Mary lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, but her mind was wandering elsewhere. Why hadn't Helen replied to her? Had she deliberately ignored the message?
Lost in thought, the silence of the room was broken by a notification sound. She reached for her phone and lit up the screen. A message from Yong:
> "Hi Mary, here's the address of the company and the name of the person Ava should talk to. Hope it helps."
Mary took a deep breath, but as she saw the sender's name, an image lit up in her mind—Yong, with a gentle smile, handing Helen her favorite pastry. So natural, so familiar, that Mary felt a pang of doubt. Could it be that Helen was in love with Yong? Was there something between them no one knew about? The thought lodged itself in Mary's mind like a soft, crawling thorn. She wanted to uncover that secret.
The next morning, Ava entered the grand lobby of a large company. With a quick glance around, she walked to the reception desk.
— "Excuse me, I'm looking for Mr. Mark."
— "Third floor, room 302."
Ava thanked her and headed to the elevator. When she knocked and stepped into the office, she was greeted by a well-dressed, friendly-looking man.
— "Hi, I'm Ava. Ms. Diana told me to speak with you about a job."
— "Hi, I'm Mark. You mean the job at the company cafeteria, right?"
— "Yes."
— "Diana told me about you. Have you worked in a café before?"
— "Yes, my specialty is desserts and cakes."
— "Great. Let's go to the cafeteria. I want to see how you work."
When they entered the company cafeteria, Ava paused for a moment, eyes wide, taking in the luxurious and spacious environment.
— "Okay, make a cake. The flavor doesn't matter. I just want to see what you can do."
Ava blinked in surprise.
— "Right now?"
— "Of course. Did you expect us to hire you without a trial?"
Ava smiled, tied on an apron with confidence, and headed into the kitchen. It was her time to shine.
Meanwhile, at work, Mary was staring at her monitor when Deniz approached.
— "Mary, you seem really preoccupied lately. You look exhausted."
— "On the contrary! I'm happy. We started the collaborative painting."
— "Really? I wish Nicholas were working with you guys too."
— "He is. Yong seems to have agreed to let him join."
— "Good for Yong! By the way, James and I are going to Ava's café tonight. You coming?"
— "No, I have to go to the art studio."
— "If you're going there every day, you'll burn out..."
— "We want to finish the painting sooner."
— "Guess we'll have fun without you, then. Did Ava go to Diana's company today?"
— "Yeah. Yong talked to Diana last night and arranged the interview. I'll call her after work to see how it went."
— "Yong's such a nice guy—shame he's engaged!"
Mary smiled. But suddenly her expression turned serious.
— "Deniz... if you wanted to find out whether there had ever been something between two people, what would you do?"
Deniz raised an eyebrow.
— "Oh! Is someone suspicious?"
Mary hesitated.
— "I think Helen used to be in love with someone... I don't know why, but I'm curious who it was..."
— "Don't tell me you're suspicious of Nicholas!"
— "No, but with Yong... they act kind of close. He even knows her favorite pastry."
— "Ask Nicholas. They were classmates, after all."
— "I don't want to seem nosy... but it's been on my mind a lot."
— "You could ask indirectly. Say something like, 'Yong and Helen seem like an artistic couple.' See how he reacts."
Mary nodded silently.
After work, Mary was walking toward the bus stop when a car pulled up beside her. The window rolled down:
— "Mary, hop in. I'll give you a ride."
— "Nicholas? What are you doing here?"
— "Had something nearby. Saw you and guessed you were heading to the studio."
Mary got in. On the way, her phone rang.
— "Hi Ava, I was just about to call you..."
— "Mary, I got the job!"
Mary lit up.
— "Really?!"
— "Yeah... Mr. Mark loved the cheesecake I made. My salary is twice what I used to earn. I even get health insurance!"
— "That's amazing! We have to thank Diana..."
At the mention of Diana's name, Nicholas glanced at Mary for a second.
Mary said:
— "I'm heading to the studio. I'll thank Yong on your behalf too."
Ava said goodbye, and Mary hung up. Nicholas asked:
— "Something happen? You look really happy."
— "Ava got the job."
— "Diana hired her?"
— "Yeah. Why?"
— "Nothing... I was actually thinking of finding her a job myself."
— "Well, no need now."
A moment of silence.
Mary smiled.
— "You must be happy to be working with your old classmates again."
— "More like... it's a kind of torment."
— "Then why'd you agree?"
— "I meant Yong. Working with you and Helen is great."
Mary remembered Deniz's suggestion.
She turned from the window and looked at Nicholas.
— "Helen and Yong used to paint together at university too, right?"
Nicholas paused.
— "No... not that I recall."
Mary raised an eyebrow.
— "They seem really close, though."
Nicholas shrugged.
— "Yeah, well... they are close."
Mary smirked.
— "I think if Yong wasn't in love with Diana, he might've married Helen. They really understand each other."
Nicholas flinched at her words and glanced away from the road.
— "Why would you think that?"
Mary tried to mask her curiosity with a casual tone.
— "Just feels that way... like an artistic couple. Hey, Nicholas—was there ever anything between them?"
At that moment, the car was nearing a red light, but Nicholas, distracted, didn't slow down.
Mary cried out in alarm:
— "Nicholas, stop! The light's red!"
Nicholas slammed on the brakes. The car stopped with a soft screech. His breathing was heavy.
— "Sorry... I got distracted. Didn't catch what you said. Better not talk while I'm driving."
Sensing she'd made things awkward, Mary said gently:
— "It's okay... it wasn't important. We'll talk later."
The rest of the ride passed in a heavy silence. Nicholas kept adjusting his collar and stealing glances at Mary.
When they arrived at the studio, they saw Helen and Yong standing by a painting, laughing and discussing colors.
Helen playfully nudged Yong and said:
— "Don't tease me... I'll pick the color for this part myself!"
Mary paused, smiled, and quietly said to Nicholas:
— "Look... I still think something used to be between them."
Nicholas glanced at them, then at Mary. A short silence followed. Then, in a serious, slightly cold tone, he said:
— "Mary, it's better not to spread rumors about people. Helen would be upset if she heard. As far as I know, they've always been close—nothing more."
Mary was taken aback. His words hit her like a soft slap.
— "Sorry... I didn't mean to pry. I'm not the gossiping type, I just... said it because we're friends. I won't bring it up again."
She walked past him with hurt in her eyes and entered the hall. Nicholas watched her go, then muttered under his breath:
— "Damn it... I messed it up."