<Chapter 126
(Scarlett’s POV)
+25 Points
My n for the day is simple. Make scuffles for every customer to celebrate my birthday.
I slide another tray of birthday soufflés into the oven, the delicate vani and lemon scent. filling the warm air. They’re perfect–light as air, golden on top, with just a hint of sweetness.
“Mama, they smell like clouds!” Lily bounces on her toes beside me, flour smudged across
her cheek.
“Happy clouds,” I agree, ruffling her curls. “Want to help me dust them with powdered sugar?”
She nods eagerly, and I hand her the small sifter. Her tongue pokes out in concentration as she carefully dusts each soufflé. The sight makes my chest warm in a way that has nothing to do with the ovens. <fn129d> This content belongs to FindN0vel</fn129d>
The bell chimes as our first customer arrives–Mrs. Anderson, whoes every Tuesday for her weekly bread order. Her face lights up when she sees the disy case.
“What’s the asion?” she asks, eyeing the elegant soufflés.
“It’s my birthday. These are for everyone today, on the house.”
“Oh, how wonderful! Happy birthday, dear.” She ps her hands together. “Twenty–seven?”
I nod, handing her a soufflé alongside her usual sourdough loaf. She takes a delicate bite and her eyes widen.
“This is incredible.”
Thepliment settles warm in my chest. This is why I bake. Not for profit margins or expansion ns, but for that exact moment of joy on someone’s face.
The morning passes in a blur of happy customers and birthday wishes. Word spreads quickly in our neighborhood–free soufflés at Sunrise Bakes–and soon there’s a steady stream of familiar faces and curious neers.
Around noon, the bell chimes again and I look up to see Elena’s silver hair catching the sunlight. Behind her is Dorian, carrying a bouquet of white peonies that makes my breath catch.
“There’s the birthday girl!” Elena beams, rushing forward to wrap me in one of her warm hugs that smell likevender and home. “Dorian told me about today. We couldn’t miss it.”
< Chapter 126
“You didn’t have toe-
+25 Points
“Nonsense. Birthdays are for celebrating with people who love you.” She pulls back to study my face. “And you look radiant, darling. Absolutely radiant.”
Dorian steps forward, his smile soft and genuine. “Happy birthday, Scarlett.” He hands me the peonies, his fingers brushing mine. “These reminded me of you. Beautiful, but strong enough to bloom again every year.”
The metaphor isn’t lost on me. My throat tightens with unexpected emotion. “They’re perfect. Thank you.”
“Where’s our birthday soufflé?” Elena demands yfully. “I’ve been dreaming about baking all morning.”
your
I prepare two tes, watching as they take their first bites. Elena’s eyes close in bliss, and Dorian makes a sound of pure appreciation.
“This is art,” he says seriously. “Pure art.”
“It’s just eggs and air and hope,” Iugh, but warmth spreads through me at his praise.
“The best things usually are.”
As the afternoon wears on, more friends arrive. Chloe bursts through the door with a small wrapped gift and immediately starts rearranging the tables to create more space. Some of my regr customers linger, turning the bakery into an impromptu party.
Mrs. Anderson brings her daughter. The teenage girl from the flower shop next door stops by with a small bouquet. Even Mr. Rodriguez, who owns the hardware store down the street,es in with his wife.
It’s not the borate birthday parties I used to have when I lived with James and ir. No expensive decorations or catered food. But it’s real. Every person here chose toe, chose to celebrate me.
“This is beautiful, Mama,” Lily whispers, pressed against my side as she watches everyoneughing and talking.
“It is, isn’t it?”
“Better than the old birthdays.”
Her words hit me straight in the heart. Those old birthdays…it had only been her and me.
No friends. No family. No neighbors to celebrate with me.
< Chapter 126
425 Points
As the sun begins to set, casting long shadows across the bakery floor, the crowd naturally starts to thin. Customers head home with full bellies and warm smiles. Chloe helps me clean up while Elena entertains Lily with stories about Dorian’s childhood mishaps.
“This was a wonderful evening,” Chloe murmurs, wiping down thest table. “You looked happy today. Really happy.”
“I am happy.” The realization surprises me with itspleteness.
“Is it because of thepany?”
I follow her meaningful nce toward Dorian, who’s now helping Lily arrange the leftover soufflés in neat rows. His sleeves are rolled up, his usually perfect hair slightly mussed, and he’s listening to my four–year–old daughter with the same attention he’d give a board meeting.
“Maybe,” I admit quietly.
As thest customer leaves, Dorian approaches the counter where I’m tallying the day’s receipts. The bakery feels intimate now, lit by the warm glow of the pendant lights.
“That was incredible,” he says. “Watching you today… you were in your element.”
“It felt natural.” I set down my pen. “Thank you for being here. Both of you.”
Elena looks up from where she’s helping Lily color in a new coloring book. “Oh, darling, we wouldn’t have missed it. Family shows up for each other.”
Family. The word doesn’t sting anymore. Instead, it settles around me like a warm nket.
Dorian clears his throat, suddenly looking nervous. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to say. To all of you.<i>” </i>
He reaches into his jacket pocket and my heart skips. When his hand emerges with a small velvet box, the world seems to slow.
“Scarlett.” His voice is steady but his eyes are vulnerable. “These past months with you and Lily have been the best of my life. You’ve taught me what it means to live life to the fullest.”
I can’t breathe. Chloe gasps behind me. Elena’s hand flies to her heart.
Dorian drops to one knee right there on the bakery floor, between the scattered flour and the lingering scent of vani. The box opens to reveal a simple, elegant ring–a round diamond surrounded by smaller stones that catch the light like scattered stars.
“I’m not asking you to be anyone other than exactly who you are. I love your strength, your kindness, the way you put everything you have into the people and things you care about.” His
< Chapter 126
+25 Points
voice wavers slightly. “I love watching you with Lily, the way you’ve built this beautiful life from nothing. I love that you keep moving forward, even when battered and bruised.”
Tears blur my vision. This isn’t the grand gesture I once dreamed about as a young girl. It’s simple, yet even better.
“Scarlett Stone, will you marry me?”
The question hangs in the air, perfect and terrifying and wonderful. I look around at the faces watching me–Elena with tears in her eyes, Chloe gripping my shoulder, Lily who’s abandoned her coloring to stare wide–eyed at the pretty ring.
This is my family. This warm, flour–scented space is my home. This man kneeling before me sees all of me–the broken pieces and the rebuilt strength–and loves it all.
“Yes.” The wordes out as barely a whisper. “Yes, Dorian. Yes.”
He slips the ring onto my trembling finger and it fits perfectly, like it was always meant to be there. When he stands and kisses me, the bakery erupts in cheers and happy tears.
Lilyunches herself at both of us, her small arms wrapping around our legs. “Does this mean Uncle Dorian is going to be my daddy for real?”
“If you want me to be,” Dorian tells her solemnly, crouching to her level. “I’d be honored.”
“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” She jumps up and down, pure joy radiating from every inch of her small body.
Elena is crying openly now, pulling all of us into one of her epassing hugs. “My family just got bigger,” she whispers. “My beautiful family.”
Chloe wraps her arms around me from behind, her own tears wet against my cheek. “You deserve this,” she whispers. “Your happiness was long overdue.”
Violet Moon
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