exactly a success.
But Steve stayed with me and finished the whole thing.
That day, Steve looked at my exhausted face and laughed softly as he pulled me into his
arms.
“Henrieta, you’re so silly. What makes worth all this trouble?”
I happily hugged him back and replied in a cheerful tone, “You’re worth it! Because you’re the one I love the most!”
5/9
Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
At that time, I truly loved him.
I knew full well that he hadn’t let go of Evelyn in his heart.
But like a gambler, I stubbornly bet everything on time.
I bet that time would change Steve’s heart, that one day I would live in his heart.
But unfortunately, time cruelly told me that those who bet must accept defeat.
And I lost everything.
“So, the reason you sent me to bed early was so you could celebrate your wedding anniversary alone?”
Evelyn’s sharp voice snapped me back to reality.
6/9
Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
She was agitated and shoved the carefully prepared cake off the table.
“You’ve developed real feelings for her, haven’t you? In just eight years, you’ve let her into your heart, haven’t you?”
Evelyn pointed at Steve, her voice hoarse with rage, each word a hammer blow on my fragile nerves.
She turned and flung open the fridge, tossing out all the ingredients I had carefully chosen and prepared, then stomped on them with all her might.
“Steve, you can only be mine! You said you would love me forever. You can’t go back on that!”
Those ingredients, each one selected
7/9
Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
with thought and effort, lay crushed under Evelyn’s feet.
I could already imagine the satisfied smile Steve would show when he ate the noodles I made or the dumplings I wrapped.
But now, they were all trampled by Evelyn, just like my heartfelt devotion, ground to pieces.
Steve stood up, pulling the hysterical Evelyn into his arms, gently patting her back to calm her.
And I… I could only stand by and watch it all unfold, like an outsider, excluded from his world.
I stared coldly at the chaos before me, the handmade noodles and dumplings stomped beyond recognition–just like the last flicker
8/9
Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
of hope I had for this love, crushed beyond repair.
