「Five years later.」

I sat in my ex's consultation room with my daughter.

My ex: "What's the problem?"

I was so nervous I stammered, "An upset stomach. She ate too much."

My jerk of an ex chuckled. "Heh. Just as gluttonous as you."

"..."

'As if you know everything.'

1

It was a weekend.

I used the pretense of taste-testing new desserts to lure my bestie, Elise Duval, into working for free at my shop.

And, of course, to help me with the kid.

Once Elise arrived, I confidently handed over the shop's operations to her.

Then I hid away in the back kitchen to work on developing a new cake recipe.

As I came out carrying a freshly baked avocado cheesecake, I spotted my daughter huddled secretively next to Elise.

They both glanced back, looking as guilty as sin, and jumped when they saw me standing in the doorway to the back.

My daughter's mouth was smeared with cream. It was clear Elise had let her sneak a treat while I was away.

"Elise Duval! How many times have I told you? Don't do this behind my back!"

Seeing that the shop was empty, I couldn't contain my anger. "Melanie Sutton! Have you forgotten the last time you ate too much and ended up in the hospital with a stomachache?"

Elise immediately flashed an appeasing smile. She gestured with her hands, fanning the air in my direction as if to cool me down, but she didn't dare come any closer.

"Nora, calm down, calm down! Roly is just so adorable! The moment she starts begging, I just can't bring myself to say no!"

My daughter peeked her little head out from behind Elise.

"Mama, don't be angry. Roly asked Godmother to get it for me! Roly hasn't had any of Mama's little cakes in a long time."

Seeing the two of them presenting a united front, I was both exasperated and amused.

"You two are unbelievable..."

I sighed, deciding to ignore them.

I carried my new creation over to the refrigerated display case.

But then little Roly immediately toddled over. "Mama, can I have a wittle bite of dis one?"

I looked down and gave her a stern look. She stuck out her little lip, her face the very picture of dejection.

No wonder Elise couldn't bring herself to say no.

No one could resist such a cute little fluffball making a face like that.

But I was still shaken by what happened a year ago, when Roly ended up in the hospital after eating too much and getting an upset stomach.

For the sake of her health, I had to play the bad guy.

That night, after we got home, Roly's stomach started to bother her.

Seeing her little face all scrunched up in pain as she curled into a ball in my arms, my heart ached uncontrollably.

I picked her up, left our apartment complex, and hailed a cab to the hospital.

On the way there, I called my younger brother, Evan Sutton, and asked him to come to the hospital once he got off work.

The pediatric wing of the hospital was much more crowded on a weekend than a weekday.

By the time our number was called, nearly an hour had passed.

I carried Roly into the consultation room.

From the doorway, I could see that a computer monitor was completely blocking the doctor's face.

The nurse standing nearby seemed to recognize me.

"Oh? It's you, isn't it? Roly's mom?"

I recognized her too—she was the same nurse who had taken care of us a year ago, when Roly had been here for indigestion and a stomachache.

"Hello, Nurse Leigh," I said, forcing a smile. "Are you and Dr. Sloan on duty together again today...?"

I sat down at the doctor's desk as I spoke.

When I saw the face of my ex, Brendan Forrest, appear before me, I blanked out for a second.

Brendan Forrest froze for a moment when he saw me, too.

His voice seemed to be coming from far away.

"Dr. Sloan isn't in today."

I mumbled a quiet "Oh."

"What's the problem?" His voice was completely detached, devoid of any emotion.

I answered truthfully, "She ate too much and has an upset stomach."

Brendan Forrest glanced up at me and muttered, almost to himself, "Just like you."

"..."

It seemed I was the only one who heard him; the nurse didn't react at all, so she must not have caught it.

2

After Brendan Forrest finished his examination of Roly, he started working on his computer.

Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Nurse Leigh suddenly asked.

"Why didn't your husband come with you today?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Brendan Forrest's hands froze over the keyboard for a moment.

'Where did I get a husband?' I was about to ask, when I suddenly remembered I had come with my younger brother last time.

That was the first time Roly had an upset stomach, and both Evan Sutton and I were completely frazzled.

The doctors and nurses had mistaken our relationship, but we were in no state to explain.

After Roly calmed down, we completely forgot about it.

For some reason, Brendan Forrest's already grim expression soured even further.

I was just about to explain when someone burst through the door in a flurry.

"What's going on? Did she eat too much again?" Evan Sutton appeared in the doorway.

"Roly, you didn't listen to your mom again, did you?"

Roly didn't seem as uncomfortable as before, and some color had returned to her face.

"I did not! Roly always listens to Mommy! Mommy, Evan Sutton is yelling at me."

For some reason, Roly just refused to call Evan Sutton "Uncle," always insisting on using his full name.

"You little rascal, you have the nerve to tattle..."

Before I could finish, Brendan Forrest cut in.

"The prescription's ready. You can go to the pharmacy and pay. Nurse Leigh, please take them for the IV drip."

Brendan Forrest's gaze never rested on me for even a second. After rattling off the instructions in a brisk, professional tone, he prepared to call in the next patient.

Seeing him act this way, a bitter feeling welled up in my heart.

'This coldness is only to be expected, I suppose. After all, it's been five years since we separated.'

Lost in thought, I found myself staring at him for a moment.

As my gaze shifted, I noticed a packaging bag on his desk.

'Strange... isn't that a bag from my shop?'

Before I could dwell on it, the nurse was leading us out.

Evan Sutton went to pay and pick up the medicine while I sat with Roly in the infusion room.

"Mommy, that doctor was super handsome. Can I ask him to be my daddy?" As soon as the IV was in, the little one added in all seriousness, "Godmother says when you see something you like, you have to make the first move."

Roly's words left me stunned for a long moment.

'For a second, I even thought that through some mysterious bond of blood, Roly had managed to pick her own father out of a crowd.'

'But I quickly dismissed the idea.'

'How could Roly possibly recognize him? She's never even met Brendan Forrest.'

'Then my thoughts turned to Elise Duval, and I cursed her inwardly. What on earth has she been teaching my daughter?'

"Roly, from now on, I don't want you to listen to a word your Godmother says."

"Oh, so you two aren't husband and wife?"

I turned my head and saw Nurse Leigh was still standing there.

I gave Nurse Leigh a small smile and explained, "We're brother and sister."

"Oh, my apologies. I misunderstood."

Nurse Leigh then leaned down and said to Roly with a smile, "Roly, you can't just call any man 'Daddy'! That handsome doctor from earlier is already engaged, you know!"

'So, Brendan Forrest is engaged?'

'Is it to Raina Channing?'

Nurse Leigh's words sent my mind reeling back into the past.

Roly suddenly spoke up. "Mommy, what's 'engaged'?"

I tugged at the corners of my mouth, but a smile wouldn't come. "Engaged means... he's going to have his own family. He'll be someone else's daddy, so he can't be Roly's daddy, okay?"

Roly pouted, looking very disappointed. "Oh. Okay, then."

3

After I graduated from high school, my parents passed away in a car accident.

At the time, my younger brother had just received his acceptance letter from Oakhaven First Central High, and I had gotten my university acceptance letter as well.

Life didn't grant me the luxury of wallowing in the grief of my parents' passing.

As the older sister, I had to take on the responsibility for our family.

I gave up on going to university and went to work in the city to earn money.

You could say I was pretty lucky, though.

At my very first job, I met the master chef who introduced me to the world of pastries, Fredrick Rhodes.

His shop was called [As Ever], and it was located in the University District.

This was also where Brendan Forrest and I met.

He was a sophomore at Crestwood Medical University and would come to the shop every Friday to buy cinnamon rolls.

However, I didn't know any of this when I first started working there.

On that particular Friday, I was looking after the shop by myself.

The cinnamon rolls he wanted had long since sold out.

But he didn't get angry or upset about it. In the end, he left empty-handed without buying anything.

The incident stuck with me for a long time.

When he came back the following week, I handed him his packaged bread and threw in some new desserts I'd been experimenting with, free of charge.

He frowned, seemingly trying to figure out how to refuse me, and didn't reach out to take them.

I don't know where I got the courage back then.

I walked right up, took his hand, placed the bag in it, and gave him a brilliant smile.

After that, Brendan Forrest started coming to the shop more and more often.

Eventually, he was coming in almost every other day to sample my new creations.

Sometimes, he would even stay until I got off work.

We talked a lot on the way as he walked me home.

I poured my heart out to him about my life.

And he told me a lot about himself, too.

He said that his mom was actually the one who loved the bread from our shop, which was why he came every Friday to bring some back for her.

He said he'd never really had a sweet tooth, but after trying my desserts that one time, he discovered they weren't half bad.

That night, for the first time, I felt my heart flutter.

After two straight weeks of Brendan Forrest waiting to walk me home after work, I couldn't hold it in any longer and confessed my feelings to him.

In my memory, he was bathed in moonlight, smiling as he said to me,

"I thought I'd be the one who couldn't wait and confessed first."

Before I could even process what he meant, he pulled me straight into his arms.

...

Roly had fallen asleep with the IV drip still in, so I held her in my arms, patting her back gently and continuously.

My brother, Evan Sutton, had also fallen asleep sitting next to me.

I looked up. The last IV bag was almost empty.

Suddenly, Brendan Forrest appeared before my eyes.

"Why are you always the one holding the child? Aren't you tired? Why isn't he helping?"

The moment he spoke, his words were a resentful, three-part interrogation.

I was baffled. 'What is he so angry about?'

"He worked a full day today, so he's exhausted too."

I glanced at my brother, then back at Brendan Forrest.

"Remember to come back for the follow-up appointment next week."

Brendan Forrest shot an extremely impatient glare at the sleeping Evan Sutton.

Then he turned and walked away without another word.

'Did he misunderstand my relationship with my brother, too?'

I was just about to call out and explain things to him.

But then I thought, 'He's engaged now anyway, starting a new life. Why would he care about an old flame like me?'

'Given our current relationship, there's no need to explain, is there?'