His Virgin Asisstant

Episode 3:

The staff at the shop asked with concern when the clock struck six. It had been an hour past the usual time Caleb came to pick her up. To Seraphina, though, it felt like much longer—as though rivers, mountains, or even a lifetime separated them.

Seraphina picked up her bag and stood. “I’ll head home now. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, ma’am,” the staff responded, not thinking much of it as they saw her out the door.

She had told herself the house was empty, and it truly was. But when she saw the thermal pot of lotus root and pork rib soup that Mrs. Victoria Ravenswood had made, along with her heartfelt message, Seraphina couldn’t help but feel a warmth in her heart.

This kind of warmth easily stirred the heart of someone like her, who had always been deprived of it. Yet, it also made the eventual pain sharper when it was all gone.

Calmly, she ate half of the soup. Even though she assumed Caleb, like the previous night, might have eaten out, she still saved the rest for him. After finishing her meal, she went about her usual tasks—tidying the house before heading to bed.

However, this time she didn’t sleep in the guest room. Instead, she returned to the master bedroom.

Having spent a full day at work, she fell into a particularly deep sleep. Although she vaguely sensed being held in the middle of the night, she didn’t wake.

In her hazy state, she thought it wasn’t so bad. At least in this situation, Caleb couldn’t do anything to her. She wouldn’t need to tell him that he couldn’t touch her right now.

She truly didn’t want to say anything. As for why…

The following days passed much the same way.

She had never asked about his life, and that remained true. Thus, she didn’t know what Caleb was doing behind her back. She could only infer things from his behavior, but she didn’t complain or speculate.

As usual, she waited at the shop for half an hour. If he didn’t come to pick her up, she went home alone. She didn’t plan her day around waiting for him but instead continued her work as usual.

Then one day…

Ding.

The shop bell chimed, and she instinctively greeted, “Welcome…”

Her words trailed off, interrupted by an overly cheerful voice that struck her ears.

“Caleb, hurry up! My mother loves the pastries from this shop! I thought I’d never be able to buy them for her again!”

“Hurry, Caleb! I want to surprise her right away!”

Celeste flitted about like a happy little sparrow, pulling Caleb by the hand toward the pastry counter. “I’d like… oh, it’s you!”

It was only then that Celeste seemed to notice Seraphina, exclaiming in surprise. But she quickly recovered, continuing with a casual tone as though Seraphina were a stranger she’d bumped into by chance. “I’ll have this pastry and that one too. Oh, I remember you like apple jam pastries,” she said, turning to smile sweetly at Caleb.

Celeste’s indifference to the situation suggested that she thought Seraphina wasn’t important to Caleb. That was what Seraphina initially believed.

But she was wrong.

Aside from a glance when he entered, Caleb didn’t look at her again. At least, she wasn’t sure. Seraphina kept her eyes down after the initial moment, silently preparing Celeste’s order.

Three years together, and she hadn’t known he liked sweets.

Though she hadn’t minded the smell of butter before, now it made her throat tighten, and she felt an uncontrollable urge to retch.

After the pair left, Seraphina slumped behind the counter, dry heaving painfully. When the staff asked her with concern, she waved them off, steadying herself and standing again.

She knew this reaction was likely psychological. When her emotions were unsettled, her body would respond with discomfort. Without meeting the curious gazes of the staff, she grabbed her bag and headed home.

That night, she slept in the guest room.

But it was unnecessary. Caleb didn’t come home at all.

In the morning, she woke up on time.

It was odd. Perhaps it was simply habit. Even though she felt like she’d been sleeping more lately, she still rose early to prepare breakfast for him. This routine, formed over nearly three years, would likely take time to change.

As she thought about this, she calmly filled out a divorce agreement she had printed using Caleb’s office fax machine. After completing it, she placed the document on the coffee table in the living room where it would be easily seen. Quietly, she packed a small suitcase, leaving behind everything she considered not her own. Then, she left the house she had lived in for three years—a place she had grown so familiar with that she thought she’d never leave without longing.

She booked a hotel near the bakery, left her suitcase there, and returned to work.

“Mrs. Seraphina, you’re here!”

The staff greeted her warmly, even though she knew they gossiped about her behind her back—about what had happened recently, even about yesterday.

She didn’t mind.

Maintaining her usual calm demeanor, she said, “Starting today, I won’t be coming to work anymore. Let the manager know to hire additional staff if needed.”

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed her bag and left.

At the door, she bumped into someone.

This time, Celeste wasn’t there to buy pastries.

“Can we talk?” Celeste asked earnestly.

Seraphina looked at her in silence for a moment before stepping past her and walking out.

Celeste hurried after her, reaching to grab her arm, but Seraphina shook her off forcefully.

“Ah…”

Celeste staggered and fell to the ground, letting out a startled cry. Her disheveled and pitiful appearance could easily draw sympathy.

Before Seraphina could process what had happened, a figure brushed past her and helped Celeste up.

“Are you okay?”

“Caleb, I… I’m fine,” Celeste replied, hesitating as though she wanted to say more but decided against it. She leaned weakly on him, offering an apologetic smile. “I just wanted to talk to her… but I guess she doesn’t want to.”

Seraphina didn’t meet Caleb’s gaze. She didn’t want to see whatever expression he might have—nothing good, she was sure. Instead, she looked at Celeste for three seconds before turning and walking away.

But Celeste wouldn’t let her go so easily. “I know you’re upset, but we love each other. Please, let us be. I… I don’t want to make things difficult for him,” Celeste called out sorrowfully.

So, she knew.

Seraphina thought this to herself, though her face remained unreadable. She was still the same calm and detached figure, her smaller frame exuding a quiet loneliness. And yet, with just one shake of her arm, Celeste had fallen so dramatically...

Still, Seraphina didn’t dwell on it.

She truly didn’t want to make herself feel worse.

Even though she knew her heart wasn’t as calm as her outward demeanor suggested.

Of course, it wasn’t nothing.

She was human, not stone.

Slightly unsteady, she walked away, not clearly hearing the voices that followed her.

She didn’t want to, and there was no need to talk to Celeste.

“Caleb, she…”

“Forget about her.” Caleb’s voice cut through.