Lost in madness

44

Dabe

I stepped out of the office building, my phone pressed to my ear as I juggled my purse and a stack of wedding planning notes. The afternoon sun hit my face, and I squinted, trying to focus on Christian's voice.

"I'm sorry, babe. I won't be able to make it to the cake tasting," he said, his voice tinged with regret.

I sighed, pushing down my disappointment. "It's okay, I can manage by myself. There's still the ring fitting later, remember?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss that for the world," Christian assured me.

As I ended the call, I nearly collided with someone standing just outside the building. My breath caught in my throat as I saw Andrew, looking annoyingly fetching in casual clothes and sunglasses. He flashed me that infuriating smile of his, the one that used to make my knees weak. god, this man is going to be the end of me.

I forced myself to look away, brushing past him without a word. Focusing on my to-do list, I started walking down the busy street. But I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Sure enough, when I glanced back, there was, following at a careful distance.

Irritation bubbled up inside me. I stopped abruptly and whirled around to face him. "What do you think you're doing?"

His smile widened. "Taking a walk. Is that not allowed?"

"Why don't you do that somewhere else? And quit following me," I warned, my voice low and dangerous.

"Where are you going?" he asked, completely ignoring my warning.

"It's none of your business," I snapped. "I'm warning you, stop following me."

I turned on my heel and continued walking, hoping he'd take the hint. But of course, this was Andrew. Hints were not his strong suit.

Knowing my warning would fall on deaf ears, I decided to just avoid him, pretend he was another lunatic in these streets. I put in my earbuds, cranked up the music, and focused on my list as I navigated the busy streets.

When I reached the bakery for my cake tasting, I breathed a sigh of relief. A friendly-looking woman at the counter, her nametag reading 'Laura', welcomed me with a warm smile. But just as I was about to relax, the door chimed behind me.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath as Andrew strolled in so casually.

Laura looked between us, her expression brightening. "Are you the groom?" she asked Andrew.

"Yes,"

"No," I said firmly, just as Andrew answered,

I shot him a glare that could have melted steel. "He's not the groom," I clarified to Laura. "He's no one. Can we get back to business?"

Laura nodded, though she looked a bit confused. She led me to a table covered with an array of cake samples. As I tasted each one, trying to focus on the flavors and not on Andrew's presence, I tried the coconut one, "This is not bad but I'm not a fan of coconut." I told Laura.

"That's fine, but coconut is our most popular flavor. Just a second." Laura excused herself.

Andrew sauntered over and helped himself to a scoop of red velvet, then vanilla.

"Vanilla seems perfect," he declared, as if his opinion mattered.

I gritted my teeth. "No one asked you. It's not your wedding." I turned to Laura, forcing a smile. "I think Christian would love the chocolate one. I love chocolate too. Chocolate is perfect."

"This has nuts, you are allergic." He reminds.

"Then I'll die happy, Chocolate it is."

"Alright then, it's decided," Laura said, jotting down notes.