Chapter 8

It was George's handwriting on that piece of paper. Lucy looked at me and thought my marriage had come to an end. But it was worse than that.

I started crying, thinking about what could have happened to my mother-in-law.

In the note, George said that his mother had been hospitalized and that he had to travel to stay with her.

I was petrified. It could be serious. I was terrified. The note said that he had tried to call me. I picked up my phone and saw more than 20 missed calls. I called him, but there was no signal.

"Look at this, Lucy. My God. My mother-in-law has been hospitalized. He left a note."

She took the paper from my hand and started reading it silently. When she reached the end of the note, Lucy looked at me, unable to believe what was happening.

"How could this have happened so quickly?"

"She was already sick."

"Ah, then that makes sense."

"That's why I'm worried, Lucy. His mother has colon cancer. She's already had surgery twice."

"My God, Candy. George must be devastated."

"Yes, he must be thinking the worst. I'm really worried."

"I'm sorry, my friend. But don't forget that man just humiliated you."

"I want to put that aside, Lucy. We feel so terrible about everything that happened."

"Never do that again, Candy!"

"Do what?"

"Blame yourself for something you didn't do. You're not responsible for his mother being sick, or for him going through this difficult moment."

"I know, but I shouldn't have fought with him."

"Excuse me? Are you crazy? He started attacking you. I think you should get some rest."

"I don't know what to say. I'm completely confused. I'm going to call him again."

"Stop calling him, Candy. Send him a message instead. Tell him to call you as soon as he can, and you two can sort things out. I'm sure your mother-in-law will be okay."

"I wouldn't be so sure. She's already older. She couldn't afford to suffer any more complications after going through two surgeries in just one year."

"That makes things more complicated, but we can't give up. I don't give up easily. Speaking of which, where's that passion-fruit cake?"

"It's covered with passion-fruit ganache, and it's delicious. I'll get it for you and make some coffee for us."

I was still worried about my mother-in-law, so I went to the Candy Cake kitchen. Thinking about George, I ended up grabbing the first cake I saw and offered it to Lucy.

I made espresso for both of us, and we started enjoying the cake.

"Wait. Didn't you say it was passion fruit? It's delicious, but this isn't passion fruit. I'm sure."

I tasted a piece of her cake and realized I had made a small mistake. I had grabbed a slice of cake with white chocolate ganache without realizing it wasn't the passion-fruit one.

"Oh, my friend. I'm sorry. Now eat this one. I'll get you a slice of the passion-fruit cake."

When I stood up to go to the kitchen, my phone rang. It was George.

"Hi, Candy. How are you?"

He sounded somewhat cold. I didn't understand.

"Everything's fine. What about your mother? What happened?"

"I'm still on the road. I'll call you when I get there."

"But is she okay? Drive carefully, my love."

"I don't know, Candy. I don't know!"

George hung up the phone after starting to cry. He never let anyone see him cry.

In those final seconds, I noticed that his voice had become choked with emotion. Something serious was happening to my mother-in-law.

From the city where we lived to her city, it was a six-and-a-half-hour drive. My husband should have just been starting that journey.

I was anxious to find out what had happened to her. I was deeply worried, fearing the worst.

If before I had been thinking about staying away from home because of him, now I wanted George by my side.

"Your husband probably isn't coming home tonight, is he?"

"I don't think so, Lucy. And that scares me. It takes more than six hours just to reach my mother-in-law's city."

"What is it? Are you afraid of staying home alone?"

"It's not that. I just want to be by his side during this difficult time. And besides, this house is huge for one person."

"Then pack your things and spend tonight at the hotel. Weren't you already planning to do that?"

"I don't know, Lucy. What if George comes back? Won't he find it strange?"

"My dear, your husband just left the house, and you still don't know for sure where he went."

"What are you trying to say? Do you think he's lying?"

"I don't know. What I'm saying is that you deserve a night in a really comfortable hotel bed. Take a day to rest, just for yourself."

"I think you're right, Lucy. I feel so tired. I have so much to think about."

"That's it. You're already feeling better. Always put yourself first. Everyone else comes after that."

"You're right. Come here, let me show you where Candy Cake operates."

Lucy and I started walking through the house. I showed her every room, just as everyone does when a visitor comes over for the first time.

She was amazed by the size of our garden. Lucy had no idea I was a successful businesswoman.

My friend thought I made a few cakes at home. But she was shocked when she saw the size of my production.

There were days when I sold more than a thousand cakes. Sometimes I hired freelance helpers to keep up with all the production.

"You have an incredible business, Candy. You don't need a man to be happy."

"I know that. But I have to admit that I still love George. Imagine if my mother-in-law dies. He'll be devastated."

"Yes, no one expects something like that. Let's stay optimistic. We'll pray for her and hope she gets better."

"I think I'll spend the whole night awake waiting for him to call."

"No, no. You're not going to spend a hotel night awake after paying for a room. You need to rest."

We went to my bedroom, where I thought about packing some clothes. I looked around and didn't see any sign of George.

"Wait. It looks like George didn't take any clothes. Strange, isn't it?"

"What do you mean? He always takes clothes when he visits his mother."

"Of course. George is picky about clothes. He changes two, three, even five times a day if he feels sweaty. He takes several changes of clothes to the gym every day. He wouldn't leave without his bag."

I pointed at the floor and showed Lucy that his bag was still there.

"Maybe he left in a hurry and forgot it."

"No, Lucy. He never does that. George is extremely methodical. But you're right. He could have rushed out of here."

I grabbed some clothes and went into the living room. Lucy asked for another cake.

"Can I take a few slices of cake home, Candy? I'll pay, of course."

"Wow, you really liked it, huh? Sure. Which ones do you want?"

"Get me one with passion-fruit ganache and another with chocolate. What other flavor do you recommend?"

"Oh, you have to try the pineapple and dulce de leche one. It's my favorite."

"Then I'll take one of those too."

I packed Lucy's order in a bag and handed it to her.

"How much is it?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, come on, Candy. It's your business. I insist on paying."

"You don't have to, my friend. You already gave me a ride here."

"And I'm going to take you to the hotel too. You don't need to take your car."

"Exactly. That's why you don't need to pay for this order. Save it for next time."

"Your cake really is divine. You have angel's hands."

"Thank you, my friend."

When I went to turn off the lights in the house, I found a top that wasn't mine.

"Lucy, is this yours?"

I picked up the top and showed it to her.

"Of course not. Imagine if that even fit me."

I looked at the size of it and thought: It can only belong to Chloe. I became extremely furious. Just three seconds earlier, I had been feeling sorry for him. But now I wanted to destroy George.

"I can't believe he brought that slut into our house."

"That can't have happened, Candy. Calm down."

I started crying with rage. I screamed George's name throughout the house.

"I know what I'm going to do. I'm going after him. I'm going to find that bastard."