Chapter 1734: Taste test

[MAMA]

"Auntie, we told you it’s alright and you don’t have to bother..." Nina trailed off as she was forcibly seated in the corner table chair by Allison.

Allison had her hands on Nina’s shoulders, chuckling. Jessa, on the other hand, was already serving sample dishes for Nina to taste.

"Stop complaining, Nina," Allison said. "You know your auntie. She said she’d prepare some dishes for your wedding, and we both know she won’t change her mind."

"That’s right," Jessa rolled her eyes, placing the last plate on the table. She rested her hands on her hips, giving Nina a slightly intimidating look. "Nina, how could I let you get married without serving a dish from one of the best chefs in Anteca? Don’t you want to brag to people?"

Nina pressed her lips into a thin line and let out a shallow chuckle. "Auntie, I don’t think I have anyone to brag to about this wedding... and I don’t want to tire you out on my special day."

"Don’t worry about that." Jessa waved her off. "I’m a woman who can do ten things at once and not break a sweat."

Allison chuckled. "Just don’t think of anything else and try these out, alright? Your aunt’s been working on these recipes since the family meeting."

"The family meeting gone wrong," Jessa corrected, pushing one of the dishes closer to Nina. "Now go. Tell me what you think."

"Okay..." Nina pursed her lips, eyes scanning the food in front of her. She swallowed hard—it all looked so good.

They were already pleasing to the eye, and she was sure they’d taste heavenly.

Picking up a small fork, she examined the first dish. Then she carefully gathered a small bite.

Allison and Jessa watched with expectant eyes, almost holding their breath as Nina began chewing.

When Nina looked up at them, she blinked. "Auntie... Penny will be livid if she hears we’re doing this without her. It’s really good."

"Heh," Jessa smirked smugly, crossing her arms under her chest. "Of course it’s good. I made it—haha!"

Allison chuckled at Jessa’s pride, fully aware of how long she’d been staying up working on the recipes. Well, Allison had stayed up even longer since she had to accompany her and been her guinea pig.

"Let’s just not tell Penny about this," Allison whispered. "Otherwise, she’ll be nagging all of us."

"Well, that piglet should start thinking about a proper wedding soon. And that corpse husband of hers should also start doing what Finn is doing." Jessa clicked her tongue. "This is a punishment for her—for getting married without telling anyone, then putting off the wedding until now."

"She’s not even mentioning it, like they have no plans at all!" she added, clearly frustrated.

Allison chuckled weakly. "Jessi, Penny and Zoren are still busy with their careers—and also, please stop calling Zoren that. It’s not nice."

"This is why that piglet does whatever she wants," Jessa barked. "You keep spoiling her."

"Jessa, they’re adults."

"No." Jessa shook her head. "My twins are hopeless, and I’m starting to believe Yuri’s a tomboy. Yugi is just as hopeless, and both of them are buried in their work. At this rate, my hopes for them are already down the drain. So now, I only have Nina and Penny."

She then pointed at Allison. "You should think about this too. Your boys? Hoho! Allison, those boys won’t just be old and single—they’ll be old virgins. Even their good looks won’t save them with those personalities!"

Now that Allison thought about it...

Worry began to creep onto her face because somehow, Jessa was making sense. Penny and Nina really did seem like their only hope now. Her sons, unfortunately, didn’t inherit their father’s romantic flair. Especially... no, all three of them were helpless.

"See?" Jessa scoffed at her. "You get it now, huh?"

Nina, meanwhile, darted her eyes between the two. She pressed her lips together, unsure if she should be hearing this. She didn’t want to agree—but mentally? She was.

Shifting her eyes to the sample dishes Jessa wanted to include on the menu for her and Finn’s wedding, she couldn’t help but think about a few things.

’Finn will like everything for sure, so he won’t complain,’ she thought, glancing at the remaining three dishes and the one she had already tasted. ’But Penny... should I leave some for her?’

She considered it, weighing the pros and cons. Not because she didn’t want to share—it was more about survival. These were Jessa’s recipes, and only Jessa could make them. And knowing Penny, her cravings for things she hadn’t tasted were strong.

But her cravings for things she had tasted?

It would be hell in the restaurant. Penny wouldn’t stop pestering Jessa. And Nina would definitely get scolded for sneaking some for her.

’But if Aunt Jessa serves this at the wedding, Penny will get to taste them eventually,’ she reasoned, glancing at Jessa and Allison, who were now talking about sending their children—excluding Nina—to therapy to fix their broken love lives.

Yes, Zoren and Penny were on that list for some reason.

Nina smiled and shook her head, taking another bite of the dish.

’I guess I’ll just wait until the wedding and see what happens from there.’ A bright smile rose on her lips as she giggled. ’This is really good. I think I’ll save some for Finn and tell him not to mention it to Penny.’

’I’m sorry, Penny,’ she whispered in her heart, hoping her sister would understand why she was choosing to protect them both from the inevitable chaos of Penny’s cravings.

After a moment, Nina looked up. "Auntie, can I wrap up half of this? I want Finn to try it."

"No, finish it if you want," Jessa smirked. "I already prepared something separate for Finn. You can take it home and let us know what he thinks."

"Alright," Nina blushed, about to take another bite, when the entrance chime rang out.

The three of them turned instinctively, brows furrowing as they saw Charles enter.

But he wasn’t alone.

Standing beside him... were Mr. and Mrs. Davis.