His Private Chef (by Amycee) novel Chapter 110

“You really want me to pinky–swear honesty?”

“You bet your emotionally repressed ass I do.”

I laughed and hooked my pinky through hers.

“This is why I missed you. You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re stalling.” She leaned back. “So. What’s really going on?”

I paused.

Then it all came out.

The inheritance. The condition. Liam. The guilt and fear.

The ache I hadn’t figured out how to name.

Lisa didn’t interrupt. She listened. Her expression changed, piece by piece.

When I finished, she gave me a look only best friends can give, you’re being ridiculous but I love you anyway look.

“So let me get this straight,” she said. “You’re freaking out because the man who loves you is ready to walk away from a fortune, just to protect you from pressure you never even put on him?”

I fidgeted. “When you say it like that…”

“It sounds like a romance novel. A damn good one.”

I rolled my eyes. “Lisa, this isn’t a joke.”

I know.” Her voice softened. “But you make everything your responsibility. You’ve always done that. With your mom, with school, with everyone. You carry too much. And you think walking away will make it lighter.”

“I don’t want to be the reason he loses something so big.”

“You’re not making him lose it. He’s choosing what matters more. And Emily… he chose you.”

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My throat fightened.

“You have a brand taking off, a man who loves you like mad, and your heart is healing. So maybe don’t go looking for reasons to feel unworthy.

Tears stung. “You suck at comforting.”

“I excel at reality checks,” she said, nudging me. “Now stop torturing yourself and

go home.”

I sighed, resting my head on her shoulder. “I just got here.”

“Yeah, and I was planning to trap you here for three days. Feed you wine and talk shit about everyone we hate. But I love you too much to let you sit here and overthink when you know exactly what you want.”

I looked up at her. “You sure you weren’t supposed to be a therapist?”

“Please. I’d get fired for sarcasm on day one.”

We laughed.

Then we sat there in silence, letting the truth sink in.

“You’re not broken,” Lisa whispered. “Don’t let fear convince you

otherwise.”

I landed in LA the next evening, drained but calmer.

I didn’t head straight to Liam’s place.

I needed one more night to center myself.

To figure out the words I wanted to say, not just the ones that would come spilling out.

So I curled up on my own couch, kicked off my shoes, and promised myself I’d go to him first thing tomorrow. I needed to look him in the eye and remind him we were still solid.

Just as I was getting comfortable, a knock sounded at the door. I groaned, dragging myself to my feet.

“Seriously, Liam?” I muttered under my breath, heading for the door, expecting to find Liam waiting with tired eyes.

But when I opened it, I froze.

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It wasn’t Liam.

It was the last person I expected.

Mr. Henry Black.

Liam’s father.

And he didn’t look like he came for small talk.

I didn’t know what I expected when I opened the door that night.

But it definitely wasn’t Henry Black.

He stood with the calm stillness of someone who didn’t waste words, shoulders squared, and the passenger door of a waiting SUV already open behind him.

“I know it’s late,” he said, voice quiet but firm. “But I was hoping you’d give me a few minutes.

I hesitated. Then nodded.

His driver waited beside a matte Range Rover Autobiography. I followed Henry into the backseat, nerves slowly coiling inside me.

We sat in silence for a full minute. The kind of silence that holds too much weight to be casual. Then finally, he spoke.

“Back in St. Barts, when I first saw you with Liam… I saw a version of my son I hadn’t seen in years. Grounded. Like someone who’d finally stopped searching.”

I stayed quiet, waiting to understand where he was going with this.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this,” he continued. “It’s because I had a meeting with Liam yesterday. It was supposed to be business, but…”

He trailed off, his jaw working.

”

“I didn’t see the man I raised. I saw someone brittle, held together by sheer habit.”

The weight of his words filled the space.

“I’ve only seen him like that a few times in his life,” Henry said. “And one of them was after our worst fallout. He shut me out for months. I earned that silence.”

He looked away for a beat before continuing.

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Chapter 111

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Chapter 111