Chapter 36

9×624 After washing her hands, Seraphina returned to the living room and plopped down on the sofa. She took a sip of water and eyed the tablet Dashiell had left behind apprehensively. After some thought, she picked it up, accessing Twitter again to properly scrutinize the rumors swirling around her. She read through the slander, a finger pressed against her lips in contemplation.

Thanks to Dashiell’s earlier interruption, she had initially skimmed through the post, understanding that it concerned her college days with Julian and Vivian. But now, having read closely, she discovered the complete disregard for facts and blatant twisting of her history.

What intrigued her most was that the rumors weren’t spread by either Julian or Vivian, but by their old college mates, masking themselves as ‘close friends.

Initially, Seraphina felt a hot surge of anger. The more she read, however, the less severe her rage became. It bordered on ridiculous.

Although the names seemed vaguely familiar, she couldn’t recall any faces. She wasn’t antisocial in college, but she certainly wasn’t the social butterfly either. Most of her time was invested in conducting experiments or collecting data off-campus; she had little time for campus gossip or socializing. Yet, these so-called ‘witnesses’ claimed intimate knowledge of her personal life, providing rich narratives about how supposedly perfect Julian and Vivian had been and how she had become an interloper in their relationship.

According to these rumors, she was painted as the villainess who had come between Julian and Vivian. Yet, despite her status, she was supposedly ‘befriended’ by them, offered a job during her low phase. But in a cruel twist, she turned around to repay their ‘kindness’ by stealing the company’s data and Vivian’s perfume formulas. She was depicted as a backstabber!

She read through the rumors with mounting disbelief. Initial fury eased down to a composed understanding. By the end, it seemed as though she was sifting through tales of a third party, disconnected from her own reality since she knew she hadn’t. committed any of these supposed wrongs.

“Dinner is ready,” Dashiell called out.

The enticing aroma wafting from the kitchen was impossible to resist. After setting the soup on the table, Dashiell retreated into the kitchen for a moment. Seraphina offered to help, but he silenced her with a look, “Just sit at the dining table and leave the rest to me.”

Reluctantly, Seraphina sat herself while Dashiell bustled around setting the table like a perfect house-

husband. He even meticulously loaded a plate with food and placed it in |||

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front of her. Witnessing Dashiell’s homely side, Seraphina mused how anyone from Apex Corporation, or a reporter for all that matter, would be shocked to see this. The formidable CEO showing affection and homeliness was far from common. There was a down-to-earth, heartening appeal about him at that moment.

“Stop staring and start eating,” Dashiell objected lightly, passing her knife and fork. He then spooned out a bowl of soup for her before finally sitting down himself.

“I’m just… amazed at how considerate you are,” Seraphina confessed, resting her chin in one hand.

“Amazed, are you?” There was a gleam in Dashiell’s eye, “Then brace yourself. You’ll be amazed quite frequently in the future.”

A warm blush spread across Seraphina’s cheeks. Dashiell knew how to sweet-talk.

All the dishes were very appetizing. Besides the rib-lotus root soup and tomato-cgg stir- fry she had started, he had prepared two additional dishes: fried beef and garlic butter. roasted mushrooms.

Dashiell kept putting food on her plate. “You’re too thin. Eat more.”

“I had no idea you could cook,” Seraphina admitted with admiration. The dishes he cooked could easily compete with professional chef’s calibre – he was incredibly skilled at home cooking.

Pausing mid-chew, Dashiell retorted, ‘Do you imagine I should sit at the table like ant incapable child, waiting for the maid to feed me and wipe my mouth?”

Giggles bubbled up from Seraphina at the comical image. His words might have been facetious, but they weren’t far from what she had believed.

“At least, you don’t have to cook by yourself,” Seraphina said. She was a little curious. about his life because it was different from what she had imagined.

“I don’t have to cook if I like.” Dashiell did not deny it. Given his background and social status, he certainly didn’t need to do these trivial things by himself.

“So you like cooking?” Seraphina was even more curious, wondering if he had a hobby of cooking.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kicked her out of the kitchen and taken over by himself.

Dashiell glanced at her and shook his head. “I used to study abroad.”

“So?” Seraphina didn’t understand what he meant.

Even if he was studying abroad, his family was rich enough to hire serv ants to look after |||

him. All of a sudden, Seraphina remembered he didn’t like having serv ants at home, so he cooked by himself.

Dashiell took a sip of the soup and then answered her question. “As the heir of the Martinez family and Apex Corporation, I need to be trained in areas other than business management. During that period, I learned how to cook. It’s my way to relieve stress.”

He didn’t say much more about it. He didn’t tell her why he couldn’t stay with her at the moment, or what had happened to him.

“So, you prevented me from cooking because you didn’t believe my cooking?” Seraphina asked. She took a sip of the soup and found it delicious. Even if he at cooking, he didn’t need to question her cooking skills..

was good “There are too many fumes from cooking fires in the kitchen,” he said. After a pause, he added, “Don’t cook anymore.”

That was the reason. Seraphina was surprised.

Too many fumes from cooking fires? But he had the best utensils and even a professional extractor in the kitchen. She didn’t smell any fumes just now, especially when compared to the kitchen at the house she had rented before.

Seraphina suddenly recalled Julian telling her, “An awesome woman should take care of her work outside and housework at home, just like you.” She was pretty proud at that time because she believed Julian relied heavily on herself. But she never thought he merely sat there waiting for her to prepare meals. He had never cut vegetables or washed plates.

But now, Dashiell didn’t let her cook because there were too many fumes from cooking fires in the kitchen.

It turned out that if a man loved a woman, she did not need to cook. He would cherish her and see her as the apple of his eye.