Baking With Boys |✔

54. Souskluitjies

The screams were a wake-up call from my so-called fantasy. As if splashed with ice cold water, the solemn mood I had put myself into broke its realms and I was transported back to reality.

I blinked, putting aside the ganache filling, and getting myself back to the present. The screams hadn't been loud. But the sound had pierced my ear as if it was a siren's personal message for me. All around me, people were either alarmed and startled, or confused and perplexed, whispering to each other and asking what was happening.

My hand quivered as the images of the most horrifying scenarios conjured up in my mind. In that moment, the influx of these thoughts—shook me to the core. I didn't need to say anything to Brandon, he was one step ahead. Throwing his apron on the floor, he took in a deep breath, and before anyone—the security or the crew members looking for the source of disruption—could stop him, he ran out of the counter. Alone.

Frozen at my spot, I watched his athletic body swallow up the distance between us and the building in few fast strides. The security was behind him, finally catching up, and running towards the building as well.

A silence settled over the area. I couldn't breathe. Time ticked by too slow, each second a torture to remain in the dark, restless to get a clue out about what was happening. My vision remained engraved on Brandon's back. A few meters away from the building, Brandon stopped. The trail of security guards came to a halt as well. I took a hesitant step forward, afraid to see what Brandon was witnessing. What was it? What had made Bea and Bella scream like that?

The answers laid in front of Brandon. I didn't have the confidence to see it. Coward. That's who I was. Timelessness settled over the crowd as everyone waited for the verdict.

A shadow appeared out of the door. My heart constricted. What if—no I couldn't think like that. Just as I thought I would go insane with the silence, Bea stepped out, and then Bella close behind. I hurried forward to the edge of the stage, and like mine, everyone's attention stayed glued on the two of them.

Breathless and worried, I scanned the two of them from afar, checking for injuries or wounds. I couldn't decipher any. Though they walked in a timid manner, their steps short and hesitant, and posture as if shielding themselves from something. The figures behind them showed me why. Bella's bodyguards. Or I should say—her captors.

The flash of metallic glint in the hands of one of the Alard's men sent a shiver down my spine. Did they...? The thought was too terrifying for me to complete.

Brandon escorted Bella and Bea back to the seats. The captors stuck close to them. One diverged from the herd, going over to talk to the security guards. Everyone took this in without a word. No person questioned, asked, or talked. Silence. The bodyguards settled around them, making me groan out in frustration. What a show they were putting on under the pretence of guarding Bella. They were the real threats to her! I turned away before I went bonkers because of them.

It was then when I had calmed down, did I register the angry faces of the director and the production crew around us. Shit. The cameras had been fixed in their places, surrounding us from all sides, and capturing our every move. How in the world did I forget about their presence? And this whole time when Bea had faked her injury, Brandon had gone out, and I had worried over Bella, the camera had been rolling, and recording nothing useful at all. We hadn't even baked!

The image of my cake popped up in my head, and with a gasp, I realised that I had been so caught up in the drama, that our cake had stood alone; forgotten. I rushed over to the counter, and saw that the cake was a gooey mess with the fillings dripping from the cracks. A disaster waiting to be corrected and fondled back into its primal shape.