The bell of the shop door tinkles, and I look up from where I am decorating Gina's wedding cake.

I groan at the sight of my ex-husband entering the shop, Fleur hanging off his arm.

They better not be here to ask me to make their fucking wedding cake. I don't care how desperate we are for business, I will never do that.

However, by the fierce look on Bill's face, this isn't a friendly visit.

Still, I plaster a false smile on my face.

"Good business trip?" I ask lightly, as though I really give a fuck.

"Not really, no," Bill snarls. "I thought I could trust that my daughter was in safe hands when you offered to escort her to the game. But instead I find out that you've been drunkenly sleeping with the entire Quidditch team, leaving my daughter unchaperoned until the early hours of the morning!"

Smile immediately vanishing from my face, my mouth hangs open in complete shock. 

"First of all, darling ex-husband," I say, trying to keep my voice calm and not show just how fucking angry I am, "I didn't offer to take our daughter  - you begged me after you let her down at the last minute. And second, I did not sleep with anyone. Although, even if I did, it really would be none of your business."

"Fleur has a friend who attended that after party and has reported that you were snogging Draco Malfoy. You know, the very same boy who is responsible not only for this," he seethes, pointing to his scarred face, "but nearly killing my brother!" 

"That was a long time ago, Bill," I say quietly, narrowing my eyes. "People change."

Bill's eyes practically bulge out of his head. "Oh, so you're not denying snogging him, then? He's a fucking kid, Solène!"

"Um, I believe he's only two years younger than Fleur, so isn't that a bit hypocritical? Especially as she literally was his age when you thought it would be a grand idea to start putting your cock in her."

Fleur blushes a deep red, not being able to meet my eye.

Bill bristles furiously. "That's not the same, and you know it."

"Explain to me how?" I say through gritted teeth.

"Well... I'm a man. And Malfoy is a pig! I do not want you bringing trash like that home to my daughter."

"For fuck's sake, Bill. I'm not bringing anyone home. It was just a party. An innocent, fun party. Mia and her friends were all tucked up in sleeping bags at a reasonable hour."

"Bill," Fleur says, finally speaking. "Maybe we should just leave-"

"No!" Bill bellows. "Not until I've had my say!" He rounds back on me. "I think it's time you should start growing up, or else I may reconsider applying for full custody."

"What the hell, Bill?!" I splutter. "Don't be so dramatic!"

"I'm not being dramatic. Draco Malfoy is a dangerous boy! I don't care if he's a Quidditch super star these days. He will always be a monster and should be rotting in Azkaban along with his good for nothing father!"

"Oh, get over yourself, Bill." I mutter. "It was just a fucking kiss. Now, if you don't mind, I'm very busy trying to finish Gina's cake. I don't want to let her down on this too."

Glaring at him pointedly, I pick up my wand and turn my attention back to completing the artwork on the cake.

"Come on, darling," Fleur says, tugging at my ex-husband's arm. "I'm sorry, Sol, I didn't know he was going to bring up the custody thing."

"It's Solène, actually," I say pettily, glaring up at her.

I know I'm being unfair because in this moment she is trying to be the nice, reasonable one. But I'm sorry, she doesn't get to be the nice, reasonable one when she stole my fucking husband.

"No." Bill says sternly, shrugging Fleur off him. "I'm not leaving until we have said what we came to say."

"You mean there's more to it than accusing me of being a bad mother and threatening to take my daughter away? Oh please, Bill. Do tell. After all, I know how much you love spreading the joy."

"Fleur and I are having a baby."

My hand shakes and I ruin the flower design on the cake. 

I don't know why this has shocked me so much. Maybe because it is confirmation that my husband really has been screwing another woman. But it's insane, of course I already knew that. They were hardly going to be waiting until their wedding night. 

"Congratulations," I mutter, trying to ignore the bright lights obscuring my vision. I couldn't even see the cake now.

"We are keen to be wed before the baby comes along. We want Mia to come and live with us full time so that we can be a proper family."

I can't breathe. Not only has Bill time and time again broken my heart, he wants to take my daughter away just so he can play happy families elsewhere. It is like being punched in the gut over and over again.

"Does she know?" I whisper, trying so hard not to show the emotion in my voice, desperate for him not to know how he is still capable of hurting me. "Does Mimi know she is going to be a sister?"

It hurts just to say - the idea that everything I love and have loved is being taken away from me. Bill and I had tried for a second child for years. But we never seemed to have any success. So, I threw myself into the bakery and Bill threw himself into the bank (or more accurately - Fleur).

"No. Not yet." Bill says stiffly, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden tension in the air. "I thought it would be fair to pre warn you before we share the good news with her."

"Fair?" I snap, all my control going out the window. "In what way is any of this fucking fair, Bill? Was it fair that you cheated on me behind my back? Or when you decided that you wanted to trade me in for a younger model? And now you are taking away my little girl, you are taking EVERYTHING! Let me wade into your life and do the same to you before you can call any of this fucking fair!"

I am so angry, I do not even notice the tears falling down my cheeks until Dennis comes in from his lunch break, his face a picture of shock at the scene before him.

"Fuck, Sol, are you okay?" he asks, striding across the shop towards the counter, glaring at Bill as he passes him. "What have you done now, you prick?"

"She's being hysterical," Bill says, "we'll discuss this another time-"

"FUCK OFF!" I yell at him, shaking so much from anger. "GET OUT OF MY BAKERY AND OUT OF MY LIFE, YOU JUDGMENTAL, HYPOCRITICAL PRICK!"

Reaching for the first thing I can find, I throw my wand at him, wishing it had been a knife to add to the scars on his face. 

Fleur begins to whimper, and Bill protectively pulls her behind him. "I will let that one slide as you are clearly upset." he warns, his tone dangerous. "But anymore displays of violence from you then I will not hesitate to let Harry Potter know."

"Leave," Dennis demands, striding over to him to grab his arm, "before you see me get violent."

And with that he escorts him and Fleur out.

He slams the door shut behind them and puts the closed sign up. 

"Hey, Sol, it's okay" he says, wrapping me in a hug once he has led me to the kitchen. 

"It's not," I sob. "They are having a fucking baby and want to take Mimi away from me."

Dennis's arms tighten around me and I can feel the anger emanating from him. "They can't take her away from you. Besides, she's old enough to say what she wants. And I bet she won't want to leave you."

"She hates me at the moment," I sob harder, wiping my tears with my sleeve. "She has barely said two words to me in this last week. And next week she's going back to Hogwarts. If he gets full custody I will never see her again. She's hardly home as it is!" 

"I don't understand, why does he want to do this now?"

"He thinks I am a bad mother because I kissed Draco Malfoy."

"Oh, for fuck's sake. What a jealous, childish prick. So what? You didn't deny him of seeing his daughter after he cheated on you. You have every right to kiss someone else. Hell, you have every right to screw whoever you want and he cannot say a fucking thing."

"What shall I do, Dennis?" I say, my voice quivering. "Why is everything such a mess? I can't even finish Gina's cake. He's upset me too much."

"You've a wand, haven't you? Fix it. We'll keep the shop closed so you get no more interruptions. I'll make myself busy doing an audit of the books. But first, I'm going to put the kettle on."

He busies himself around the kitchen, and I gratefully let him. 

However, he has not even poured the teas when there is another tinkling of the shop door bell.

"We're closed!" Dennis shouts out. "Can't you fucking read?!"

"Dennis," I hiss, "You can't talk to the customers like that. Well, unless it's my ex-husband."

When I go out the kitchen to see who is there, however, I get quite a shock.

For the man standing there with a smirk on his face is definitely not my ex-husband.

******