Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

Chapter 827

Did Yara tag along with Jace just to make sure she could crash here?

"I want the cream soup silky smooth. Oh, and remove the onions from the food after cooking-I like the taste, but I'm not eating them. And maybe-"I started listing my demands when Yara spun around, raising an eyebrow at me. "Wow. Jace really spoiled you, huh?" she said, shaking her head. "You're so picky."

She wasn't done. "And FYI, I'm not your personal chef. Don't want onions? Pick 'em out yourself." With that, she waltzed into the kitchen.

Clearly, she was hinting at something, so I decided to follow-casually, of course. On the inside? I was dying to sprint. But if she was playing it cool, so would I.

By the time I got to the kitchen, she was already prepping the ingredients, her knife skills surprisingly pro-level.

"Impressive," I said.

"It's called independence," she said, hitting me with a mini lecture. "Just because someone spoils you doesn't mean you can't handle yourself." Okay, point taken.

But even though I wasn't as skilled in the kitchen as she was, I was perfectly capable of being independent.

"Fair enough. Guess I should help out. Wouldn't want to feel guilty eating all this," I said, rolling up my sleeves and starting to rinse the veggies.

of the fan and running water made for

the urn, didn't you? Where's the stuff Hayden left inside?" I

that creepy thing?" she

send someone to barge in any second. Frustrated, I pressed

so am I," she retorted. "The urn's exactly the way Hayden gave it to me. I handed it over untouched. If I'm lying,

back to the urn and how weirdly dramatic it had been, I realized she probably wasn't lying. There was no way she'd go through the trouble of

it was all so... extra. Hayden had given me rings before he disappeared, and

Couldn't the guy just give a proper

you so worked up about the urn anyway?"

in it," I muttered, half annoyed. "He made it feel like some twisted Valentine's Day

Only he

what was he trying to do? Was this just

it? Let me see," she said, eyeing

a ring, but not the one from the urn-this one was from

I said flatly. "He probably

urn, so the ring wouldn't