Chapter 76: We’re more hygienic than your teeth

The day began as usual for Silvia and Lily. Since Clara wouldn’t be coming to the shop that day, the two decided to manage the bakery along with Gen.

While Gen was busy baking another batch of cookies with Silvia, Lily carried a tray of freshly prepared desserts toward the display shelf. She carefully arranged them one by one when the bell above the entrance suddenly rang.

The door opened, and a few women walked inside.

Lily froze.

Her eyes immediately landed on one particular woman, and recognition flashed across her face.

Without wasting another second, she turned around and hurried back into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Silvia and Gen were busy arranging another batch of desserts onto a tray for Lily when they heard hurried footsteps approaching.

"Girls! You have no idea who just walked in!"

Lily was breathing heavily despite having run only a few steps.

Silvia frowned.

"Lily, please breathe normally. You’re making it sound like you just ran a marathon."

Lily ignored her completely.

"Silvia, you need to come and see who’s outside!"

Gen, who had been watching Lily’s dramatic entrance, suddenly brightened.

"Is it a celebrity?"

Silvia looked at her.

"A celebrity?"

"Yes! Our bakery has been trending online lately. Maybe someone famous wants to collaborate with us."

Silvia immediately nodded thoughtfully.

"Then we should probably inform Madam. She’s the only one qualified to deal with celebrity tantrums."

"Exactly," Gen agreed solemnly. "Last time that influencer asked for seventeen different samples."

"She called it ’content creation,’" Silvia muttered.

"She ate all seventeen," Gen reminded her.

"Which makes it worse."

Lily stared at them in disbelief.

These two were completely ignoring her and had somehow created an entire imaginary celebrity crisis.

"You two are not listening to me!" Lily nearly shouted. "There is no celebrity outside!"

Silvia and Gen finally stopped.

They exchanged a glance when they noticed Lily’s anxious expression. Whatever they had imagined, this clearly wasn’t it.

Silvia’s expression immediately turned serious.

"Who is it?"

Lily swallowed nervously. She glanced toward the entrance before lowering her voice.

"Mrs. Hayes."

***

Meanwhile, outside, Dorothy settled into one of the chairs with her two friends, Martha Bloom and Noran Gates.

Martha glanced around the bakery, her nose wrinkling in obvious disapproval.

"Dorothy, since when did you start liking places like this?" she asked, looking around. "It’s hardly luxurious."

Noran immediately nodded in agreement.

"Seriously. If you wanted to meet us, you could have chosen somewhere better. Why come all the way here?"

Dorothy smiled.

Although the smile looked pleasant enough, it never reached her eyes. She casually glanced around the bakery before looking back at her friends.

"I saw this place trending online," she said lightly. "So I thought I’d come and see what all the fuss was about."

Martha raised an eyebrow.

"You?"

Dorothy looked at her.

"What?"

"You usually complain about places like this."

"I can appreciate something without wanting to spend my entire afternoon here."

Noran gave a small laugh.

"Fair enough."

Dorothy smiled again, but her eyes wandered toward the counter.

So this is the place Julianna was talking about.

She had heard enough about the bakery already.

Clara had always wanted to fulfil her mother’s old dream of opening a bakery. Dorothy remembered those days clearly. Back then, Vincent had dismissed the idea without hesitation.

A bakery, in his opinion, was beneath the Hayes family’s status.

He had insisted that Clara’s mother should focus on something more respectable rather than opening what he considered a small, insignificant business. But Clara had gone ahead and done it anyway. And somehow, the little bakery had begun attracting attention.

That alone irritated Dorothy. What irritated her even more was the reason behind it.

Clara wasn’t merely running a bakery anymore. She was competing with Vincent.

Dorothy’s fingers tightened slightly underneath the table.

Clara was her stepdaughter, but Vincent was Clara’s biological father. Yet Clara had still dared to interfere with a deal Vincent had been pursuing for months.

A deal he had spoken about repeatedly. A deal he clearly considered important.

And now Clara had managed to get ahead of him.

Dorothy couldn’t simply sit back and watch.

"So," Martha said, pulling Dorothy out of her thoughts, "what exactly are we doing here?"

Dorothy looked at her with an innocent expression.

"Can’t I simply visit a bakery with my friends?"

Martha gave her a sceptical look.

"Not you."

Noran chuckled.

"She’s right. You don’t randomly visit places."

Dorothy laughed softly. "You both make me sound like some kind of suspicious criminal."

"Because you are suspicious," Martha replied without hesitation.

Dorothy didn’t respond to her friends. Instead, her attention shifted toward the approaching employee.

Silvia stopped beside their table and offered them a polite smile.

"Good afternoon, madam. How can I help you?"

Dorothy looked up at her, studying her face for a moment.

She might not know Silvia personally, but Silvia and Lily knew exactly who she was. They had heard enough about Clara’s family to recognize Mrs. Hayes immediately.

"I’d like to see your menu," Dorothy said casually.

"Of course, madam."

Silvia handed her the menu.

Dorothy scanned it slowly before pointing toward a few items.

"I’ll have two chocolate pastries, a slice of cheesecake, and..." She paused. "Three boxes of assorted cookies."

Silvia nodded. "Certainly. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Coffee. Three."

"Coming right up."

As Silvia turned to leave, Martha suddenly stopped her.

"Excuse me."

Silvia turned back.

"Yes, madam?"

Martha glanced toward the display counter with a slightly suspicious expression.

"Everything is prepared hygienically, right?"

Silvia’s polite smile remained, though her eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Of course. We follow proper hygiene and food-safety procedures."

Martha wasn’t entirely convinced.

"I mean, the place looks rather small. I just want to make sure everything is clean."

Silvia nodded professionally.

"Absolutely. You don’t have to worry."

Martha gave Silvia a skeptical look, but Silvia simply maintained her professional smile and walked away.

The moment she was out of their earshot, however, her smile vanished.

"We’re more hygienic than your teeth, you old hag," she muttered under her breath, and she entered the kitchen and slammed the notepad on the counter, startling both Gen and Lily.