On the day I was getting discharged, the housekeeper called. “Miss Mika, about Mr. Hayes’ birthday banquet this year, how would you like to arrange it?”
I held the phone and stayed quiet for a while.
Birthday.
I used to handle it every year. His family never cared about things like that. Power, money, business… that’s all they saw. Not him.
I remembered the first birthday I attended. Everything looked perfect, but there was food he couldn’t eat. Something that could trigger a reaction. I saw him later, alone, taking medicine quietly.
“Why didn’t you just tell them?” I asked back then, my chest tight.
“What for?” he said, not even looking at me. “They don’t give a shit about that. As long as the company’s running, that’s enough for them.”
From then on, I took over. Every dish, every detail, everything he liked and avoided. I made sure he never had to deal with that again.
“Miss Mika?” the housekeeper called again.
I closed my eyes for a second. “I’ll handle it.”
This was the last time.
After the divorce… someone else would do it.
Not me anymore.
…
I prepared everything the same way I always did. Careful. Quiet. Like it still mattered. But this time, I made the housekeeper follow me the whole day, step by step, making her remember everything.
“The cake should be a vanilla berry one. He doesn’t like anything too heavy and sweet, it makes him sick after a few bites.”
“And listen, decorations should be white lilies, not red. He hates anything too loud, says it looks cheap.”
“Don’t put whiskey on the main table. He drinks it, yeah, but it gives him headaches if he hasn’t eaten properly.”
I paused, then added softly, “You need to remember all of this. Next time, you’ll be the one handling it. Don’t mess it up.”
The housekeeper looked confused. “Madam… won’t you still be the one arranging it next year?”
I didn’t answer.
Next time… I won’t even be here.
How could I?
On the day of the banquet, everything looked perfect. Lights everywhere, soft music, people laughing like this house actually had warmth in it. I stood at the entrance in a light blue dress, greeting guests one by one, smiling like I always did. Like I wasn’t already gone inside.
Then he walked in.
Hudson.
And beside him was Amber.
Her arm hooked around his, leaning into him like she belonged there. She wore something soft and pretty, pale pink, light like she was fragile. She looked up at him, smiling. And he looked back.