“I was cruel to you,” she said.

“I promised I would pay for the cake, and I knew you were buying the ingredients yourself.

I let you do all that work because I wanted something beautiful and didn’t want another bill.”

Rose sat very still.

“I could have said I couldn’t afford it,” Brittany continued.

“I could have asked whether you wanted to make something simpler, or I could have hired someone else.

Instead I waited until the cake was finished and made you feel ashamed for expecting what I’d promised.”