Chapter 163 Old Ties

Chapter 163 Old Ties
ALICE

I hadn’t seen his face in so long that I completely forgot that he existed.

“That’s a shit ton of security out there,” he remarked with a smile on his face. “What’re you expecting? A terrorist attack?”

“What do you want, Todd?”

He put his hands up in mock surrender. “I’m just a regular customer. I don’t want to cause any trouble. Two pistachio cream croissants, please.”

If I could, I’d kick him out. I didn’t know what to make of this unexpected visit, but I didn’t have high hopes for it. I got his order ready, took the payment, then asked him to leave. 

“Come on, Alice. What have I ever done to you to make you this mad?”

“You know as well as I do,” I replied calmly, looking around to make sure nobody was listening to this crap. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not going to work. Please, leave.”

Todd smiled, and this time, his expression changed completely. He didn’t look cocky as usual—he looked sad. “I figured we’d get along now that we have so much in common. We’ve both been abandoned by the people we thought loved us. Well, your case is better than mine, isn’t it? Theo hit his head and forgot you, so you can’t really blame him. But Carmella…” He paused and shook his head. “She chose him again, even after everything he put her through.”

I stared at his face and for several moments, I was unsure of how to feel about all this. Then, it became clear to me that I felt pity. 

Todd opened his mouth and looked like he wanted to mention something else, and for a moment, I thought he’d suggest that we get together to get back at them, but then he closed his mouth, smiled, and thanked me for the pastries before walking out of the bakery. 

God, what was that?

I couldn’t stop thinking about our interaction for a long time. I just found it so weird that he’d come here just to mention that to me. 

If I hadn’t known that it was all an act, how would I have responded to his words?

Francesca and Thelma showed up at around noon and I was happy to see them, and the sight of them was a welcome distraction from my thoughts. 

I served them a few pastries then sat down with them at one of the tables. Francesca asked me right away, “Where’s Rory? Wouldn’t he want a break to sit with us?”

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” I answered. “He’s really busy. Plus, I think the crowd bothers him a little bit.”

“Ah. I had some news I wanted to share with both of you, and I wanted to know what he thought about it,” Francesca claimed. “There’s an event for socialites at one of the best hotels in the city, and they were looking for prestigious bakeries. Naturally, I suggested Rory’s, and they want a box of samples. Whatever you're displaying today is good enough. If everything goes well, it’ll be fantastic publicity! What do you say?”

“I…Yes. Thank you. That would be so great!”

“Oh, and if it all works out, you’ll have to have everything ready by tomorrow morning. I’ll bring a list, naturally. It’s short notice, I know, but I forgot all about it!”

“Oh, I think we can manage. We have a large enough crew.”

“Yes, I think so, too. And how are you feeling today? Better?”

“Yeah. Much better,” I smiled. 

Thelma sipped her coffee and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to wring his neck for what he put in through?”

I laughed. “I’m sure. I just hope everything goes well. I’m worried.”

“Don’t be,” Francesca whispered. “Everything will be alright. Soon, our lives will go back to normal. It’ll be like none of this ever happened!”

“I hope so,” was all I could say. 

Half an hour later, they left. I took over for Rory to rest and have something to eat, then went back to the front. We closed at five, so we were getting everything ready to close for the day. Francesca called me and told me that the event manager confirmed the order, so we’d have to be in here at around five in the morning to get everything done. 

I was happy. Rory didn’t really understand the importance of such an event, but he liked knowing that people found his pastries delicious. 

Rory and I headed outside, leaving the store for the store manager to lock up. One of the security guards started walking us to the car, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking around as if for danger. 

That was when I spotted Emma standing not too far away from where our car was parked. I halted and the security guard looked alarmed. 

“Ma’am, is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” I answered vaguely as I stared back at her. She kept staring openly, not looking away once. What did she want? What was she doing here? I hadn’t seen Emma in a long time.

What was up with today?

“Just give me a minute, okay? Rory, you can get in the car so long. I’ll be back.”

“I wouldn’t advise that, ma’am. Mr. Linden-Hawthorne asked me to make sure you went straight home afterward.”

“I know,” I replied, meeting his gaze. “But I just need a few minutes.”

I walked up to Emma and she didn’t turn away or act like she didn’t see me coming. Before I could say anything, she told me, “You know, I saw the name of the bakery and all those positive reviews, and I couldn’t help but think about your brother. I thought about all the times you mentioned how much he loved baking, and then I saw you standing on the other side of the display. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

I said nothing and simply peered back at her. One of the security guards was standing somewhere behind me. I could feel his eyes on us. 

“I don’t mean any harm by showing up here. I just thought I’d come check it out, but when I saw you, I didn’t have the courage to go in. I think it’s great that your brother’s finally doing this. It’s a dream come true, right?”

Coldly, I answered, “I guess so.”

Emma raked a hand through her hair and looked elsewhere for a total of three seconds. Then, she said, “We were good friends, weren’t we?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “We were.”

She looked down to hide the fact that her eyes were filled with tears. “Benjamin moved to Australia. He got a job opportunity there and he wanted to get away from all this. Have you heard?”

“No, and in all honesty, I don’t really care what he does with his life.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” she stated awkwardly while scratching the side of her face. “Look, for whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry, Alice. You were my friend and I betrayed your trust. When Felix came to me with that offer, I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and that my life was sorted, and it was so easy to discard our friendship. I saw your life and how perfect it was, and I wanted that for myself, too. The fiancé. The boss’s respect. The position. I don’t know.”

I said nothing. Maybe I was being too cold, but I didn’t care for her apology. If I claimed to accept it, that would be a blatant lie. 

“On the bright side, it got you all this, right?” she claimed, gesturing around. “You’re sorted for life and I…well. I can’t even get another job.”

“I’ve gotta go, Emma.”

“Yeah.”

I turned away and headed toward the car. She was still standing there by the time we drove off. 

“Who was that?” Rory asked after a while. 

“No one,” was all I could think to say.