Chapter 77: Now you have something worth complaining about

"Hygiene? My foot! Do they think they’re staying in some five-star hotel?" Silvia flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms.

She could clearly see what those women were trying to do. And Dorothy Hayes—there was something about that woman that told Silvia she hadn’t come here simply for coffee and pastries.

Silvia had grown up around people who knew how to smile sweetly while hiding a heart as cold as charcoal.

Her extended family had been exactly like that. They had manipulated her father into handing over his entire savings in the name of helping the family, only to abandon them when he could no longer give them anything.

After her father suffered a heart attack, her mother had completely broken down and eventually lost herself to her own grief. Those experiences had taught Silvia one thing: never judge people by their smiles.

She had developed an almost instinctive ability to sense when someone’s intentions weren’t genuine.

And right now, that instinct was screaming.

"These women are up to something. I can feel it," she muttered.

Gen and Lily exchanged worried glances.

"But they’re still customers," Lily pointed out carefully. "We have to attend to them."

Silvia looked at her.

"You’re right."

She paused before adding with a gloomy expression, "Which is why I haven’t broken all their teeth yet."

Gen’s eyes widened.

"Silvia!"

"What? I’m showing tremendous self-control."

Lily sighed. "Please continue showing it."

Silvia rolled her eyes before turning toward the kitchen.

She knew humiliating a customer or creating a scene would only cause trouble for Clara, especially now that the bakery was finally doing well.

So she swallowed her irritation and focused on the order.

A few minutes later, she arranged everything neatly on a tray and walked outside.

Meanwhile, Dorothy and her friends were still making comments about the bakery, clearly unimpressed by almost everything around them.

Silvia ignored them. More customers had entered, so she quickly placed their order on the table.

"Here you go, madam. Your order."

Dorothy glanced at the tray.

"That was quick."

Silvia smiled professionally.

"We try our best."

Unlike some people, we don’t spend twenty minutes complaining before eating.

"Enjoy your meal," she added before turning away to attend to the other customers.

Behind her, Martha inspected the pastries suspiciously.

"Are you sure we should eat these?"

Dorothy sighed. "Martha, you ordered them."

"I know. I’m just asking."

Noran picked up a cookie. "At this rate, you’ll inspect the flour before taking a bite."

Martha frowned. "Don’t tempt me."

Silvia, who overheard them from a distance, clenched her jaw.

Yes. Please inspect the flour. Maybe it’ll keep you busy.

She took a deep breath and continued serving the customers, determined not to let Dorothy and her companions ruin the bakery’s morning.

Just as Silvia had finished taking another customer’s order and was about to return to the kitchen, a loud voice suddenly rang through the bakery.

"Hair! There’s a hair in my coffee!"

Silvia stopped in her tracks.

She slowly turned around and found Martha standing beside her table, pointing accusingly at the cup in front of her.

Silvia’s expression tightened.

"This place is completely unhygienic!" Martha declared loudly.

Her voice was enough to make several customers turn around.

Gen and Lily immediately stepped out from behind the counter.

"What happened?" Lily asked, looking at Gen before both their eyes shifted toward Silvia.

Silvia approached the table, forcing herself to remain calm.

"Madam, is everything all right?"

"How can you ask that?" Martha snapped. "What kind of food are you serving your customers? I found a strand of hair in my coffee!"

The bakery suddenly fell quiet.

Several customers exchanged uneasy glances.

One woman leaned toward the person beside her and whispered, "What is she talking about? A strand of hair?"

"I heard this place had excellent service," another customer murmured. "Are all those reviews online fake?"

Silvia’s jaw tightened.

She glanced at the cup before looking back at Martha.

"Madam, I’m sorry you’re unhappy, but may I take a look at the cup?"

Martha immediately pulled it closer to herself.

"What are you going to do? Remove the evidence?"

A few customers gasped.

Silvia’s eyebrow twitched.

"Of course not. I’m simply trying to understand what happened."

"There’s nothing to understand!" Martha announced. "Your bakery clearly has serious hygiene issues."

Behind Silvia, Lily nervously exchanged a glance with Gen.

Gen leaned closer and whispered, "Didn’t she just complain about hygiene before ordering?"

Lily whispered back, "Yes."

"And now there’s suddenly a hair?"

"Apparently."

Silvia heard them and silently closed her eyes for a second.

I knew it. I knew these women were up to something.

She opened her eyes and looked directly at Martha.

"Madam, we’ll handle this properly. Please don’t worry."

Martha scoffed. "We’ll see about that."

Silvia’s polite smile remained, but her eyes had turned sharp. Whatever game these women were playing, she wasn’t going to let them drag Clara’s bakery into it.

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

Dorothy’s calm voice suddenly cut through the tension.

She had been sitting silently until now, watching everything unfold. But the moment she spoke, the entire bakery seemed to fall quiet.

Silvia blinked once before quickly composing herself.

"I’m sure there’s been some misunderstanding, madam. We’re very careful about what we serve our customers. There’s no way we would deliberately put a strand of hair in someone’s coffee."

Her voice remained polite, but there was confidence in her words. Silvia was certain the hair hadn’t been there when the coffee left the kitchen.

Dorothy leaned back in her chair.

"A misunderstanding?"

"Yes, madam."

Dorothy glanced at the cup before looking back at Silvia.

"Then perhaps you can explain how a hair ended up inside it."

Silvia’s expression remained composed.

"I can’t explain something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. But I’m willing to check everything and find out what went wrong."

Dorothy gave a faint smile.

"That’s convenient."

Silvia’s eyebrows drew together.

"Excuse me?"

"You say you’re careful, yet a customer has just found a hair in her coffee."

Martha immediately nodded.

"Exactly! I told you this place isn’t hygienic."

Dorothy continued calmly, "If you can’t maintain basic cleanliness, how can anyone trust the quality of the food you’re serving?"

A few customers exchanged uneasy glances.

Silvia took a slow breath.

"We take hygiene very seriously. One complaint doesn’t mean our entire kitchen is—"

"One complaint?" Dorothy interrupted.

Her voice remained pleasant, but there was an unmistakable edge beneath it.

"What if this isn’t the first time? What if other customers simply chose not to complain?"

Silvia stared at her.

Dorothy glanced around the bakery.

"People come here because they trust the reputation this place has built. But if the owner is using that reputation to fool customers into believing they’re getting quality food when they’re not, shouldn’t someone point that out?"

The words immediately made several customers look toward the counter.

Silvia’s hands curled into fists at her sides.

She knew exactly what Dorothy was doing.

This wasn’t about a strand of hair.

Dorothy was trying to plant doubt in everyone’s mind.

Silvia forced herself to remain calm.

"Madam, if you genuinely have concerns about our food, we’re happy to inspect the kitchen and verify everything. But accusing the owner of fooling customers without evidence is unfair."

Dorothy’s smile faded slightly.

"Then prove me wrong. Where is your owner? Let her come here and explain everything."

She mentally smirked. Dorothy already knew Clara wasn’t at the bakery. If she had been there, she would have been the one handling the situation.

Gen and Lily exchanged worried glances.

"Why is she insisting Madam come here?" Lily whispered anxiously. "She isn’t even around."

Gen’s expression darkened. She could see exactly what these women were doing.

Martha scoffed.

"Where is she? Call your owner. I’d like to have a word with her."

Silvia’s eyes hardened.

These women weren’t trying to resolve a complaint anymore. They were deliberately humiliating Clara.

Was she always like this with Madam? So deceitful and cunning?

Silvia clenched her jaw.

She didn’t care who Dorothy was—not even if she was Clara’s mother. She wouldn’t stand there and listen to anyone drag Clara’s name through the mud.

"Look at her," Martha suddenly said. "Even the owner won’t show up."

Noran nodded.

"Perhaps she’s hiding because she knows she’s been caught."

"Exactly," Martha continued. "Someone who has nothing to hide would come forward."

Silvia’s patience finally snapped. She looked at the untouched cup on the table.

Then at Martha. Then at Noran.

"Fine."

Before anyone could react, Silvia grabbed the cup of coffee from the table and, in one swift motion, splashed its contents toward the two women.

"AH!"

Martha and Noran screamed, jumping to their feet as everyone in the bakery gasped.

The entire room fell silent. Even Gen and Lily stared at Silvia in shock.

Silvia stood there breathing heavily, her eyes blazing.

"You wanted proof?" she snapped. "There. Now you have something worth complaining about."

Dorothy’s face went completely still. For the first time since entering the bakery, she had no words.