Chapter 519
Chapter 519:
Soft footsteps followed. Effie padded out in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes, nose already working. She spotted the box at once and looked up with wide, curious eyes.
“Mommy, is that cake? It smells good p>
Isolde pushed down her unease and knelt to open the box. A sweet, creamy fragrance drifted up immediately. Inside lay a premium Lady M mille crêpe cake, immaculately layered, topped with a single sugar pearl — no writing, no decoration, utterly anonymous, and unmistakably expensive.
She frowned, turning the box over in her hands. Who could have sent this? Arland had walked them to the door the night before and said nothing about a cake. Harper was constitutionally incapable of keeping a gift secret. Isolde searched the box thoroughly — inside, outside, beneath the ribbon. No card. No note. No delivery slip. Completely anonymous, and deliberately so.
Effie leaned in, eyes bright, tugging at Isolde’s sleeve. “Mommy, it looks so good. Can I have just a tiny bite p>
Looking at her daughter’s hopeful face, a sharp, familiar dread coiled in Isolde’s chest. The anonymity. The extravagance. The studied, arrogant understatement of it all — she recognized this signature instantly.
Grayson’s voice from the night before surfaced in her mind, low and unhurried: Consider it my treat.
The pieces clicked together.
J𝗼𝗂n 𝘵𝗵𝘦 𝖼𝘰𝘮𝗆𝘂ոі𝘵𝗒 а𝘁
It was Grayson. No one else would send a gift in quite this manner — sudden, expensive, and utterly without explanation.
Disgust rose in her stomach the moment the realization settled. Did he genuinely believe one lavish cake could erase Belle’s cruelty toward Effie the night before? Could paper over years of absence and indifference? The arrogance of it was almost impressive.
She closed the box with a crisp, decisive snap and turned to Effie, her voice gentle but firm.
“Sweetheart, we cannot eat this cake. Not even a little bite p>
Effie’s face fell, lips pushing into a pout. “Why? It looks so nice p>
Isolde knelt down and smoothed the hair from her daughter’s face.
“Because it is a sweet trap from someone who doesn’t have good intentions. It looks nice on the outside, but that doesn’t mean we should accept it. We don’t take things from people like that p>
Effie nodded slowly, still disappointed, but obedient.
Isolde picked up the box and went straight downstairs to the lobby.
Tony, the building guard, was at the front desk. He looked up with a warm smile.
“Good morning, Miss Carson. Out early today p>
Isolde set the cake box on the desk with a calm, unhurried hand. “Tony, this was delivered to the wrong address. I don’t eat sweets, so it would only go to waste. Please share it with the neighbors and the staff p>
Tony’s eyes went wide the moment he saw the logo. “Lady M! You can barely get a reservation. Thank you so much, Miss Carson — everyone is going to love this p>
Isolde stood and watched as Tony untied the ribbon, cut the cake into even slices, and began passing them to passing neighbors. A quiet, satisfying sense of defiance settled over her as she watched them smile.