Chapter 202: I doubt that day will ever come

[Bakery]

Hannah slumped into the chair as though she had just survived the hardest battle of her life.

"You should’ve seen the way Mom was staring at me. I felt like a criminal who had just asked her for money."

She shuddered at the memory of Grace’s terrifying expression.

"Ugh... I don’t even want to think about it."

She quickly straightened herself and reached for her coffee, taking a long, satisfying sip.

Clara watched her with amusement.

Hannah looked far too relaxed for someone who had apparently just survived a parental interrogation.

Then again, considering how little she’d eaten before coming to the bakery, Clara couldn’t blame her for enjoying the coffee like it was a five-star meal.

"Then why didn’t you just tell them the truth?" Clara asked. "It’s not like they’re going to oppose your relationship with Mark. If anything, they’ll probably make sure Mark is protected from your weirdness."

Hannah slowly lowered her cup.

Her eyes narrowed.

"...Clara, did you just call me weird?"

Clara arched an eyebrow.

"Is it not true?"

Hannah’s expression immediately turned solemn.

"Traitor."

She dramatically turned away and resumed drinking her coffee.

While Clara continued staring at her. Hannah took another sip. Then another. Eventually, she couldn’t take the silence anymore and lowered the cup.

"Fine!"

Clara waited.

"It’s not like I’m not ready to tell them about our relationship," Hannah admitted. "I just want to give Mark some time to get to a point where he feels less pressured and more confident about facing them."

Hannah had never been a shy person.

She wore her heart on her sleeve and had no problem saying exactly what was on her mind.

Mark, however, was the complete opposite.

He was cautious, reserved, and far too prone to overthinking every little thing.

"So," Clara said casually, "I doubt that day will ever come."

Hannah’s jaw dropped.

"That’s so mean!"

She whined, but Clara simply looked away as if she hadn’t said anything.

Hannah narrowed her eyes.

"You’re supposed to support me."

"I am."

"You just said my boyfriend might never gather enough courage to meet my family."

"Exactly. I’m supporting you by preparing you for reality."

Hannah stared at her.

"That doesn’t even make sense."

"It makes perfect sense."

"No, it doesn’t."

Clara took a sip of her own drink, completely unfazed.

Hannah huffed and sank back into her chair.

Last night, after helping Mark, the two of them had ended up spending some unexpected time alone together. One conversation had turned into another, and before they realized it, they’d lost track of time.

By the time they returned home, they were already later than the rest of the family.

Hannah had assumed she’d managed to slip past everyone unnoticed.

Unfortunately, she had underestimated her mother. Because the very next day, her mother dived into her full-on interrogative mode. And Hannah had barely managed to survive it.

"I still can’t believe Mom noticed; I taught the lie about car broke down as an easy way of escape," Hannah muttered.

Clara smiled.

"Mom notices everything."

"I know."

Hannah sighed dramatically before taking another sip of coffee.

"I really need to start coming home earlier."

Clara glanced at her. "Or start giving better excuses."

Hannah’s eyes lit up.

"Now that’s the kind of advice I expect from you."

Clara clicked her tongue, clearly indicating that she had no intention of getting involved.

After all, why would she risk ruining her newfound relationship with Grace?

"By the way, what’s with my brother bringing a pet to the office?" Hannah asked.

On her way to the bakery, she had called Mark and told him everything that had happened during breakfast. It was during their conversation that Mark had mentioned Dominic spending his morning looking after a puppy in his office.

Clara shrugged. "That’s his first step toward getting to know someone."

Hannah frowned. "Someone?"

"A puppy counts."

Hannah stared at her. "And how exactly is a puppy going to help him do that?"

Clara took another sip of her coffee before answering. "Your brother barely speaks to people, and he really needs to work on his facial expression that scares the shit out of people. But I’m sure that puppy will eventually make him talk so much that he’ll break whatever record he currently holds for the longest conversation of his life."

Hannah snorted. "You seriously think my brother is going to start talking because of a puppy?"

"Absolutely."

"He barely talks to me," she said.

They both grew up together, and from what she had seen, Dominic was barely speaking unless it was needed. While Hannah had gotten accustomed to her brother’s behavior. Someone was clearly not okay with it.

"Exactly."

Hannah narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying the puppy is going to become his best friend?"

"I’m saying the puppy might be the first living creature capable of getting more than five words out of him." Clara announced confidently, and Hannah burst out laughing.

"That I have to see."

Clara smiled. "You probably will."

"But why a puppy?"

"Because apparently your brother has decided he needs to learn how to share his attention."

Hannah’s laughter died down. "Wait." She stared at Clara suspiciously. "Is this somehow connected to you?"

Clara innocently raised her eyebrows. "Why would you think that?"

"Because whenever Brother does something strange, I somehow find out that you were involved five minutes later."

Clara took another sip of coffee. "That’s a coincidence."

Hannah squinted at her. "You’re terrible at lying."

"And you’re terrible at minding your own business."

Hannah grinned. "Family trait."

Clara couldn’t help but laugh.

Hannah lingered for a while longer before finally leaving.

It was a beautiful day, and the bakery was steadily filling with customers. For a while, everything felt pleasantly ordinary.

Unfortunately, the peaceful atmosphere didn’t last.

A man suddenly walked into the bakery and looked around before approaching the counter.

"Are you Clara?" he asked.

Clara frowned as she looked at him.

"That’s me."

The moment the man heard her answer, his gaze settled on her.

Something about his sudden appearance—and the way he was looking at her—made Clara uneasy.