Chapter 0151
Abby

The restaurant has long since closed, but the aroma of sauteed onions and garlic still lingers in the air.

The sound of sizzling oil on the stove and the faint melody of a song that I don’t like wafting from a

speaker in the corner mix together to create a tense symphony that I absolutely don’t need to be

hearing right now.

I’m stressed, to say the least. Really stressed.

John stands next to me, his eyes focused as he skillfully dices tomatoes. His posture is rigid, the

tension between us as palpable as the texture of the dough I’m kneading for our homemade pasta.

“How’s the dough coming along?” he asks, throwing a quick glance my way.

“It’s fine. Just needs a bit more kneading,” I reply, my palms pushing and folding as I get lost in the

repetitive motion.

John grunts in acknowledgment and moves on to chop basil. There’s an air of seriousness around him,

an unwavering concentration that should make me feel reassured.

And yet, it doesn’t.

I’m hyper-aware of the disconnect, the invisible yet unignorable gap between us. It feels

reading from different recipes, never

olive oil?”

brushing for a moment, but there’s none of

I used to feel when Karl and I worked

Karl, it

worked well together. I like John and he’s a

in the kitchen. What should

oil over the tomatoes, then hesitates, looking at the array

paprika would give the sauce

lip. “The recipe is already pretty balanced. Adding

throw it off.”

rock the boat,

John? Are you crazy?”

eyebrows furrowed. “We’re not following the recipe to the letter, are

to

the

I

and takes a deep breath, visibly trying to rein in

your sous chef for this competition. If you don’t trust my judgment,

here?”

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255