chapter 17

Chapter 16: The next few days were a blur for Lila. She tried to focus on work, on perfecting her muffin recipes and creating the next big hit, but it was hard to keep her mind from drifting back to the unspoken tension that had settled between her and Ben. She couldn’t deny it—there was something between them, but it was complicated, messy, and full of things they hadn’t said out loud yet.The café was quieter than usual on Saturday morning, and she found herself lost in thought, absentmindedly frosting cupcakes when Ben appeared in the doorway, his expression tight, his shoulders stiff.“Lila, can we talk?” His voice was serious, and it made her stomach drop.She set the cupcake down on the counter, wiped her hands on a cloth, and nodded. “Yeah, of course. What’s up?”Ben stepped closer, his gaze not meeting hers immediately. “I’ve been thinking a lot about... everything that’s been going on. About Emily, and about... us.”Lila’s heart beat faster. She forced herself to stay calm, but the moment felt too heavy. “Ben, you don’t have to explain. I know you’ve got your history, and—”“No, that’s not it,” Ben interrupted, his voice softer now. “I want you to know that Emily... she’s not what you think. I haven’t been honest with you. Not fully.”Lila’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”Ben hesitated, running a hand through his hair. “The thing is, Emily and I didn’t just... break up.” He looked at her finally, and there was a pain in his eyes that made Lila’s stomach twist. “We were engaged.”The words hit her like a punch to the gut.Engaged.Lila’s mind spun. So, this wasn’t just an old girlfriend he’d once dated. This was someone he had been planning a future with. Someone who had been an integral part of his life, not just in the past but potentially in a very real, very permanent way.She took a step back, trying to process it all. “Wait, so... you were actually going to marry her?”Ben nodded, his voice barely above a whisper. “Yeah. I thought I was. But it didn’t work out. It fell apart. And it wasn’t... I don’t think it was ever right. But when it ended, it left me with a lot of baggage. A lot of unfinished stuff. I didn’t want to bring that here, into this.” He glanced around the café, his gaze resting on the flour-dusted countertops and the freshly baked pastries. “I didn’t want to bring that into us.”Lila was silent, her mind still racing. She tried to steady her breathing, to calm the wave of emotions crashing over her. It wasn’t that she hadn’t known there was more to Ben’s past—it was that she hadn’t fully grasped the depth of it. She’d thought it was just a few casual relationships, maybe some old flames. But engaged? That was different.“I wish you’d told me sooner,” she said quietly, finally looking up at him. “I get that it’s complicated, but... I don’t know. I don’t think you should’ve kept that from me.”Ben’s expression darkened, guilt flashing across his face. “I know. I should’ve been honest with you. I’m sorry. But I didn’t want you to feel like... like I was still tied to her, you know? I didn’t want you to think that I couldn’t... move on.”Lila shook her head, trying to push down the discomfort rising in her chest. “I get it. But this—everything between us—it feels like it’s built on something that’s not real. Like we’re both trying to ignore the fact that we’re still figuring things out, that we have all these other things we haven’t dealt with.”Ben stepped forward, his voice low. “I’m not trying to ignore anything. I just... I don’t know how to make this right. I don’t know how to prove that this, what we have, is real.”Lila felt her heart ache. She’d wanted to believe in them. She did believe in them—what they were building together. But she wasn’t sure anymore. She wasn’t sure what was real and what was just the chaos of their pasts overlapping in ways they couldn’t control.“Maybe we both need some time,” she said softly, her words feeling heavier than she expected. “To figure things out. To see if we can really build something here, without all the... baggage.”Ben’s eyes softened, and for a moment, Lila thought he might say something more, something reassuring. But then he simply nodded. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”The silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable, before Ben broke it. “I’ll go. I don’t want to make things harder.”He turned and started toward the door, and Lila felt a sharp pang in her chest. She didn’t want him to leave. But she knew this was something they needed to work through. Both of them.“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ben said without turning around, his voice soft but carrying a weight she couldn’t ignore.Lila didn’t respond, watching him leave. When the door swung shut behind him, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.She walked to the counter, leaning her hands on it, staring down at the cupcakes she’d been decorating. The frosting was perfectly smooth, the little pink sprinkles glittering in the light. But she couldn’t focus on them. She couldn’t focus on anything.Because for the first time in a long while, Lila didn’t know what came next.The Evening AfterIt was late when Grace showed up at the café. The dinner rush had passed, and Lila had been left to clean up, her mind still tangled in the conversation with Ben. She didn’t expect to see Grace, but there she was, walking through the door, a tired but familiar smile on her face.“Long day?” Grace asked, slipping into the seat by the window. “I figured you’d be here, still working. Is the place still standing?”Lila smiled faintly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Just barely.”Grace raised an eyebrow. “What happened? I thought everything was going great with you and Ben.”Lila sighed, leaning back against the counter. “It’s complicated. I found out Ben was engaged. Engaged.”Grace’s eyes widened. “Wait, seriously? To Emily?”Lila nodded, running a hand through her hair. “Yeah. And now everything feels... different. I don’t know how to handle it.”Grace leaned forward, her expression softening. “Lila, relationships aren’t easy. We all have our pasts. But if you care about him, and if he cares about you, it’s worth figuring it out. But you also have to be real with yourself. What do you want?”Lila bit her lip, thinking. “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s real anymore. I thought I did, but now... I’m not so sure.”Grace smiled, though it was a little bittersweet. “Sometimes, we just have to trust that what’s real will show up, even if it takes time. But if you’re going to build something with him, you need to be sure that you’re not holding on to doubts just because they’re easier.”Lila nodded slowly, feeling the weight of Grace’s words settle in. Maybe she was right. Maybe she just needed to let go of the fear, let go of the uncertainty, and trust that things would fall into place.At least, that’s what she hoped.