Chapter 33: The Man Who Loves Sweet Treats

"Ursula, what brings you here?"

Snapped from her thoughts by a voice she knew all too well, Ursula turned to see a stunning couple walking towards her. It was her friend Dylan, whose call had interrupted her reverie, and with her, Matthew, as handsome as ever.

She hadn't expected to run into them at the supermarket, a place she had once suggested to Matthew as a destination for them to shop together. His silence back then had been a clear no, a silent rejection she never pressed again.

Seeing them together, Ursula's heart gave a painful squeeze, but she managed a smile. "Just grabbing a few things."

Dylan, noting Ursula's day-dreaming state, prodded, "Isn't it busy here on weekends? Why aren't you at work?"

Ursula, known to Dylan as a workaholic, had her reasons for needing the money, though Dylan was none the wiser.

Matthew, silent as usual, had a presence that drew attention, his dark eyes taking in the scene.

"I took a day off, because I wasn't feeling great," Ursula replied, her grip tightening on the cart handle as she noticed Matthew's lack of reaction.

Dylan expressed concern, then chided her for working too hard. "Where's Timothy? Shouldn't he be with you if you're feeling ill?"

"It's nothing serious. And Timothy had just returned; he's got his hands full," Ursula deflected, feeling a pang of loss as she spoke.

"You're too lenient with him," Dylan tested, before turning to Matthew, "Can't you talk into her?"

Matthew's gaze met Ursula's briefly, his voice was cool. "She's got to look after herself."

"But she's my best friend," Dylan insisted, her tone playful yet firm.

Ursula, sensing an argument brewing, quickly excused herself, "I've got what I need. You two enjoy your shopping."

"Why rush off?" Dylan asked, partly to test her significance in Matthew's heart, a common desire among women.

Dylan wasn't the only one sensing something was off. Matthew, ever observant, noticed the toddler's water bottle and the cake in Ursula's cart, unusual items for her. And beneath the fruit, a copy of "Hamlet." It was all adding up to something he couldn't quite place, but it was clear Ursula was hiding something.

"She's probably got urgent matters." Matthew said dismissively, moving on.

Dylan let it go, he was already content to have Matthew's company, and Ursula made a hasty retreat. Once out of sight, she checked her cart. The cake was there, thankfully overshadowing the book at the bottom.

"It's just a cake," she reassured herself, hoping Matthew hadn't made the connection to her dislike of sweets.

Her mood for shopping spoiled, Ursula rushed to the checkout, paid, and left. Outside, she scanned for Matthew or Dylan, but finding no one, she hailed a cab back to the hospital.

Back in Adam's room, her anxiety eased. She presented a cat-shaped cake to Adam with a flourish. "Look what Mommy's got for you," she beamed.

"Cake." Adam's eyes lit up at the sight.

"Yes, let's enjoy it." Ursula encouraged, her mind drifting to Matthew's secret sweet tooth, a trait Adam seemed to have inherited. She remembered discovering Matthew's fondness for cake during a work celebration, how he had eyed the dessert with a rare softness.

Now, watching Adam delight in the cake, she felt a bittersweet connection to Matthew, who, despite his love for sweets, would never let anyone touch him even a tiny bit in public.