You actually baked my favourite pasties! James exclaimed as he stepped through the front door after seeing his mistress. But as soon as he took a bite, his face drained of colour inside the pasty, his wife had left him an utterly unexpected surprise.
Emily slid the baking tray into the pre-heated oven, brushed the flour from her fingers, and glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. Today needed to go off without a hitch. The pasties had to rise and turn a glorious golden brown, just the way James liked them.
Emily used to live a quiet, almost uneventful life. Shed grown comfortable with her own company and had all but accepted that her life would plod along that way. Then everything changed the day a tall, confident man walked into her office for an interview. Something about his presence calm, assured unsettled her in a way she didnt expect.
From that moment, her whole life veered onto a different path. There was love, a wedding, the feeling that at last everything was falling perfectly into place. She was happy so happy that she didnt even notice how completely she gave herself to this man.
But after two years, James packed up a bag and told her hed gotten sent to Manchester for work, just for a month. That month stretched into a whole year. He barely called, only texted every so often and always kept it short. Emily made excuses, waited, believed until a friend offhandedly mentioned seeing James in the city. Not alone either. He was shopping, hand-in-hand, with another woman. He never even left London.
Only then did Emily realise shed been lied to all along. She could have caused a scene or rung him up demanding answers. But she didnt. She decided to wait. Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold.
A year passed in silence before the phone finally buzzed. It was James. He said his work trip was over and hed be coming back home. At the end of the call, almost as if it were nothing, he added: Bake your classic potato pasties, will you? Ive really missed those.
You actually baked my favourite pasties! James said brightly when he breezed in, fresh from his lovers arms. But after just one bite, he went sheet-white, for hidden inside was a shock he never could have seen coming.
James returned as if nothing had happened calm, legs crossed on a kitchen chair, scanning the room like he owned the place. Emily greeted him with a warm smile, not showing for a second that she knew the truth.
I see you went ahead and made the pasties, he said, nodding appreciatively at the golden pile on the countertop.
He smiled as though the past year had been perfectly ordinary, as though there was no betrayal, no absence, no other woman. He strode over, picked up the first pasty at hand, and bit into it with gusto. His face went alarmingly pale in a heartbeat, eyes wide he had absolutely not counted on this kind of payback.
That morning, Emily had calmly mixed the dough and prepared the filling, setting the oven to the perfect temperature, just as shed always done. Only this time, one pastys special filling wasnt potato at all. Carefully hidden inside were sharp shards of glass.
The instant James bit down, he knew something was wrong. He spat the mouthful onto his plate as quickly as he could, but it was too late. Blood filled his mouth his tongue and gums shredded, the pain vivid and burning.
He clutched the table, coughing, eyes darting in panic as he struggled to make sense of what was happening.
You actually baked my favourite pasties! he had said just before realising what his wife had in store for him.
Emily looked on serenely.
Thats for your cheating and all the lies, she said, her voice steady and cold. If you ever think about betraying someone again, remember this pain.
James opened his mouth to speak, but only managed a choking gasp. He fumbled around for his mobile, but Emily had already turned her back. She grabbed the suitcase shed left ready by the door, shrugged on her coat, and walked out without another word.
She didnt call an ambulance. She didnt look back. Emily left for good, leaving James to contend with his own agony and with a memory hed never be able to forget.
