Five

ELLA'S POV

On getting to Elena shop, there was a small crowd outside her shop. They probably wanted a taste of her goodies, but unfortunately, they would be available later today.

“Guys. Guys. No pastries until 12am” I announced, as I heard groans, but slowly, they started moving away and the crowd thinned out, until there was nobody there.

The new equipment we ordered had already been delivered and the workers were already working on the extension.

“I’m so happy I finally got the extension. It’s Just sad that I won’t be able to enjoy it”, Elena said as her face fell.

“What? No. You’ll enjoy it. I’ll make sure of it. I promised remember” I assured her, and she nodded.

“Now give me that wide smile”, I requested, and she smiled brightly, earning a chuckle from me.

We spent the day fixing in the new equipment and moving some stuffs to the extension. The front bell rang and I ran to check who it was.

“Ella?” the girls shouted and I hugged them.

“Who is there?”, Elena called from the back.

“It’s Annabelle and Helena” I shouted and I could hear Elena making her way to the front.

Annabelle and Helena were twins as well . They were not identical like Elena and I, but they were our friends, it’s just that they were two years older than us.

“ANABELLE. HELENA” I called happily as I pulled them into an embrace.

“Sorry we are just coming now. We had to drop off the children”, Helena said.

Oh, yes did I tell you guys that they were also married. They didn’t live In this village of ours, but they always visited.

“We heard about the choosing” Annabelle said.

“No. Not now. Today is for celebration and we will not spoil it with this sad news” I said quickly.

I had tried so hard to cheer Elena up, so I didn’t want them to spoil my efforts.

“But… “, Annabelle tried insisting on the topic.

“No but Anny. We have pastries to make and customers to keep happy”, I dived into a new topic.

“Okay then”, she said and so they dropped the issue, while we all went into the kitchen to make pastries.

The rest of the morning was spent making cakes and doughnuts and putting them in the display case. Funny enough, the customers were already beginning to troop in before 12am. There were a lot of people to serve and even though Fredo kept calling, I had to put him on silent. There was no way I was going to leave Elena and the girls.

After two hours, the customers had reduced a bit and I could leave now. I saw Fredo’s , which he had sent to me when I wasn’t able to pick up his call.

“Meet me at our usual hangout spot”, the text said.

Seeing that the work was now less for Elena, I decided to go meet Fredo quickly.

“Elena. I have to leave now. Fredo has been calling”, I excused

“It’s fine. Most of the work is done anyways. You can take some for him” , she said pointing to the cupcakes still on display and I nodded.

Just like me, Fredo loved everything Elena made and I know he wished I could bake as well as she could. Too bad.

I grabbed the cupcakes and put them in the takeaway bag.

“Goodbye. I’ll be back before you close up” I shouted so she could hear me before making my way outside.

“Hey. Where are you going?” Helena called after me. She was outside with her phone in her hand. Looks like she just finished taking a phone call.

“I have to see Fredo”, I replied and her face changed Immediately.

She had never liked my fiancé. At first, I thought she needed to warm up with him, but that didn’t happen.

To be honest, Annabelle and Elena didn’t like him at first, but now, they liked him way too much. But it didn’t seem to upset me or make me feel uncomfortable.

In fact, I was happy to know that the man I loved, and the most important people in my life got along so well. Well except for Helena.

“I thought you’ll be spending the day with us”, Helena asked, still with the frown on her face.

“Yeah. But he has been calling and I had promised to see him today”, I replied.

“And he can’t wait?”, she asked with bitterness.

“I will only be gone for an hour or two. And besides, I will be back before the shop is closed”, I replied.

“Alright. I’ll see you later honey” she said as she kissed my cheek.

“Bye. I’ll tell Fredo you said hi”, I teased her and she snorted, causing me to chuckle.

Helena was not a people’s person and I think that is the reason she doesn’t like Fredo. But even at that, she respected my decisions and didn’t call him names like she did with others.

I clutched the pastry bag tightly in my hand and made my way to the white house to see my man.

The WHITE HOUSE was busy as usual. It was an upscale restraint owned by Fredo’s sister, PHARSA. And she was a bitch.

I searched for Fredo in the crowd, until when my eyes found him, causing me to smile. He waved me over and I joined him at the table.

I leaned in for a kiss, and he tried to deepen it, but I chuckled and pulled away.

“You brought cupcakes?” he said, as his face lit up while I handed the small bag over to him.

“I did. Elena asked me to give them to you”, I replied.

“Ohhhh. That is so sweet of her. I love her cupcakes”, he said.

Just as we were still having our sweet talks, we were interrupted by a strange voice.

“You’re not allowed to bring food in here”, Pharsa’s annoying voice said from behind me.

“Don’t start PHARSA” Fredo grumbled.

“But It’s the rules”, she argued.

“Then maybe we should leave”, Fredo said

“I did not say that” she muttered before leaving our table.

Now this is why I call her a bitch. An annoying one at that.

“I don’t know why she likes to act like that every damned time” Fredo said with a frown.

“You should ignore her”, I said.

Besides this is not the first time she has acted this way. Perhaps she doesn’t like, but you know I think it goes both ways, because I fucking hate her as well.

“Tell me. What has your family said about the choosing” Fredo asked.

I looked around and saw that the Crow was still much. Besides we were at a public place.

“I don’t want to talk about it here”, I replied.

“Come on Ella. I’m dying to know. We can talk in hushed tones, and besides nobody is listening to us”, he assured. But I just wasn’t buying his words.

“When we are in a more private place” I told him with finality.

He grumbled but didn’t ask me about it again. He focused on the cupcakes while I made use of my phone.

“Drinks for you” a waitress said in a cheery voice.

“I didn’t order drinks”, I said.

“PHARSA asked me to bring drinks” she said as she pointed to PHARSA who had a fake smile on as she did a little wave with her fingers.

I reached into my bag for my purse and brought out some money to make my payment.

“Oh. Don’t bother. It’s on the house”, she said, refusing to accept my money.

“Okay, tell her I said thanks, I instructed as she began to walk away.

It was a fruit punch and I sipped on it while I waited for Fredo to be done. Once he was through, he went to the back to see PHARSA, while I waited for him outside. I saw him give her a side hug before he came outside.