Page 87 of The Soulmate Bakery

I needed to get in contact with him, so he could meet me here. Then I’d tell him the truth. The whole truth. I had tried calling him in the forest, but the signal was bad. Now that I’d run on to Main Street, I tried calling him again, only this time it kept going to voicemail.

‘Maya?’

I hadn’t realized how far I’d run. I was back in the middle of the stalls, trapped on either side. Ivy was stood looking at me, her eyes all big and worried. I wondered what I looked like; probably a woodland sprite who got tangled in a bush.

‘Ivy,’ I said, a little breathless. ‘Sorry, can’t stay to chat, I’ve got to –’

Mum emerged from behind Ivy, and it was only then that I noticed that they were both by the Treasure Trove stall.

Mum’s blazer was a ruby-red colour, and she was wearing an old-timey witch’s hat, just for the aesthetic. In her hands, she was holding a white paper bag in an iron-tight fist.

‘What happened?’ I asked, eyes darting between them. ‘Is everything OK?’

‘Where have you been?’ Mum asked, standing shoulder to shoulder with a rapidly paling Ivy.

‘In the forest,’ I said, my voice sounding thick with tears. My mind was still trying to play catch-up with everything that had just happened, and I didn’t understand my mother’s anger. ‘You knew I was going to the festival today. I told you.’

Mum laughed, and the sound was sharper than a knife. ‘I knew, did I? And I was just supposed to trust that you were where you said you were?’

‘Yes?’ I replied, more like a question.

‘Why,’ Mum began, and her tone was lethal with anger, ‘should I trust you to tell me the truth, Maya? When you have been lying to me for the last month about your study sessions. When you’ve actually been working at the Treasure Trove. Not studying, like you promised. But taking time off your job at the Wishing Well, betraying your employer’s trust, and working for the competition.’

A weight settled in my stomach. How did Mum know? We were so careful – no one suspected anything. Everyone in town was excited about the new bakery, but no one knew who the baker was. I had been so sure of it.

‘Are you surprised I know?’ Mum asked, but it wasn’t a question I was supposed to answer. I knew that much. ‘Want to know how I found out?’

I stood stock-still, every muscle locked up and unable to move. I didn’t know what to say or do, and I was still trying to breathe through the devastation from earlier. I mostly wanted to pass out and hope for the best.

‘Ivy,’ Mum commanded, and my boss flinched at my mother’s sharp tone.

‘I was admiring the stall,’ Ivy began, quietly. She watched me with those wide, apologetic eyes. Guilt simmered in my stomach; I should’ve been the apologetic one, not her. ‘And I saw these blueberry muffins. I recognized the recipe from the time you mentioned them to me, and I had said –’

‘They were too complicated,’ I finished for her, my tone wooden.

Ivy nodded, her throat bobbing. ‘I had mentioned them to your mother and –’

‘And I recognized them too,’ Mum interrupted, her blazer turning an even deeper red. ‘Because I remembered us talking about them. About how they were too complex for you to make. Then I thought of all the study sessions you were having, and I saw the other baked goods at the stall. The magic was unmistakably a witch’s. Unmistakably yours.’

‘I thought I wasn’t capable of complex magic,’ I said, the bitter words flying out of my mouth without a thought. ‘Isn’t that what you both thought? That I should stick to the easy stuff.’

Ivy opened her mouth to say something, a hurt look flashing on her face. But Mum and her anger were faster.

‘So, you’re denying it then?’ Mum asked, danger lurking in the waters of her voice.

I could’ve denied it. Asked Melodie to take the fall. Raven would step in and probably give my mother some logical explanation that she couldn’t deny. Sofia would stick by my story. My friends would protect me.

But a sudden exhaustion overwhelmed me.

I was so tired of hiding and pretending. Tired of having to deny that I made the baked goods people loved. I was tired of trying to break the curse I’d caused. I was tired of chasing guys who never seemed to like me back. I was just so tired.

‘No,’ I confessed, like a person waiting for their execution. ‘I’ve been working at the Treasure Trove.’

Ivy’s mouth turned into a perfect ‘o’, but Mum didn’t look surprised at her theory being proven correct. In fact, she looked resigned. It made a lick of anger run up my spine – I wanted her to be surprised. It was strange; I so desperately wanted to meet my mother’s standards, to prove to her that I was capable of complex magic. The way Rani was. But, at the same time, I also wanted her to realize how little she knew me; how much she ignored me. How, even though she felt like she knew every part of me, she didn’t.

‘Why would you lie about where you were?’ Mum asked, and I could see she was braced for the answer from the rigid line of her shoulders.

‘Because I’m also the one who accidentally cursed the town with a love spell,’ I said, not caring any more. I let anger and frustration and sheer sadness drive me. She would find out eventually, especially now that I couldn’t reach Orion. She’d need to tell the Coven, because the autumn moon would fade and I would have failed at lifting the curse. ‘I forced Orion into helping me fix it, and all he asked for in return was my help in his friend’s bakery. You can get mad at him, but I’m pretty sure he’s moving to Rose Glenn, so I’m not sure what punishment you can dole out, really.’