"No problem." Matthew took the seat next to Veronica and turned to her. Pointing at the food, he said, "I made you your favorites—pot roast and short rib chili."
At the same time, Veronica was still troubled by her conversation with Eleanor and riddled with guilt toward him. She felt worse when he exerted the effort to make the pot roast and short rib chili separately for a dinner that was supposed to be a thank-you to Eleanor. The pot roast was a dish that took time to prepare, but he did not mind it at all, never complaining about cooking her favorite dishes.
Feeling sorry, she choked as her eyes turned misty. Wanting to hide her emotions from him, she took a deep breath and blinked her tears away. Before she spoke, Eleanor protested, "Master, I thought you promised to prepare a feast for me!"
He looked up and pointed at the dishes on the table. "Try finishing everything before you complain."
"I…" She was at a loss for words as she checked out the ten-course spread on the table that came in huge portions. Then, she realized that it would be challenging to finish the food.
"Are you guys planning to just stare at the food? I'll get started." Liam, who was eyeing the baked fish, dug in.
Matthew placed some food on Veronica's plate. "You need to take care of your health. Eat up." He sounded soft and caring.
Across from them, Eleanor indulged in the delicious food and savored each taste, but her appetite went away when she saw how he was doting on Veronica. As a guest, she felt that she was invited just to witness their lovey-dovey moments. "Hey! Are you done with the PDA?" She pointed a fork at them. "You'd better not cross a line! I might not be the best at everything, but I'm good at breaking up couples!"
Veronica, who was feeling low, instantly burst out laughing. "Yeah, sure, it's our bad. Everything you say is right, pretty princess." She then stood up and served Eleanor some food.
A jealous Eleanor finally nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it." She shot a glance at Matthew and hinted, "Master, you should learn from your wife. You can be quite insensible."
"Can't you serve yourself?" He was as unsmiling as usual and dished out his cold treatment to the others. One might even suspect that he had an alter ego because of the stark contrast between his outer personality and his affectionate behavior toward Veronica.
"You…" Eleanor's face soured when she could not come up with a clap back, but she soon beamed at them. "You're cool. That's why I like you. Be careful not to show off your charms too much in front of me. Aren't you afraid I'd get my men to arrest you and add you to my harem?"
Everyone exchanged glances and laughed. They chatted away happily as they downed the alcohol.
In the beginning, Liam had a little crush on Veronica, but once he learned that Matthew was Iron Pillar, he immediately lost interest. On top of that, he found out that she was skilled in martial arts, and he was no match for her. Hence, he decided to stay away from her to avoid trouble.
…
Meanwhile, Zac was racking his brains as he had no better ideas to remove Matthew. While he was stuck in a rut, Antheena visited him. "Why are you here?"
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