LOGINThree years later, I bought a small building by the sea. The first floor housed my bakery, while the second floor was used to teach young women from the area how to make desserts. Some of them were just like the old me. They had no formal education and no family they could rely on. I paid them a wage and taught them a skill they could use to support themselves. Maya often told me that I'd changed a lot. I was no longer timid and cautious, nor did I instinctively read the room or walk on eggshells. Looking at myself in the mirror, I finally realized that I'd lived much more like myself after leaving Dylan. I never sold the old house Mom had left me. The hydrangeas in the yard bloomed every year. Once in a while, when I sat beneath the tree, I still felt a pang of sadness as I thought of my unborn child. However, that sadness no longer held me captive. I established a relief fund in his name to help pregnant women who couldn't afford medical treatment. The very first donation
A year later, I opened a second branch. I hadn't used the money Dylan had left me. The early days were brutal. I had mortgaged Mom's old house and limited myself to five hours of sleep each day. However, this time, all my hard work was for myself. Julian handled the publicity, while Maya helped me look after the main branch. On the day the new branch opened, a long line formed outside. Standing in front of the oven,I watched tray after tray of bread cooked. A sense of fulfillment took root in my heart for the very first time. In the past, whenever people talked about me, they always called me Dylan's wife. Now, there were people who came all the way here just to have a slice of my cake. I was no longer defined by my relationship to anyone else. Dylan would still show up from time to time. He no longer begged me to come back, nor did he stand in my way. He simply sat in the quietest corner of the bakery and ordered a cup of the black coffee I used to make for him. He had a
Dylan didn't leave the coastal town. He checked into the guesthouse next door. Every morning, before the bakery opened, he stood across the street. I ignored him, but he kept waiting until night fell. One day, a typhoon swept through the area, blowing the bakery's sign off its hinges. When I arrived at the bakery the following day, the sign had already been repaired. Julian told me Dylan had spent half the night fixing it in the rain. He'd gashed his palm on a piece of metal and needed six stitches. I contacted a repairman and had the old sign replaced with a new one. Dylan looked at the old sign that had been taken down, a flicker of embarrassment crossing his eyes. "Why did you change it?""I don't like to be in anyone's debt.""We're married.""Not for much longer."He fell silent. …Right before the divorce hearing, he finally signed the agreement. On the day he signed it, he transferred all his assets back under my name. I refused to accept them. He came to th
The weather was beautiful on the day my bakery opened. I named it "New Beginnings". Maya said it lacked sophistication, but it felt just right to me. It was a small shop, but I could see the sea whenever I opened the windows. In the beginning, business was slow. I got up at 4:00 am every day to knead dough and didn't close the shop until 10:00 pm. My body still ached from time to time. The doctor advised me to get regular checkups and reminded me not to overwork myself. Thus, I began to learn how to take care of myself. I'd always remembered Dylan's stomach medication, meetings, and every important date, yet I'd often forgotten that I could fall ill, too. …A month later, familiar faces started frequenting my bakery. Julian Walker, who owned the guesthouse next door, helped me take some photos and posted them online. The ocean view, fresh flowers, and warm, freshly baked bread drew plenty of tourists. Several recognized me as the former lady of the Smith family. I didn
It took me half a month to renovate the old house Mom had left behind. There was originally a dead orange tree in the yard. Maya advised me to chop it down, but I watered it for several days instead. Later, a gardener told me that the roots had already rotted. If I kept it around, it would only attract pests. I stood beneath the tree for a long while. "Let's chop it down, then."Some things, once dead, couldn't be brought back to life just by watering them a few more times. After the timber was hauled away, a large patch of the yard was left empty. So, I planted white hydrangeas there. I used my own savings to rent a small shop by the sea, where I planned to open a bakery. Before marrying Dylan, I'd worked as a drink server at a private club and as an apprentice at a bakery.When Mom was in the hospital, I often brought her leftover bread. She always told me that everything I baked was delicious. Later, after I moved into the Smith residence, there was a chef in the h
After the plane landed, I didn't turn on my phone right away. It was raining outside the window, and the lights of the unfamiliar city blurred together through the mist, reminding me of the rainy night many years ago, when I'd first gone back to the Smith residence with Dylan.Back then, he'd held an umbrella over my head and draped his coat over my shoulders. Now, I dragged my old suitcase and walked into the rain on my own.When my phone finally lit up again, dozens of missed calls appeared on the screen. I didn't click on them. The cab driver asked me where I wanted to go. I gave him the name of a small coastal town. Mom had left behind an old house there. When I was little, she always told me that once she was all better, she'd take me back there to see the ocean. Unfortunately, she never lived to see that day. As the cab pulled away from the airport, I silenced my phone and fell asleep against the window. It was a deep, heavy sleep. By the time I woke up, the sky was alr







