Chapter 3

3.

Since that day, the space between Sasha and me felt like a fortified moat.

I stayed at the bakery late into the night, focusing on the competition to numb the pain.

The air was thick with the scent of sugar, and flour fell like snow from the sieve, but my mind was elsewhere.

I once thought that if I worked hard enough, I could keep our marriage on track.

Now I see I was just lying to myself.

The phone rang suddenly. It was Sasha's mother.

She had always looked down on me, believing a baker lacked the ambition to be a real provider.

In her heart, only Leo was fit to be her son-in-law.

The old woman's voice was commanding, ordering me to attend a family gathering.

I wanted to refuse, but I decided to give her one last bit of respect.

I took an Uber to my mother-in-law's house, carrying a box of my best pastries.

The moment I walked in, I was met with that familiar, icy indifference.

The room went silent, then someone whispered.

"So cringe. Why is he here? Sasha won't be able to drink with us now."

"Exactly. All he does is bake that stupid bread. Who cares?"

I ignored them and found a seat.

A while later, Sasha arrived, trailing behind Leo.

I noticed the brooch was gone from Leo's chest. He walked into the kitchen like he owned the place to talk to Sasha's mom.

Sasha sat down next to me and, with a look of triumph as if showing off a treasure, pulled out the brooch.

Her expression didn't flicker, and her eyes didn't blink. She lied right to my face.

"It was in the car after all."

Seeming completely oblivious to my mood, she pulled me toward her and pinned the brooch firmly to my shirt.

I stared at it. Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me.

How many more lies did she have planned?

In the kitchen, Sasha's mother was doting on Leo while he affectionately held her arm.

She said, "Leo, sweetie, stop working. Let Silas do it. You're the guest."

Leo acted like a spoiled child. "Auntie, I just missed you."

She faked a frown. "If you missed me, you'd visit more often."

Then she led Leo toward me and introduced him as if I didn't know who he was.

"Silas, this is Leo. He's like a son to me, which makes him Sasha's brother. They're close, so don't get jealous. Don't go stalking her with phone calls when they're out."

Her tone was a direct command.

Sasha's friend, Lila Ford, who always hated me, chimed in immediately.

"Seriously, Silas. Constant check-ins are so boring. We're respectable people; we're not going to let Sasha do anything crazy."

She added, "Our new research lab just started. We're swamped. Who doesn't work late during a startup phase? Leo even went to the hospital for alcohol poisoning while hosting clients!"

She was a hardcore supporter of the Sasha-Leo romance and the one who forgot to block me on social media.

She kept rattling on with her justifications.

I frowned, catching only one phrase.

"Startup? You opened a new research lab?"

Sasha had a perfectly good job as a manager at her old company.

Why would she start a lab now?

Realizing she had slipped up, Lila went quiet, and the others stopped talking too.