Alle Kapitel von He Chose Her, I Left After Eight Years: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 8

"Sophia, how much longer will it take to design our anniversary cake?"Lillian Reed's sweet voice snapped me out of my thoughts.Before I could answer, Lucas pulled out her chair as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His voice softened as he spoke to her."Don't rush her. Custom cakes take time. Let her think."I stared at him.I searched his familiar face for any sign of panic or guilt now that I'd caught him.There was none. Since he'd walked in, he'd barely taken his eyes off Lillian. He watched her every move as if he were afraid she'd hurt herself."I'm sorry. I can't take your order."Lillian frowned and shoved her phone toward me."What's that supposed to mean? If you can't honor a half-price promotion, don't advertise it. Are you messing with your customers?"My voice stayed calm."It's not that. I just don't want to take your order.""Why not?!"Lucas frowned, but instead of asking me what was wrong, he stepped protectively in front of Lillian."Lillian, don't get

I snapped out of my thoughts, took down the matching aprons, and tossed them into the trash chute outside.I'd barely gotten into a cab when a post popped up on my phone: "Avoid this place! This bakery in a luxury mall scams customers, and the owner is completely unethical!"My stomach tightened. Lillian had posted it.She'd completely twisted what happened. According to her, I'd discriminated against her because she had depression, refused her order, and then smashed things in front of her to intimidate her.She'd conveniently edited out every second that showed her destroying my cake. All that remained was a clip of me coldly saying, "I'm not taking this order," followed by a shot of the wreckage on the floor.Thousands of angry comments poured in.[Thank God this showed up on my feed. I was about to order a dessert table for my engagement party.][Probably some bitter single woman who can't stand seeing anyone else happy. Someone should sue her.]My account was flooded with hateful

When Lillian returned from her checkup and saw the transfer, her smile froze. Her phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor.Lucas happened to be walking past.He bent down to pick it up, but his gaze landed on the open chat on the screen.It was a conversation between Lillian and one of her friends.Lucas's expression darkened as he slowly scrolled up."LOL! Sophia was way easier to deal with than I expected. All it took was a few screenshots to run that idiot out of town.""I thought she'd put up more of a fight. She even gave up her shop! Too bad it ended so quickly. I wasn't done milking the drama for attention yet!""Don't worry. I've already signed three brand deals. As long as Lucas feels sorry for me, I'll have all the money and connections I need.""Faking depression works unbelievably well. I cry for two minutes, and he comes running."Lillian saw what he was reading and lunged for the phone.Lucas shoved her away without thinking, sending her crashing to the floor.The s

I thought Lucas would finally take the hint and leave me alone. Instead, he changed tactics the very next day.He stopped showing up at the café but started placing huge anonymous delivery orders.The florist next door eventually told me that he sat on a bench across the street every day, watching my café from a distance like a ghost.I was staring at another batch of anonymous orders on my phone, wondering how to get rid of him for good, when someone suddenly rushed toward me.It was Lillian. She dropped to her knees outside my shop.Dark circles ringed her eyes. Her hair was a mess, and she looked nothing like the smug woman who'd walked into my bakery a month ago."Sophia, I'm begging you. Please talk to Lucas for me. Make him drop the case! I'm still young. If I'm convicted of fraud and extortion, my whole life will be over!"I frowned and stepped back.After everything that had happened over the past month, Lillian looked like she was falling apart.She grabbed my leg and sobbed.