Chapter 4
By midnight, Edward still hadn't come home.
After I finally got Sophia to sleep, I quietly slipped downstairs.
The bakery, strung with twinkling fairy lights, looked almost magical at this hour.
Through the clear window, behind the half-drawn curtains, I could make out two silhouettes tangled intimately together.
"Edward, I'm sorry, I really am... I know I messed up..." Monica whimpered, her voice trembling.
"Sorry? That's not enough. Monica, your son picked on my daughter, so tonight, I'm going to make you pay for it," Edward said, his voice icy and full of intent.
A gust of wind blew through, making the wind chimes at the door sway wildly, their tinkling echoing in the night.
Their heated moans and whispers filled the air, but I didn't stick around to watch.
Instead, I went home, shredded the medical report from Edward's recent check-up that I'd gone with him to, and dumped the pieces in the trash without a word.
After that, things were strangely peaceful between Edward and me, as if all the tension from before had just vanished.
Then one day, on my way to the gym downstairs, I spotted a bunch of people hanging around outside Monica's bakery.
I asked a neighbor and found out they were promoting the bakery's expansion ahead of the grand opening.
Anyone who scanned the code and joined their group chat got a discount coupon.
Well, I couldn't resist giving this so-called independent woman a little "help"—my way.
I made a burner WhatsApp account, scanned the code, slipped into the group, and posted that infamous cake photo with the hair in it.
The chat blew up instantly.
Everyone started chiming in as soon as they saw the picture.
[What the heck? That's gross!]
[Can't even keep things clean, and now they're trying to expand? What a joke!]
Still not enough for me.
I posted that photo of Monica and Edward getting cozy behind the bakery window right into the group chat.
Just hit them with a "You know what I mean," and people got the hint real quick.
Someone chimed in: [If I'm not mistaken, I think I know where that curly hair came from.]
[Damn, that's disgusting!]
[If they're hooking up in the kitchen, who knows what'll end up in the food next time...]
After all that drama, Monica's bakery business tanked—the place was totally deserted.
With rent sky-high, it was only a matter of time before she had to close up shop.
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, I sipped my coffee and watched the bakery's reaction downstairs.
I thought Monica would finally lay low for a few days.
But then I noticed something weird—the snacks at Sophia's kindergarten had suddenly changed brands.
After I asked the teacher, it turned out that Edward had the old supplier replaced with Monica's bakery.
A semester here costs 30 thousand dollars.
If one were serving snacks and fruit to all the kids every day, the profit each semester would be huge.
It was far easier money than running a bakery.
If someone thought they could cash in by stepping all over me, I'd make sure to block their new money-making scheme for good.
So when Sophia brought home another little cake she couldn't bear to eat at school and saved just for me, I knew exactly what to do.
I snapped a photo and posted it online with a caption: [Danger: Kindergarten Uses Unlicensed Bakery for Children's Cakes]
As soon as I posted it, tons of parents from the kindergarten started echoing my concerns and joined the discussion.
While Monica was frantically trying to explain herself to the parents and the school, and sending her products off for inspection, I dropped another bomb.
I posted the security footage of Lucas bullying Sophia online for everyone to see.
School bullying had been a hot topic for years now.
Especially since this was kindergarten—these kids were still in their formative years, just starting to learn what was right and wrong.
Parents flooded social media, demanding a boycott.
[We're not eating cakes made by a bully!]
[Like mother, like son! If her kid's a bully, she's just as bad!]