Accidentally Married

61. Invitation

Jui held the card between his fingers like it was something fragile—and poisonous.

The deep blue surface caught the light, embossed with a silver logo that read Silver Leaf. The name alone made something twist violently in his chest.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

Saifah looked up from his tablet, clearly not expecting the question—or the fury simmering beneath it. Jui's knuckles were white where he gripped the card, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached.

Saifah's expression shifted, just slightly. He set the tablet aside and said evenly, "It's an invitation. For the baking contest this year."

Jui let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Don't play dumb with me, Phi. You know exactly what that contest is."

Of course Saifah did. Everyone did.

The Silver Leaf Baking Contest wasn't just another competition. It was the entrance exam to Silver Leaf Academy—a world-renowned institution that produced the best bakers and chefs in the industry. Winning, or even placing well, was enough to change someone's entire life.

Jui's entire life.

Jui shoved the card closer to Saifah's face. "Why is my name on this," he demanded, "when I never applied?"

The silence that followed was heavy.

Saifah lowered his gaze.

After Jui had mentioned—almost casually—that they had met before, Saifah hadn't been able to shake the unease. Something about the way Jui had said it, the bitterness beneath his calm, had made Saifah ask his secretary, Clip to investigate.

Clip always found things.

And what he had found had left Saifah hollow. They had met before. Years ago, at the same hotel where the Silver Leaf competition finals were being held.

That day, Saifah had discovered his long-term girlfriend cheating on him. The betrayal had cracked something ugly open inside him—rage, humiliation, grief—all boiling under the surface. He had stormed out of the hotel, barely aware of his surroundings.

That was when it happened.

He had collided with a towering, multi-tiered scenery cake displayed near the hall entrance. The masterpiece had toppled, crashing into the floor in a sickening blur of sugar and shattered dreams.

The cake had been Jui's submission for the final round of the competition.

Jui had screamed at him then—his face pale, eyes red-rimmed with shock and devastation. He had begged, pleaded, demanded to know how Saifah could be so careless.

But Saifah hadn't apologized. He had been cruel. Dismissive.

"Get the compensation from my secretary," he had snapped. "Stop making a scene. Shut up and leave."

That single moment had detonated everything.

The incident had escalated, fueled by whispers and influence. Jui was disqualified from the competition for failing to present his creation. Someone reported malpractice in his results. The story twisted until Jui became the villain who had "crossed" Saifah Wongsrisais.

By the end of it, Jui wasn't just disqualified. He was banned. From the competition. From the academy. From the industry.

Saifah swallowed hard. Shame crawled up his spine as he finally looked at Jui again.

"I am sorry," he said quietly. "For everything. I didn't know... I didn't know it went that far."

Jui's laugh this time was empty.