"Where's Cristoff?" Lenox glanced around the dining room and frowned. He didn't see the usual setup. The long table looked half-full. The serving trays weren't covered. The silver dome lids weren't even polished. One of the maids quickly pointed at the kitchen, and Lenox wasted no time. He found Cristoff overseeing the staff.
"Where's the lobster?" Lenox asked.
Cristoff blinked once. "Excuse me?"
Lenox stepped closer. "I said, where are the lobsters? And the steaks. We usually have them for birthday dinners. I remember we had some in the freezer."
Cristoff nodded slowly, hands clasped behind his back. "We do have them. But no preparations were made for tonight."
Lenox's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, no preparations were made? Didn't Matthew say anything?"
Cristoff smiled politely. "Young Master Matthew didn't mention any celebration. So we didn't prepare anything out of the ordinary. The Young Master also wanted to eat more steaks and lobster for dinner, but he failed to mention sharing this with… this many people."
Lenox's jaw tightened. What does Cristoff mean by that?
"Lenox!" May called from the other room. "We're ready! Everyone's waiting for the cake so Cathy can blow it!"
He didn't answer right away. He turned to Cristoff again. "Where's the cake?"
Cristoff glanced at the head chef. The chef gave a short nod and stepped forward, carrying a small cake in a plain white box. He placed it on the table and opened the lid. It was a single-layer strawberry cake, with no decorations except for one white flower on top.
May stared at it. "Wait. Is this Catherine's cake?"
Lenox opened his mouth, then stopped. He looked at Cristoff.
"As I mentioned, Master Matthew didn't order anything special. This was the only one the kitchen could make with what we had. It's fresh, of course," Cristoff said.
May immediately turned toward Lenox. "Why would it matter what Matthew wanted? I– I mean– I mean, last year the cake that you prepared was a five-tiered one. That has nothing to do with Matthew, right?"
"It's… a last-minute thing," Lenox answered before Cristoff could say a word. He glared at the guy, wondering what Matthew told Cristoff to do. Cristoff is the head butler of the house and is Matthew's closest ally. He would listen to everything that Matthew tells him to do.
This time, Cristoff said nothing else. He didn't even try to pretend. He just kept that smile on his face as if he didn't just embarrass Lenox.
Seeing this, Lenox could only grit his teeth in silence. He would surely sort out this butler once Matthew arrived! For now, he needed to focus on what was happening.
Lenox looked at Catherine, who stood by the doorway leading to the kitchen. She too, already saw the cake. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were fixed on the cake. May and Elisa shifted awkwardly beside her.
Someone in the background chuckled. One of the classmates probably noticed the change in atmosphere.
Lenox turned back to Cristoff again. "You're sure Matthew didn't say anything at all?"
"Positive," Cristoff said, still smiling.
Lenox didn't reply.
Catherine moved forward and looked down at the cake. "It's fine," she said after a moment.
May glanced at her. "It's not fine. This isn't what we planned."
Catherine just shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
But everyone knew it did.
They moved back to the main dining room where the rest of the classmates were waiting, most of them seated around the long table. Lenox immediately stepped forward, fixing his blazer and smoothing his expression.
"Everyone," he began, catching their attention. "Today, I thought… maybe it's not right to go too extravagant. Cathy's mother is still in the hospital, and we all know how hard that's been for her." He gestured toward Catherine. "So, instead of a big party, I asked the chef to make something special, but simple. Something that still feels warm and meaningful."
A few students nodded in understanding. Someone murmured that it made sense. Elisa clapped her hands once and smiled at Catherine. "That's really thoughtful, Lenox. Let's start singing then?"
Before anyone could begin, the main door opened, and a guard stepped in. He held a large, square box in both arms that looked like a cake box.
"Where do I put this?" the guard asked, stepping forward.
Cristoff didn't even glance at Lenox. "It's for the kitchen staff," he said. "Must be a delivery we weren't expecting until later."
However, Lenox didn't miss a beat. He stepped forward. "Actually," he said, raising a hand. "That's the cake I ordered." Inwardly, he knew this was something that Matthew ordered, but since Matthew isn't here, it's not too bad to actually claim it, right?
The room fell quiet as the guard carried in the large box. Lenox kept his face calm and motioned to the side table by the window. "Set it there," he said, stepping out of the way.
"I told the bakery to make something bigger. At first, I planned to keep it small, but after what happened at school today… I figured you deserved more. Something you'd remember. Sadly, they called to say they'd be late, so I thought, why not make it a surprise?"
He watched for their reactions. May's eyes lit up almost immediately. Elisa clapped once, clearly impressed. Catherine didn't say anything. She just stared at the box, her eyes shining. Was she about to cry?
Lenox took a step toward her, keeping his tone casual. "The one in the kitchen was made by our chef," he said, then motioned toward the new arrival. "But this one's from your favorite bakery. I thought you deserved something a little extra."
No one questioned it. That was good. As long as Catherine didn't ask too many questions, everything would stay on track.
Lenox glanced at Cristoff, half expecting the butler to interfere somehow. But the man stood off to the side, hands behind his back, face unreadable. He didn't deny anything. Didn't even flinch.
Lenox narrowed his eyes slightly. Of course, Cristoff wouldn't say a word. He'd been letting Lenox get away with things for years because he knew how much Matthew valued Lenox. No point addressing it now.
He turned his attention back as the two men carefully lifted the lid off the box. The cake inside looked exactly how he imagined it would—three tiers, strawberry cream, silver accents, and a white chocolate flower on top. Clean. Elegant. Just enough to impress.
Good. That should be enough to fix the atmosphere.
Lenox stepped back and clapped once as he turned his back from the cake. "Let's sing for Catherine."
Almost immediately, a few students stood up. The room was filled with scattered voices picking up the birthday tune. Lenox faced the crowd, smiling slightly, guiding the pace with his hands. He didn't need to look back at the cake. Everything was under control.
Then the singing started to fade.
He caught it immediately—first on the left side of the table, then near the windows. The voices thinned and died out. A few people were murmuring. Some just stood, staring.
Lenox frowned. "What's going on?"
No one answered yet everyone seemed to be staring at the cake!
Lenox quickly turned.
The cake was fully uncovered now. One layer had shifted slightly during the move, but that wasn't the issue.
His eyes landed on the second tier.
There, in the perfect chocolate script, was a message:
"To Ms. Thea, thank you for keeping the garlic the same after 30 years. —ML"
Lenox stared at it.
His chest tightened. His gaze flicked to the initials.
ML. Matthew Lindberg.
His jaw clenched.
It wasn't Catherine's name.
Someone immediately whispered behind him, "Wait, this isn't for Catherine?"
Then, May turned to Lenox. "Did you… not order this?"
Lenox didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the cake. What's going on? Was Matthew trying to scheme against him?
As if on cue, Matthew's voice echoed outside. "Right… bring everything to the kitchen."