Just over a year into our relationship, we decided to get engaged and planned to marry at the end of the year.

"You love France, don’t you? Let’s go there for our honeymoon," Freddy had said, his eyes brimming with love and tenderness.

I genuinely believed we were fated to be together. I could not wait for the end of the year to come and at that time I would be Freddy's bride. That was until a month ago, when Rose returned to the country and at that time, my dream began to crack.

Rose was Freddy's classmate at the university, or at least that was what he told me. When we met for the first time and ate dinner together, Rose took the opportunity to wait until Jeremy stepped away to pay the bill before leaning closer to me.

"Back then, I wanted to study abroad after graduation but Freddy decided that he wanted to take a job offer and work right away. I was so angry with his decision. I thought he was wasting his talent so without much thinking I broke up with him," Rose said. Her voice filled with nostalgia.

"Actually, as soon as the word came out of my mouth, I regretted it ... I also knew that he also felt remorse about it. His friend told me he buried himself in work after our breakup and took on project after project. He nearly worked himself to exhaustion. I’m so glad he had you to take care of him later ...."

Suddenly as if she had just realized who she had been talking to she stammered, "Oh … dear, I shouldn’t have brought up the past! Don't take my word to your heart, Sarah. Freddy is a wonderful guy. You two will be happy together."

It was at the exact moment, Freddy had paid the bill and returned to the table. Taking the opportunity, Rose jumped to her feet, grabbed Freddy's arm and pressed him into the seat beside me. Then she said with affection, "Freddy, you took forever to get here! I was just reminiscing with Sarah about all the fun times we had at our university back then."

I could not help but be amazed by Freddy's expression. It seemed the man did not realize the closeness between him and Rose would be deemed ambiguous. Instead, his expression softened with memories and his eyes filled with tenderness and love toward her.

Though Rose stayed silent after that, she simply smiled and looked at me.

I did not know how I managed to keep my composure. Her proud and condescending glance made me feel the two years Freddy and I together were nothing more than fanciful delusion on my part.

What hurt me the most was his attitude. Freddy admitted that he and Rose had a romantic relationship at the university for a while but he dismissed my concerns.

"We parted ways a long time ago! Is there any reason for you to dwell on this? Rose is an exceptional LLM algorithm engineer with many talents and ideas. We are bound to cross paths a lot in our work in the future, so I can't possibly cut ties with a future star of the industry like her just because of some past feeling!" Freddy was obviously annoyed. "You don’t understand our industry. Unlike making cakes, we thrive on intellectual collaboration. We need to exchange ideas and collaborate to generate creative new ideas."

Then he added, “Besides, Rose isn’t the type of woman who gets distracted by emotions like you think she is."

I didn’t know how to respond. I had always admired his intellect and his ability to speak about complex topics that left me in awe. However, at that moment, those same qualities turned into a sharp sword that stabbed me with cold reality.

Maybe he and Rose truly belonged together while I was just a bystander watching the spark of ideas fly between the same-minded individuals.

The next morning, Freddy came to my house. This was the first time, he actually brought my favorite food, beef sandwiches.

In our relationship, I was the one who always paid attention to him and took care of his meals and drinks. Worried that he would starve himself and have a stomachache, since he tended to forget to eat or sleep when he was working, I often gave him some food on a regular basis.

Every time I did this, he would beam at me with gratefulness and tenderness and say, "Sarah, meeting you that night in your dessert shop was the luckiest moment of my life!"

It was a shame though, when his like-minded ex-girlfriend reappeared, I was reduced to nothing more than “a girl who bakes cakes” in his mind.

"Sarah, I want to eat the dessert that you made last night. Do you bring it?" Freddy asked. He acted as if nothing had happened.

In the past, I would make desserts that I custom-made simply for him every night so he could eat them for breakfast the next morning. Since he was addicted to something sweet, I became worried that too many desserts would be harmful to his health, so I specially formulated a recipe that was both tasty and low in sugar for him and he always loved it.

"I didn’t bring it home. I threw it away," I lied.

Actually, because I had worked hard to make that dessert, I could not bear to throw it away, so on the way home, I gave it to a stray dog. 

"Sarah, I’m sorry about last night. It was my fault. I was upset last night. Please forgive me," he said, then he came up to me and wrapped me in his arms to coax me. "I didn’t mean it. It’s just that some classmates were there and when I mentioned calling you, they teased me about being a henpecked husband so I got embarrassed and couldn’t back down. Then you kept pushing and I got impatient … yet it was still my fault. Let me make it up to you today. Let’s celebrate our two-year anniversary properly, okay?"

"Are you still angry? I admit I was in the wrong to take the cake without telling you. It was late and there wasn’t time to order another. I promise it won’t happen again! Please, stop being mad at me," he said, his tone grew even more agitated before he took a deep breath and softened his tone,

"Lately, it feels like you don’t understand me. I’ve been under a lot of pressure and sometimes I speak without thinking. Maybe I’m just not doing enough. Tell me what you want me to do and I’ll fix it. Just stop being upset."

Taking advantage of my distracted state, Freddy took my hand and said, “Let's go, let's take you to a fun place today, I promise, I will make up for it and give you a perfect two-year anniversary!”

I was still in a daze when he pulled me to the door.  Just as I was about to turn down his offer, his phone rang. When he answered the phone, it was actually Rose.

"Freddy, my stomach hurts so much. I think I ate something bad last night. I can’t even get up because of the pain. Could you take me to the hospital?" Her weak, delicate voice came through the receiver.

"What? What happened? Is it serious? Should I call an ambulance for you instead? … I have plans today. There is something I must do…" Freddy hesitated as he fumbled to find the right words.

"I don’t want an ambulance. I want you to take me!" Rose interrupted in a petulant tone. "No! No! Are we not even friends anymore because we broke up? Can’t we be old classmates? Or is it Sarah who won’t let you go? I’m only asking you because I’m sick and have no one else to turn to. She wouldn’t be so petty, would she?"

I looked at Freddy's hesitant eyes, my gaze filled with disdain as I waited for him to make his decision. In the end, he chose her. 

I was actually quite surprised at how calm I was at this moment.

Maybe love was just a capricious thing. When it came, I saw Freddy through rose-tinted glasses and felt every inch of him was perfect. Now that love had gone, for me, he was just an ordinary man. He was an indecisive man who was easily manipulated by another woman and oblivious to how pathetic he seemed.

I said nothing. I opened the door and silently gestured for him to leave immediately.

"Sarah, I'm just taking her to the hospital. She doesn’t have any close family here and I'm the only one who can help. Once I’ve taken her to the doctor, I’ll come back to you!" Freddy explained almost as if he was trying to remedy the situation before stepping into the elevator.

As the doors began to close, I raised my eyes and said calmly, "Don't bother. Just take care of her."

It was better this way. At least, he had something when I left.

After Freddy left, I headed to my dessert shop. It was named after me, Sarah's Desserts.

Two years ago, it was an unknown little store. However, now it has a loyal customer base.

Over the past two years, I poured my heart into this business, even participating in numerous domestic and international dessert competitions. Though I had never won a championship, those experiences introduced me to many talented mentors and peers.

Among them, Mrs. Sophie stood out as one of the most encouraging mentors that I had. "Will, you have a natural talent as a baker. As one, you have an extraordinary imagination," she once told me.

"You should step onto the global stage. Learn, connect and let your creativity flourish. Come and visit our academy. On behalf of the school, I invite you to study and exchange ideas with us." Then she handed me an invitation later to the prestigious Lyon Culinary Institute.

I accepted it with a grateful smile, hesitating briefly before replying, "Thank you for believing in me, Mrs. Sophie. This means a lot to me. However, I’m about to get engaged soon and I plan to marry by the end of this year. The timing might be tricky."

"Don’t rush to decline, my dear," Miss Sophie replied playfully and winked at me. "Life is full of surprises and unexpected turns. Our exchange program starts in two months, so you still have plenty of time to think about it. Let me know if you change your mind."

It turned out she was right. With a bitter smile, I sent her the flight details I had just booked the night before.

Then I drove to my daily routine. I informed every regular customer who came into the shop that I would be closing for three months to study abroad. For those with orders scheduled during that time, I apologized refunded their deposits and doubled the amount as a token of goodwill. A few insisted on keeping their orders and requested earlier delivery within the next couple of days. For anything I could manage, I made the necessary arrangements.

The day flew by and before I knew it, the evening sun was casting its golden hues. I had just finished preparing a custom cupcake gift box for a client when they arrived earlier than expected. Since I had not packed the cupcakes, I had to speed up my hands, package the box neatly and hand it over to the customer.

The client was a stunning beauty named Maya Langley. Over time, we became friends, thanks to her frequent visits and her love for my desserts.

Leaning casually against the counter, she spoke with a playful pout, "Sarah you’d better come back soon! You’ve spoiled me so much that I can’t live without your desserts."

I smiled sweetly. "Don’t worry, Maya. For you, I’ll make sure to learn everything I can in the fastest way possible and immediately come back. When I return, you’ll have to let me know if I’ve improved."

It was at that time, Freddy pushed open the door and walked in.