Eight Swiss Rolls And A Broken Heart

Synopsis

"If there were eight Swiss rolls, how many would you give me?" I hit send and went back to setting up my confession. The fairy lights were only half-strung, but I couldn't stop smiling. The Johnsons took me in when I was eight, and I'd been in love with Andrew ever since. Ten years of watching him from across the dinner table, ten years of pretending my heart didn't race when he said my name. But last week, he came to my room drunk, and everything changed. The way he touched my face, the things he whispered—I finally knew he felt it too. My phone buzzed. A ten-second voice message. I pressed play. "Sophie! Andrew says I can have all eight Swiss rolls!" Emily's voice was bright and bubbly. "And not just those—he's going to take me around the world to try every dessert. Isn't he the best?" The fairy lights blurred in my vision. My hands went numb. Emily Reed. His new assistant. The girl who'd been at the company for three weeks. Another message popped up. I opened it on autopilot. "Sophie." Andrew's voice was cold and clipped. "Stop sending me these testing messages. Emily doesn't like it, and I won't have you making my girlfriend uncomfortable." A loud smacking sound followed—a kiss, probably. Her reward for his loyalty. I stood there for a long time, staring at the half-finished setup. The fairy lights suddenly looked cheap and desperate. I tore them down one by one, and the little plastic stars scattered across the floor like broken promises. Ten years. I'd spent ten years loving him, and it all meant nothing.