They Want Me Back When It's Too Late (Jessica and Brian) novel Chapter 131

Chapter 131

“Sylvis, could you serve the dishes? Bitki asked.

Ather thinking for a moment, Brian turned to Jacob. “Jackson mentioned that Jessica allaady had dinner. Let’s go see her early komorrow

“But I wanted to “Jacob’s voice trailed off, his head dropping in disappointment,

Brian reached over and gave Jacob’s hair a comforting ruffle before taking his hand. “Come on, let’s go at dinner.”

Brian knew he had to master at least one nutritious porridge recipe tonight.

After dinner, Brian coaxed Jacob upstairs to play while he immersed himself in the kitchen

With Sylvie keeping an eye on things, the heat control for the porridge wasn’t an

The rest was all about preparing the ingredients properly.

major concern.

Brian carefully cleaned the pre–soaked dried scallops and sliced abalone, removing any fishy smell from the seafood. He worked steadily until eleven of twelve at night, finally finishing a pot of seafood porridge.

“This smells amazing” Sylvie exclaimed.

Brian tasted it hi

dit himself and found the flavor tasty. He ladled out a bowl for Sylvie, who praised it enthusiastically after trying it

?” Brian asked.

“Can you taste any fishiness?”

“No,” Sylvie said, smacking her lips

Dried seafood didn’t have that intense fishy smell of fresh catches. Instead, it carried a distinctive aroma from being sun–dried.

Brian nodded at her response and finally headed upstairs, satisfied. During his shower, though, Brian had to scrub himself several times before the seafood smell finally came off

The next day, Brian was determined to get home by four o’clock to thake porridge. He worked with laser focus, not even leaving his desk for lunch–just ordering takeout instead

Madeline watched from afar, puzzled by Brian’s sudden drive to work so hard. She wanted to bring him lunch to show she cared, but then she remembered Brian’s previous warning

Jessica had no idea that Madeline both loved and feared Brian. She assumed their relationship was close.

But the truth was, Brian always kept Madeline at arm’s length. His boundaries were clear, and sometimes cruelly so.

“Mr. Atkinson, here are the documents you requested, Madeline delivered another file to his office. As her eyes swept across the desk, she noticed several cuts on Brian’s fingers.

The injuries weren’t exactly numerous, but his index finger alone had five or six cuts, with two overlapping each other.

“Mr. Atkinson, your hand!” Madeline gasped before she could stop herself, the concern in her eyes almost tangible.

The mighty CEO of Atkinson Group, who never lifted a finger for mundane tasks, had done something to injure his hands like this.

The most obvious mark was a deep groove across Brian’s thumbnail Though it hadn’t broken the skin, the nail bore a particularly prominent gash.

“It’s nothing.” Brian glanced up briefly, his tone icy cold. Seeming to realize his voice was too harsh, he added reluctantly, “Cut it while chopping

Chapter 131

Vegetables

“What?” Madeline frowned, probing carefully “Did you fire the book at home? Her eyes sparkled with sugarkest, the words “jel tumbling from her lips.

Brian wouldn’t chop vegetables himself unless he had fired the cook. Even when Jessica was around, Brian had never experienced paternal devotion that he’d cook for Jacob.

Hope bloomed in Madeline’s eyes, wishing that Sylvie had been fired and that Brian and Jacob were struggling even to eat properly. Then she’d

chance.

“No.” Brian flipped through his documents, responding casually, “I’m learning to cook.”

“What?!” Madeline was stunned. ‘Brian should remain lolty and untouchable, she thought, far removed from earthly matters, only sting commands from on high. Why on earth would he learn to cook?‘

Madeline wanted to ask more questions, but Brian looked up at her with obvious impatience.

The surge of emotions in Madeline’s chest immediately died down. Gritting her teeth, she backed out of the room.

Madeline’s mind raced. “Why would Brian want to learn how to cook? For Jacob? No way. Then it could only be

A name burst from her lips. “Jessica!”