She Outshines Them All (Athena and Matthew)

Chapter 494

The night was morning sun finally broke through, banishing the darkness, that they felt a sense of warmth return.

already halfway over, but for the van

family the rest of the night felt unbearably long. It wasn't until the

In the kitchen, Brandon, wearing an apron, was frying eggs with focused attention. The hum of the orange juice machine filled the air as it squeezed fresh juice.

Maria walked in, a smile tugging at her lips. "Brandon Donovan, I'm making breakfast with you today."

Brandon nodded with a playful frown on his face. "Sure. You can make the spaghetti and ratatouille. Mine never quite tastes right."

Since his marriage, Brandon had spent his free time learning how to cook, explaining that "Nicolette works so hard in the army, I want her to eat well."

Though he didn't have a natural talent for cooking, he'd applied himself with determination, sticking to the simplest dishes. Over time, he'd become pretty good at making fried eggs, oatmeal, fresh orange juice, and mashed potatoes. The family had started calling him quite the dutiful husband.

Maybe the events of the night before had left Wesley and his wife shaken, because they hadn't come downstairs by midday. The rest of the family respected their space and kept to themselves.

Zayn, however, had been up since the crack of dawn. After his warm-up, he went for his usual run.

As he finished his first lap, he spotted Tina walking slowly along the track. She was holding Dolli in her left arm and pushing Bello, their elderly dog, in a stroller with her right.

Why the stroller? Because Bello, now in the late stages of cancer could barely walk. Tina took it upon herself to carry him in the stroller, taking him on daily walks around the villa or the neighborhood. Bello had only made it this far thanks to Athena, who had performed surgery to remove part of the dog's tumor. Without that, Bello would have passed away shortly after being adopted by the family. Walking the dog and petting the cat was one of Tina's favorite things to do. She loved it so much that she'd taken full responsibility for it. As she walked, she admired the flowers blooming along the path. Suddenly, she stopped and crouched down, gazing at a patch of flowers, lost in thought.

By the time Zayn finished his second lap, she was still crouching, mesmerized by something. Unable to resist, he stopped beside her and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Without lifting her gaze, Tina answered softly, her voice dreamy "Look at that rose and that gardenia. Even though they're so far apart-four or five meters, with all these obstacles between them-they're still close together, almost kissing. They must be in love." "What a romantic, beautiful love..." she whispered.

Zayn studied the flowers in silence for a moment. They were simply close by coincidence, but Tina had already spun a love story for them. He believed that it might be what a romance writer's imagination was like. He couldn't help but feel a bit drawn in by her sense of wonder.

the image of those two flowers side by side oddly beautiful. And with the cats, the dogs, and a lively, charming girl beside him, he didn't want to leave. So he didn't. He knelt beside her, admiring the flowers,

main house rang out that they snapped out of their reverie. One carrying the cat, the other pushing the

Chapter 494

hour of tennis, Alaric and Diane finally called it a day, wiping the sweat off their faces as they headed back inside for

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could hear Arthur and Nina, full of excitement, debating what to have for lunch and dinner-and where they would go next to hunt down more delicious food. With so many dishes on their minds but not enough room in their

watched, amused. These two were so young, and all they could talk about was food and where to

working as a waitress at Donovan's Restaurant, saying, "Just looking at the

a little in awe of how down-to-earth she was, especially since she was the daughter of the richest family in Vredo City. She was so passionate about food that she'd go to any length just to

was when Nina said, "Arthur's cooking that night was

almost on the verge of tears, replying, "No one's ever said my cooking was better

more often, and every time,

couldn't help but wonder if Arthur finally

dreams aligned perfectly. Both of them wanted to try every kind of food the world

about anything else. No

they ever argued about was what to eat and

behind it, and they managed to win more often than not thanks to the hardware. And of course, they often worked out together,

but shake their heads

the flowers, the cats, and the dogs, all a little sweaty, and watching the carefree pair of food lovers dig into a

are

them wake up naturally.

to write, and the rest of the family stayed in the main hall. Around midday, Claire finally appeared, slowly descending the stairs with her husband's support. She still looked tired, her eyes heavy with exhaustion,

her to the couch, and offering her water, milk, and

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Chapter 494

she said, shaking her head. "You all have your things to do. There's no need to stay here

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