I know how some people dread going to work but after what I agreed to yesterday, being busy at work is just what I need to ignore the impending doom of a dinner tonight. Plus I have been dying to try that peppermint cheesecake that I made yesterday. That is exactly what I do the moment the bakery isn't busy. My fingers are crossed that it tastes good cause I know if it doesn't that will put me in a sour mood for the rest of the day and probably well into tomorrow too.

You put in all of that time and effort for a tasty treat, only for it to not taste good.

Yeah, that will put me in a bad mood alright.

I carefully remove the sides of the springform pan by undoing the buckle. The cheesecake comes out perfectly, not a crack in sight.

Now for the ganache.

I remove the cheesecake from the flat bottom piece of the pan and place it down on some parchment paper. Grabbing the saucepan that I made the ganache in, then carefully pour it over the cheesecake making sure the excess ganache doesn't run off the parchment paper. Now for the final touch, I take the extra smashed peppermints and sprinkle them all over the top.

Once the ganache has fully set I display the peppermint cheesecake on a cake turntable.

Unable to help myself I snap a picture and send it to Quinn who is still out sick with the flu. I know she's probably going to curse up a storm at me for torturing her like this but it will definitely be worth it.

Plus this can count as payback for when she did the same thing to me when I was sick.

Quinn - Girl why would you do this to me?!
Read at 1:32 p.m.

Rory - Revenge is a dessert best-served cold and minty ; )
Sent at 1:33 p.m.

Quinn - Bitch :'(
Read at 1:33 p.m.

Rory - Love you too!
Sent at 1:34 p.m.

I put my phone down and grab a knife so I can cut this cheesecake, cutting a small slice and set it down on a plate. Picking my fork up I take a bite, finally and it was worth the wait. Mmm, it's delicious the perfect ratio of chocolate to peppermint. I take another bite and another it doesn't take me long to finish off my piece, and I go in for seconds. This peppermint cheesecake will definitely be going on the menu soon, it's so good and I feel it would be a great dessert to sell during the winter.

I spend the rest of the day making more peppermint cheesecakes and helping Hannah out with customers when the bakery becomes busy again.

Two hours later I'm freshly showered and dressed for dinner at Cage's parent's house. I'm wearing a burgundy long sleeves v-neck maxi dress, with a slit up the side all the way to my knee. I wore black stray heels and finished the look off by curling my long chestnut brown hair, light mascara, and chapstick.

Now to see if this night goes as good as I look.

"Remember you want to leave and we'll leave. I promise Sugar," Cage brings our interlocked hands up to his mouth, lightly brushing his lips against the back up my hand with a kiss.

"I know. Now let's do this before I change my mind," I roll my shoulders back and stand up straight preparing myself, kind of feeling like I'm about to walk into a war zone.

How I wish I was curled up on the couch with Cage and our boys right now instead.

I know without a doubt in my mind that Knox and Kohl will have a better time tonight than I will. My Mom and Dad picked up the twins from school today and drove them to Bryce to visit the zoo. Dad also mentioned something about taking them to this all-you-can-eat pancake place called Stacks, which they will absolutely love. I also warned him not to take Knox and Kohl to the Just Tacos food truck, threatening him with silent treatment if he does. Which he measured me he wouldn't by saying they were only going to Stacks for food. Cage and I want to take the boys' to Just Tacos sometime when the weather warms up. I think it will become a family tradition for us to go out and take the twins to get tacos at least once a month.

Cage rings the doorbell and his dad opens the door a moment later, thank goodness it wasn't Mrs. Trevor this time.

"Dad."

"Son so glad you could make it you too Aurora," Cage's Dad opens the door wider and lets us in, Cage helps me out of my coat and hangs mine up next to his in the coat closet.

Cage and Mr. Trevor make small talk on the way to the dining room, where everyone is already seated, seeming irritated about waiting.

Except for Ethan and Catch that is.

Lauryn and Ethan's kids aren't here either and I don't if I should be grateful or worried.

I'm leaning towards worried.

"You're both late we've been waiting for dinner to be served for the past five minutes," Mrs. Trevor chooses to say in the way of greeting. "However so glad you both could make it."

Yeah, right. Now try saying that like you mean it. I refrain from saying that out loud knowing it would only start arguments

Cage and I both take the available seats to the right of Catch, the moment we sit down dinner is served. Dinner tonight is slow-cooked pork, glazed baby carrots, with mashed potatoes and brown gravy. I barely manage to hide my look of disgust when I spot the brown gravy, I swear brown gravy is the worst kind of gravy in the world. It always has this odd taste about, though I can never figure out what it was any time I forced myself to eat, I hated when we would have Thanksgiving at one of our relative's houses growing up, it seemed like every single one we went to someone had made brown gravy. I always forced myself to eat it to be polite, my mother always noticed and told me that I really did not have to eat it.

Luckily for me, Thanksgiving is at my parent's house every year now, since I had Knox and Kohl and my Mom makes turkey gravy, which is almost making my mouth water just thinking about it.

"So Aurora how's the bakery going?" Lauryn asks though she doesn't sound like she cares to know.

"It's doing well. The bakery has been quite busy lately that I need to hire another employee sometime soon," I cut one of my carrots in half, then fork one of the halves, bringing it up to my mouth and eating it.

These carrots are really good.

I'm almost tempted to ask for the recipe but I know, none of the people in this room cooked anything of tonight's dinner, their chef did.

"I have an idea!" The sound of Lauryn's hand slapping the table makes me jump. "You can hire Catch! Then you can work with your kid's real father."

Catch who had just been silently eating, who I now realize takes after his Dad in that regard, chokes on his bite of pork. Cage who is sitting next to him eyes go wide in alarm and smacks Catch in the back repeatedly to get him to stop choking. Catch manages to choke his bite down and dives for his water glass, and chugs it all in one gulp.

Ethan is shooting his wife a look, who just ignores it and stares smugly at me.

"This doesn't seem like the first time you've said that to Rory. Also, I am without a doubt Knox and Kohl's father so stop with that nonsense now," Cage is practically growling at his sister he's so mad.

"I can also confirm that fact. I was in Washington, Seattle, and Cage bitched at me for ruining his time with Rory the next day, when he got there. Plus I haven't seen her since grade school, though who remembers those times am I right?" Catch tries to interject some humor into the conversation but the joke falls flat. "Also, even if I was around I wouldn't have ever tried to get with her cause Cage has been in love with her for years."

Cage rubs his hand over the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed.

Which isn't necessary because I love him, and I love knowing how much he liked me back in high school.

"You know it would have just been better if two didn't sleep with each other at all," Mrs. Trevor swirls her wine around in her glass then takes a drink. "Then you would have moved away for college and more than likely you wouldn't have come back. Then I wouldn't have to see around everywhere in town!"

What the hell?

I have never been more confused in my life.

I can understand why she wished Cage and I never slept together, but what does that other stuff have to do with Cage and I sleeping together?

"What?" I ask completely dumbfounded.

Glancing at everyone around the table they all look confused too, even Lauryn.

"You're bitch of a mother took my Jimmy from me!" Mrs. Trevor throws her wine glass, it goes flying over my head and shatters against the wall.

Everyone at the table is frozen, clearly not believing that just happened.

Anger pushes through my shock, no one calls my mother a bitch. She is the nicest woman in the entire world who wouldn't hurt a fly and damn well would never try to take someone's boyfriend.

I know that for a fact.

I stand up so fast, that the chair I was occupying tips over and crashes to the floor. "Do not call my mother a bitch ever again to you hear me? I know for a fact she never did anything to you, she is far too kind to behave in such a way you are claiming she did. I don't care if you and my father had a past that doesn't mean you should take your bitterness over losing him out on me and thank goodness he left you to cause why anyone would want to stay married to you I have no fucking clue. You are a major fucking bitch and thank goodness I don't ever have to sit through another one of these awful diners again!" My chest is rising and falling rapidly from my angry rant, "No offense Mr. Trevor since I know she's your wife and all."

"No offense taken I do believe a divorce is in my future," Mr. Trevor says, and for the very first time, that I have seen anyway, he smiles.

"Well thank goodness for that," Catch mumbles under his breath, loud enough that Cage and I heard cause we're sitting the closets to him.

"I think it's about time we left," Cage stands up from his seat and starts to guide me to the front door.

As we leave I hear footsteps pounding angrily after us and out of nowhere someone shoves me hard enough that I go flying forward. It's like time slows down. I'm falling the hardwood floor is getting closer and closer, I brace myself expecting a hard and painful landing only it doesn't come. Some catches me at the last second before I collide with the floor.

Time seems to return to normal when I'm standing back up on my feet, I turn and find it was Catch who caught me.

Cage comes rushing to me and palms my cheeks, I direct my attention to him, my eyes locking on his worried ones. I place my own palm on his cheek silently telling him that I'm alright. Cage crushes me to his chest and embraces me tightly, I can feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest underneath my cheek. He releases me after a second and we turn to face Catch and Ethan who is holding onto a thrashing Mrs. Trevor.

"Let go of me this instant!" She seethes at him.

"Thank you Catch for we'll catching me," I give him a shaky smile, still not fully feeling back to normal yet after the scare.

"No problem," He gives me a smile in return, his looking reassuring.

Lauryn comes from out of nowhere and walks towards me, Cage steps slightly in front of me staring his sister down and daring her with his eyes to try something.

She doesn't look like she's about to try something, in fact, she almost seems nervous.

"Aurora? I would just like to apologize for how I have treated you all this time. I shouldn't have done that especially since you have never done anything to me. I'm also sorry for calling you a whore and for accusing you of lying about who Knox and Kohl's father is. It's so obvious that Cage is their father they have similar habits, you can tell just by being in a room with them for just ten minutes. I know you will probably never forgive me and I'm okay with that it's what I deserve I just want you to know I'm sorry." Lauryn walks away after her speech not even waiting for me to reply.

"I forgive you," I call after her.

Lauryn stops, sighs, and then continues walking without a look back.

Others might not agree with my choice to forgive her, but I would just like to move on and not hold onto how she treated me, and just leave it where it belongs in the past. Just cause I forgave her doesn't mean I'm going to try and get to know her now, we will never be more than acquaintances.

Mrs. Trevor is still thrashings about angrily in Ethan's arms I momentarily wonder what will happen with her. Then I realise I don't care so long as I never had to see her again.

"Let's go," Cage holds his hands out to me and I don't hesitate to take it.

Then we leave, Catch follows right behind us, and we don't ever look back.

"I love you, Cage Trevor."

"I love you too Aurora Williams."

Catch makes a gagging noise behind us," You two are more sugary than your bakery."

For the first time all evening, we laugh.

•────────────────────────•
Well there's Chapter Thirty-one I really hope you liked this chapter it was quite something. What did you think? Are you fine with how the dinner went or do you think it should have gone differently? And what about that apology from Lauryn should Rory not have forgiven her? I'm not sure how many chapters are left I feel like The Perfect Mistake is almost over though you will definitely be seeing TPS characters again in the sequel The Perfect Guy! Which is going to be Quinn and Noah's story! Anyhow hope you all have an amazing day or night.💕

Don't forget to check out The Perfect Mistake prequal The Perfect night!

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