Chapter 215

She hurriedly added, “I didn’t mean to trick you, I swear! But it was supposed to be a surprise-if I told you ahead of time, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore!”
Harrison’s voice was low and a little rough. “What made you think of planning a surprise for me?”
“I promised you before, remember?” she replied matter-of-factly.
Curling up sweetly in his arms, she nuzzled into his chest, then tipped her face up to him, her bright eyes shining like a sky full of stars. “When you promise your husband something, you have to keep your word. I hurt my hand before, so I never got the chance-but I’m making up for it now.”
“I learned all your favorite recipes, Hubby. Do you like them?”
Seeing the sincerity in her gaze, Harrison felt something inside him tremble.
He’d told Logan to erase that recording. He’d deliberately avoided asking her why she’d shown up at the hotel behind his back. He’d tried to ignore the nagging suspicion about what had really happened.
Yet the truth turned out to be this, of all things.
“I love it,” he murmured, pulling her into a sudden, tight embrace. His voice was hoarse.
Just those three words, but they made Anastasia light up with joy. She grabbed his hand and tugged him to sit. “Then hurry up and try it!”
Harrison picked up his fork.
Then paused.
A beat of silence. “Why are all the dishes… these?”
Roast squab, sautéed shrimp with celery, a steaming bowl of nourishing root vegetable soup, and perhaps most conspicuously-scrambled eggs with chives.
If he remembered right, every single dish was known for being, well, an “energy booster” for men.
Did he… need that?
Under the weight of Harrison’s intense gaze, Anastasia’s eyes darted away and a flush crept across her cheeks.
In a tiny voice, she mumbled, “I only just started learning from the chef… I haven’t gotten to the other recipes yet
As for why these were the first ones she’d mastered-
Ahem.
“I’m not saying you’re… lacking,” she quickly clarified, “but I looked it up online. I even asked a doctor! He said that, well, over time it’s not really… healthy, so you should take care of yourself.”
Harrison was silent.
His jaw tightened, face unreadable.
Whatever rush of emotion he’d felt a moment ago-moved, shaken vanished entirely.
All that remained was the urge to teach his little wife a lesson.
“My health is just fine. There’s no need to make these dishes ever again,” he said, every word clipped and laced with a certain gritted-teeth intensity.
No man, no matter how composed, could stay calm after being questioned like that by his own wife!
Facing his glare, Anastasia nodded frantically. “Uh-huh, right, sure
But her half-hearted agreement had consequences. Half an hour later, she found herself pulled onto the bed.
If she didn’t trust his words, then he’d just have to prove it to her-personally.
It didn’t take long for Anastasia to cave, sniffling and surrendering, “I won’t do it anymore, I promise! I’ll never make those dishes again, okay?”
Only then did he seem satisfied.
Afterwards, Harrison wrapped her in his arms from behind, his hand resting on her flat stomach. For a brief moment, he wondered what it would be like if they had a child together.
But he crushed the thought as quickly as it came.
A dying man had no business dreaming of children.
Especially when…
As the memory of that recording crept in, Harrison felt the chill settle back over his heart.
Just then, Anastasia shifted in his arms, rolling over to face him. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ
“Hubby, there’s something… I want to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about that recording
Before she could finish, the warmth between them vanished in an instant, a heavy silence falling over the room.