I'm happy to present the long-awaited 50th chapter and next milestone of "Culinary Rivals"! Did you know it's my birthday today? The timing couldn't be any better, in spite of my busy life! Please enjoy this chapter!

So... Steven's boxed lunch - the fried onion-cracker-breaded fish fingers, lemon sauce, and potato cakes - go to DaX0315, the honoured Guests, StRAngE ToASt, Jeli26 (you like fish, eh?), and QUEENSPELLER67. Enjoy!

First honoured Guest: just you wait! Wallace has even bigger plans once this milestone is over.

Second honoured Guest: wow! You've been keeping up with this story since March 2016?! Glad that you are! I wish I could have updated faster, but... life is life. It's always piling more work on me.

QUEENSPELLER67: so anyways, I'll put the irony in Cynthia's intentions into a few puzzle pieces. You have her la pluie de chocolat on one hand, and then Astrid on the other...

Chapter fifty: A Thin Slice of Pinap Berry Peel

The following morning, both the Stone Bistro and Vue sur la Lune were open for business again. However, the reopening was overshadowed by two things. First, Viola's published photos in Lumiose Press on Steven and Cynthia's pointless argument the other day. Second, the media had been publishing Steven's battle with Astrid in the papers, broadcast, and television speculating Steven's demise in the culinary world, not to mention his relationship with Cynthia.

Nevertheless, Martine was getting worried for her boss. Steven had been smiling way too often lately and if Martine didn't know better she would have thought something had happened to Steven. He was looking unusually happy.

This is like a bad TV romance, or even a bad fanfiction, Martine thought. It was like Steven and Cynthia were actors in a story and the audience – no, the story – was pushing for them to be together. From the looks of things, that wasn't happening.

There were plenty of customers lining up for lunch in the lobby where Sophie and Laurent were handling them one sitting at a time. The restaurant was in full service. The bar was operating as usual, as well as the museum and the bakery. If anything, Martine could say things were back to normal.

However, she suspected the media coverage had something to do with the increasing business. Right across the street, Cynthia was enjoying a boost in customers too on her part. Her pâté au vent was a popular hit in addition to her fascinating desserts so Martine was told. As Martine recalled, the pluie de chocolat was a success, but the Crème de Lune Opéra was by far more popular.

As Martine arrived in the kitchen, she found Steven serving out two plates of Stone Open and one plate of Stone Accolade. Honestly, it felt like a while since Martine had had one serving of these herself, but that could wait another day. The customers came first.

Before she could make her way to the terrace, Martine snuck a glance at her boss once more. Steven was working hard, so was there something else on his mind? This behaviour was strange.

Across the street, it appeared Cynthia was faring worse. The popular Kalos magazine infamous for its cover of her and Steven's 'apples and oranges' relationship had taken files from Alexa and published Cynthia's words. The pictures of Steven and Astrid didn't help, and neither were the ones showing Steven and herself arguing. Now it seemed Cynthia's public life was on the knife's edge.

So far, it seemed her comeback was working. Customers were pouring into her restaurant once it had opened again. Perhaps the extra publicity could be appreciated, but it didn't help that a third of customers were journalists and photographers. Couldn't they just leave her alone?

It was so bad, Cynthia couldn't bear to walk out in public. Instead, she had isolated herself in the kitchen where she belonged.

Thinking back to their argument the other day, she thought back to Steven's accusations against her. However…

She knew he had eaten a la pluie de chocolat and wanted an opinion. But instead, he reacted by accusing her of spying for intelligence and demanded an explanation why Garchomp destroyed his power grid. When Cynthia said Metagross was to blame for the water damage, Steven did not deny it.

Instead, Cynthia changed the topic back to the la pluie de chocolat. She said she saw a fire in his eyes when he ate it, but he simply brushed that topic off. That was when she attacked him with her shoe and demanded an answer. He reacted by catching her arm.

"You won't win!" he shouted.

That was when he let go of her and went on his way.

She regretted trying to attack him with her shoe in the first place.

"Cynthia! Attention!" her fellow cook cautioned.

Cynthia snapped back to her senses and quickly let go of the ladle she held. The soup she was making was stirred excessively, and not only was the soup not thick, but there was soup splattered over her station.

"Oh… Sorry," she apologised.

Her business was holding off strong, and at this point Cynthia was expecting the coming night to be even busier. She hadn't made any new dishes so far, and knowing Steven, he would be out to get her if she did. But if only he wasn't on a rampage, her life would be easy.

She cleaned off the sides and went to restart making her soup. Still, she absentmindedly dwelled her thoughts on Steven once more. Only this time, she was thinking of Astrid too. Mentally slapping herself, Cynthia went on to carry on her work.

Why was he so hard to talk to? Thinking back to the countless fights she had with him, she figured he was impossible to reconcile. If the la pluie de chocolat didn't work, she was going to have to fight for her life. But the anger she felt wouldn't let her go.

Personally, it felt like being pushed to the edge. All it took for Cynthia was one more little push, and she would be ready for war. Astrid was one thing, but Steven was clearly on the warpath. Cynthia wasn't ready to fully retaliate yet, so perhaps there was a chance to calm things down.

This was only her fourth week of business, after all.

By night, at Vue sur la Lune, Cynthia finally had a grip on herself and began to cook more effectively. Orders were going out one by one, and customers couldn't get enough of dessert.

In the midst of making desserts, she caught a whiff of nostalgia why she enjoyed making them. They were tasty, sweet, and carried her unique styling that was impossible to replicate. Combined with her popular coffee, she held a firm grasp on the dessert market here.

She watched a customer, namely Fantina, being served a coffee along with a slice of Watmel berry cheesecake with a garnish of lime and basil. It seemed odd that a herb would accompany a sweet flavour like Watmel, but it seemed like something. Plus, it was one of Cynthia's less known albeit tasty desserts.

"Bonsoir, Fantina," Cynthia greeted as she passed by. "Good to see you again."

"Pareillement, Cynthia," Fantina said. "How have you been?"

"I should be asking you that!" Cynthia laughed. "I didn't expect you'd be here tonight! But life's been steady so far. Making a living off food is something!"

Fantina scooped a bit of her cheesecake and held it before her eyes. "Speaking of which, this cheesecake is not bad. The flavour and style is different than those Unova cheesecakes you served before. It's nice and fluffy."

Cynthia smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. It's not every day I get a compliment off of something from the regular menu. Shall I interest you in a smoothie to go with it?"

"At this time of day?!" Fantina laughed. "Je voudrais un café."

"Of course," Cynthia said. She walked away to prepare a fresh cup of coffee for Fantina, but as she took a few steps, Fantina waved for her attention.

"Oh, and I would like to know: did you invite Steven tonight?"

Cynthia froze. "Why would you ask that, of all things?"

"I just saw him walk in," Fantina muttered as she watched from the window beside her.

She spied him walking in with a companion, and she had an idea who it might be. Meanwhile, Cynthia briefly panicked but regained her composure afterwards. She brushed her hair back and went downstairs to avoid suspicion. Normally, she would have made a phone call to the foyer, but given her situation right now….

Cynthia was back in the familiar marble and glass surroundings of the foyer. With the alleged Steven out of sight, she waved down a receptionist. But before she could ask anything, the receptionist was one step ahead of her.

"Chef! Did you know that Steven Stone just walked in here?" he said.

Cynthia knew better than to give herself away, and replied, "No, I – uh… What a surprise. I thought he wanted to stay away. Is he seated?"

"Oui, and with his friend too," he said. "Wait… Are you jeal–?"

"No!" Cynthia hastily added, but walked away to look for him. This was not good, that he was here. Now. With someone.

Cynthia didn't have to go far to look for them, because she passed by Henri who wanted to talk. Henri was serving customers tonight, and he was just bringing two plates of salad – a fancy Lumiouse-style salad and a more rustic local style salad, both dressed in their respective dressings and fruits.

"Ah, chef, are you looking for Steven? He's seated at the top floor. I happen to just be serving these," Henri said. However, he was surprised that Cynthia went walking without a word.

Instead, Cynthia clutched her chest. Her breathing was shallow. She had a feeling that if Steven came together with…

No.

Cynthia couldn't bear to think about it.

However, by the time she got to the roof her worst fears were confirmed. Somehow, somehow, Henri arrived there before she did. Lo and behold, the salads were served to Steven and… No doubt.

Her.

Astrid.

Cynthia's chest became tight, and her breathing became shallower. Standing on the side, Cynthia looked convincingly unsuspecting, but she was eyeing that table. Henri had just placed the salads before Steven and Astrid, and afterwards it appeared he was having a conversation with them. Rustic-style for Steven, fancy style for Astrid.

She clutched the collar of her jacket even harder and wondered what to do. On instinct, she advanced toward the table and wished she hadn't done that. Henri had just walked by her, and now Cynthia was left by herself to approach Steven and Astrid. No turning back now.

"Bonsoir," was all she could say.

Astrid's bright eyes met hers. On the side, Steven wasn't sure what to say. He was expecting to see Cynthia at some point, but he hoped against hope Cynthia would show at his table.

"Ooh! You must be Cynthia," Astrid said casually, albeit cheerful. "Bonsoir."

"I trust you're enjoying your dinner?" Cynthia asked.

"Certainly. I had an exhausting exercise yesterday and I owe Steven here a meal," Astrid replied. "It's not every day I get to eat here. Plus, your salad is excellent. Besides, how are things going on between you two? I hear –"

"Cynthia," Steven said coldly as he had the courage to look at her again. "Visiting me again, I see? So to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Pleasure?! You have some nerve asking me that, Cynthia thought.

She looked at Astrid briefly again before replying, "I'm only curious why you are eating here. I thought you vowed to never come back."

"It couldn't be helped," Steven said. "It was Astrid's choice."

Just hearing Astrid's name made Cynthia's chest grow tighter. She looked the other way and drew a deep breath. After calming herself down, she faced Steven again.

"I suppose I can fix you two some drinks, on me." Cynthia offered. That was the first thing that came to mind.

Astrid's eyes twinkled. In Steven's eyes, the only similar twinkle he'd ever seen was from Martine.

"Ooh, merci beaucoup, Cynthia," Astrid said. "I would like… Um…"

"Three measures of Ambrette, one of Razz, shaken over ice, and then add a thin slice of Pinap berry peel," Steven ordered.

Astrid's eyes went wide. "Wow! Did you just make that up on the spot?"

"It's a recipe I intended to make, but never had the time to," Steven admitted. "I only thought of it a few days ago."

"In that case, I'll have a sparkling apple juice, with a Leppa berry," Astrid said to Cynthia. "S'il vous plait."

Cynthia grimaced, saying, "Certainly," before walking away from the table. She turned around once more to see Astrid and Steven casually continuing their conversation and wish she hadn't promised to make them drinks. Still, it was her duty now.

There wasn't anyone at the bar when Cynthia got there, but it as it happened the barwoman was busy. No matter. Cynthia hadn't intended for the barwoman to make the drinks.

"Ah, chef. Que puis-je faire pour-tu? Est-ce que ça va?"

"I'm okay, and I will do it," Cynthia shortly said.

She breathed exasperatedly. She washed her hands before taking out a cup measure from beneath the counter. From behind, she searched for the alcohols Steven ordered. Ambrette liquor was made from the finest berries in Ambrette Town, so Cynthia knew Steven had good taste. Razz berry liquor was spicy and dry, just like the berry itself.

With shaky hands, she tried unscrewing the lid of the Ambrette liquor but found she didn't have the confidence to do so.

Come on. Open! Cynthia screamed in her mind.

"Cynthia. Do you need any help?" Henri's voice said from her left.

Cynthia looked up to see him looking back with concerned eyes. He may be a barista, and had lots of experience making drinks of all kinds. Nevertheless, Cynthia was not going to embarrass herself by having someone else deliver an order in her place.

"I'm fine, Henri," she said it like it was forced.

Moments after Henri had walked away, Cynthia placed the bottle down and instead scooped a handful of ice into the shaker. Miraculously, Cynthia managed to pour out the Ambrette into the cup measure three times and then poured the measures into the shaker one at a time.

It felt like making this drink was going to take forever.

She repeated her action with the Razz liquor, albeit with a fresh cup measure. Now, with that done, Cynthia furiously shook the shaker with both hands so the liquors inside would become ice-cold.

Her furious feelings were being poured into this furious shaking. Figuratively.

"Chef. If you're going to keep shaking like that, the ice will melt soon. I wouldn't want that Ambrette to go to waste," the barwoman remarked. "Something on your mind?"

Cynthia stopped the shaking and poured out the contents into a glass. With tears in her eyes, she took a Pinap berry and started peel the skin off the berry. Unlike the spicy berry inside it, Pinap berry peel was very sour. What a way to compensate for the intense flavour in the drink already.

With the complete Pinap berry peel in her fingers, Cynthia dropped it into the glass and let the flavour settle. Now, it was time to start the second drink.

With her shaking hands, she opened a small bottle of sparkling apple juice and directly poured it into the glass, followed by putting the uniquely flavoured Leppa berry in. Cynthia didn't how she should feel after doing this, but she brought the drinks out onto a tray. She went out to serve them herself.

Winona could swear Wallace was too obsessed with Steven's romantic life.

The fact was, despite her pleas not to go see Steven, Wallace wanted to eat dinner at the Stone Restaurant and Bistro as a way of treating Winona. Winona was suspicious already when they arrived, and it didn't help that her boyfriend got straight to the point upon bumping into Martine at the foyer.

"Salut, Martine!" Wallace greeted. "Where is my man, Steven?"

Martine frowned.

"I haven't seen him lately," the redhead said. "He was strangely happy this morning, and the next thing you know he says he won't be working dinner hours tonight."

Wallace was puzzled. Is it possible that Steven made a breakthrough at last with his help? No way. No way. Steven needed romantic support, and the idea Steven could manage something like this on his own was inconceivable. Wallace figured he should shadow Steven more.

By the time he and Winona were seated at the third floor by Martine, having a window seat facing Vue sur la Lune itself, Wallace detected Winona wasn't happy. Her gaze would have pierced his, if only Wallace had paid attention to her at all, which was another blow to Winona.

They ordered glasses of water, to start. Looking at the menu, Wallace could tell Steven had been busy. The menu had expanded; the desserts in particular. But he and Winona settled on a Stone Open and a Stone Accolade, respectively.

Cynthia found Steven and Astrid were only a quarter through their salads. With the drinks in her shaking hands, she almost spilled them when they got to the table. "Here you go," she muttered. The glasses were on the table and Steven was first to give it a taste. Astrid followed suit.

As Cynthia walked away, she heard Astrid saying, "Wow, this salad tastes nice. How is yours?"

"If I didn't know better I would have ordered white wine instead," Steven said. "But this cocktail is excellent, and with the salad. I should think of a name for this drink."

"But you said you made that drink on the spot!" Astrid said. "Is it a coincidence that you haven't thought of a name for it?"

"I…" Steven started, but his voice faded when his eyes made contact with Cynthia's. In that instant, he felt the same burning sensation he first felt when he discovered Cynthia was winning over his customers. Never mind his staff. There was nothing he liked about her.

Cynthia looked shocked at first, but quickly looked away and went about her business. Steven blinked once before sipping more of his Ambrette and Razz mixture. He felt suspicious at Cynthia's behaviour, but thanks to Astrid, he could focus on the conversation.

He looked happy.

Cynthia sighed heavily and walked away from the area. Words failed to describe how she felt, and she wondered if she could keep working again.

Her mind was so unfocused that she didn't realise she was making herself look bad. Thankfully, Fantina was first to notice her odd behaviour.

"Cynthia? Is something wrong?" she called out.

Cynthia snapped out of her trance but didn't know how to respond. Instead of replying directly, she waved to a waitress to get her a smoothie. Fresh blueberries on top of crushed ice and blended with spinach. It didn't seem like they would go together, but Cynthia was in a bad mood.

Ironically, blueberries and spinach did go together in a smoothie, but that was beside the point.

"Yes. Something is wrong," Cynthia finally replied.

The sweet blend was served to her in a glass. It was purple, grainy, and cold to the touch, and Cynthia drank a mouthful which caused her to have a brain freeze. She palmed her forehead as her head hurt, but she continued to drink the smoothie.

"Look. If there's anything you want to say, just say it," Fantina assured.

Cynthia looked up. She brushed her hair aside to leave one of her eyes covered as usual. She looked in the direction where Steven was sitting. Alone. With her. That younger girl… whom he supposedly had feelings for?! Her expression remained bitter.

"I made that drink for him. Why…" she groaned.

Fantina was speechless. She suspected Cynthia was talking about Steven, but what drink was she talking about? That, she did not understand. Something she regretted, perhaps? But Fantina couldn't see the connection.

She watched Cynthia finish the rest of the smoothie. Knowing Cynthia, she was keeping a cool face over a cold smoothie to keep herself calm. But Fantina couldn't imagine what was going on in Cynthia's head right now.

"How does it taste?"

Wallace asked knowing Winona probably wouldn't respond at all. The Stone Accolade wafted its aroma of mushrooms, onions, lots of herbs and spices, and blue cheese such that it made Wallace's mouth water. Winona cut one of the rice envelopes, dipped it in the au jus, and chewed.

In short, the response Wallace got was silence.

"Look, look. It's nothing personal, but there are so many things that Steven's life needs fixing. If he ever has a hope of love–"

"Dear. Eat your food, or it will go cold," Winona said after swallowing.

Wallace held his breath and continued eating his Stone Open. The beef and cheese went well together and he could only imagine how many more of these he could eat. However, he did have to keep an eye on that. Plus, the baguette was delicious. Winona was right: what was the point of ordering an expensive dish if he left it to waste? Then again, this was Wallace.

He sliced another piece of the baguette and piled the ingredients on his fork, and then he ate. Wallace then looked out the window for the view.

His eyes widened. "Steven? What…?!"

Winona's eyes flared. These were eyes that were unseen for a girl as graceful as she was. It was like she had transformed. "Wallace! For the last time–!"

"If you looked, dear, you would understand," Wallace replied charmingly, as if he were flirting with her, before directing his gaze outside.

Winona sighed, before she gave in. Immediately, her eyes widened just like Wallace did. Although the distance was relatively far, there was no mistaking the sight of Steven at the top of Vue sur la Lune. He was seated, with a cocktail in hand, with the girl who was not Cynthia.

"No way, is he really serious about her…?" Winona had to say. True, she saw Steven walking with this girl only yesterday, but she was surprised that after seeing them together just once did Steven go on a date with this girl.

It was a mystery. Why would Steven be having dinner with that girl at Cynthia's restaurant of all places? It didn't make sense. Okay, Winona had to hand it to Wallace for being nosy about these things. Plus, what would Cynthia make of this?

Cynthia didn't know how she had ended up at her villa so, even though she knew she left work early. The surroundings were familiar, but reminiscent of the many times she had cried tears of many kinds. Ice cream? Shopping? Those probably would do her little good now.

Instead, Cynthia went immediately to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed. She was breathless while lying flat and, for lack of better word, defeated. She didn't bother turning on any lights, and instead let her tears fall.

Her bemoaned state caught the attention of her Pokémon, least of all Roserade and Milotic who passed by her bedroom. The two Pokémon glanced at each other wondering what to do, but as Cynthia had practically locked herself inside, there were little options.

Milotic whined a little, and retreated to talk with Garchomp and the others. Roserade eventually did the same.

As for Cynthia, she picked up her pillow and buried her face in it. Her tears were already soaking the pillowcase.

She screamed in despair.

Ahaha, the drama in this chapter makes me laugh. What do you think of the chapter? It's going to set the stage for the rest of the story! Enjoy that cocktail Steven had (the one with the Pinap berry peel), or if you're not craving a strong alcohol like that, have Cynthia's blueberry and spinach smoothie.