Chapter 4

Theo's face went stiff. "What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing complicated." I pointed outside. "No one gets to sell my daughter. And if you bring up the Cobbett family again, I will curse you every single time I see you."

The matchmaker snapped, "You are just a widow who sells cakes. Do you really think you raised a princess? Your daughter should be grateful he's willing to take her in."

Celia stood in the yard, her hands trembling with anger.

Before Celia could say a word, I grabbed the bucket of dirty water by the door and flung it straight out. "Get out."

Water splashed everywhere. The matchmaker screamed. The old servant woman from the Cobbett family jumped back in shock.

Theo reacted fast, but the water still soaked the hem of his pants.

His face twisted with anger. "Sally! You really don't know what's good for you."

I set the empty bucket down and looked at him without blinking. "That is right. I don't.

"If you don't like it, come at me. My husband is dead. I have nothing to lose. If you push me too far, I will drag you down with me."

My tone was hard and flat. Even Theo seemed taken aback.

None of them ever thought a widow who sold cakes and always spoke softly could show such a vicious side.

Theo clenched his jaw and stared at me for a long moment, his face dark.

"Just you wait." With that, he turned and left with his people.

When the gate closed again, my back was damp with cold sweat.

It was not from fear, but from anger.

I was angry at how blind I had been in my previous life. I was angry that I had trusted people who looked human but acted like wolves.

I turned around. Celia stood there, staring at me. "Mom."

"Yes?" I looked at her.

Her lips moved like she wanted to say something, but the words didn't come right away. In the end, her eyes reddened again. "You offended Theo like that, and you drove Bernard away.

"If no one stands up for us in the future, what will we do?"

I looked at the fear in her eyes and suddenly understood something.

It was not that she wanted to protect Bernard.

She was just afraid. She was afraid that without a man to back us, we couldn't survive in this village.

She was afraid that I would spend my whole life selling cakes and still fail to give her a safe future.

She was afraid that the only way out was to hold on to any man who looked like he could save her.

My heart softened.

But before I could speak, loud knocking broke the silence. "Sally! Open up. Someone got sick from eating your cakes."

My eyes went cold.

In my last life, when the Cobbett family failed to force the marriage, this had been their next move. They framed my cake stall.

Back then, I had been so scared that I didn't know what to do. I paid them off. They smashed my stall anyway. I lost the only way I had to make a living.

But this time, it would not be so easy.

I walked over and pulled the door open. The old servant woman from the Cobbett family was outside, holding up a man who was writhing on the ground.

She shouted at the top of her lungs, "He ate your cakes. He is dying!"

The man clutched his stomach and collapsed right in front of my door. He screamed and rolled across the ground, his face a sickly yellow.

People started gathering fast. Soon, half the alley was packed.

"What happened?"

"They said he ate a cake from Sally's stall, and now his stomach hurts."

"Theo came to talk about marriage yesterday. Now this happens."

Voices rose one after another. I looked down at the man and felt a cold laugh rise in my chest.

He was Ted Madron. He ran errands for the Cobbett family in town. He drank, he gambled, and he never did an honest day's work.

In my last life, he had carried over half a bowl of filthy water and dumped it in front of my stall. He claimed my cakes were rotten. Then he brought a few thugs and smashed my tools.

This time, it was the same trick, just a different show.

The old servant woman, Winona Slater, spotted me and immediately started wailing. "Sally! Ted only wanted some cheap cake to go with his wine. He bought two pieces.

"Who knew he would end up like this? If he dies, can you pay for his life?"

Before I could even answer, she raised her voice louder, stirring the crowd. "People say widows always bring trouble. I never believed it before, but now I see it. Her food is not clean."

She pointed at me, her voice sharp. "Yesterday, she threw dirty water at Theo. Today, she dares to sell toxic cakes. Who would let someone like her keep doing business here?"

More and more people gathered to watch.

Some looked worried. Others looked eager, as if waiting to see a show.

Behind me, Celia stood stiff, her face pale. "Mom, what do we do?" she whispered.

She had asked me the same thing in my last life.

Back then, I panicked. I rushed to explain. I rushed to pay them off. The more I talked, the more guilty I looked. In the end, I lost money and my stall.

This time, I stayed calm. I looked at Ted rolling on the ground and thought his acting was terrible.

I ignored Winona and stepped forward. Then I crouched down beside Ted. "You said you ate my cake, huh?"