My breath came shallow.
The air was too thin to inhale.
“Fuck, Ayla, come on, don’t do this right now.”
She stopped.
Just for a second.
Then turned.
And her eyes gutted me.
“I’ve been losing you for months, Hassani.” She blinked fast. Her bottom lip quivered. “But tonight?” She shook her head. “You lost me.”
“Ayla, please.”
But she was gone.
Into the guest bedroom.
Door slamming shut behind her.
I stood there.
Hand on my head.
Jaw damn near on the floor.
This was so fucking bad.
And what’s worse…
I felt like there was nothing I could do about it.
PART IV
THE RENOVATION
The process of rebuilding and restoring. Choosing each other again, even after the cracks…
CHAPTER 14
NOW - EARLY SUMMER 2023… PRESENT DAY
Hassani
I pulled into the parking lot of the shopping strip in Long Island City, Queens.
It was early, but Island Rise Bakery was already buzzing with life—people coming in and out, some balancing boxes of baked goods in their hands, others lingering outside to chat before heading to work.
I smiled. My parents’ bakery. My second home. My first job.
From the time I was a baby, my parents brought me here, back when the business was just starting out. My dad always says it was my mom’s idea. Her way of investing instead of spending his tax refund on new furniture. She’d been baking since she was a kid, and she knew she could make a living doing it. And she was right.
Now, the bakery was a Long Island City staple—a bright yellow-and-green awning stretched over the entrance, proudly displaying Island Rise Bakery in bold script. I didn’t even have to step inside to take in the scent of fresh spice buns, patties, and warm hard dough bread.
Normally, I’d appreciate the sight, the smell, the familiarity of it all. But today?