Chapter 41

Norma’s Bakery Shift

Norma, to her credit, was the only one actually working without dying envy because she said she was a new person.

Or whatever she pretended to be.

No Instagram filters. No beanbag throne. No delusions.

Just her, a bag of flour, and a cracked 4 a.m. alarm clock.

She’d never needed the limelight like the rest of them. All she ever wanted was peace, a functioning oven, and the occasional spa coupon. Now, peace was gone, the oven was someone else’s, and her self-care routine consisted of crying silently while washing muffin tins.

She worked at a tiny family-owned bakery down the block—“Momo’s Crumbs”—where the walls smelled like cinnamon and ancient sweat. From dawn to noon, she baked muffins, kneaded dough, sprinkled powdered sugar, and fought the urge to slap customers who asked stupid things like, “Do these chocolate eclairs have sugar?”

Her hands were dry and cracked, dusted with flour that never fully washed off. Her back ached from leaning over trays, and her wr