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?'
