Chapter 26: Do You Often Cook for Michael?

Seeing him whip up those ingredients like a pro, Anna leaned on her hand and asked, "You come from money, always had it easy. How come you can cook?"

Charles shot her a look.

Even standing by the kitchen counter, Charles didn't lose an ounce of his swagger; if anything, he looked even more refined and classy. There was a hint of mischief in Charles's vibe that took the edge off his usual cold and distant demeanor.

A few strands of hair fell over his forehead, and his eyelids drooped slightly, casting a soft shadow. "I didn't spend over twenty years just being coddled by my family."

He went on, "A few years back, I was on my own, did my time in the military, studied abroad. During those years, I had to fend for myself."

Locking eyes with Anna, Charles smirked, leaned in closer, and said in a low, teasing voice, "Gotta know how to cook if I wanna keep Mrs. Percy well-fed."

As he spoke, he moved in even closer, their lips almost touching, breaths mingling.

He whispered, "Isn't that right, Mrs. Percy?"

She tilted her head slightly and agreed, "Your Mrs. Percy is indeed lucky."

Charles's gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds, his eyes filled with deep affection and indulgence.

He straightened up and nodded, "I think so too."

Charles turned back to the stove, continued cooking the pasta, and plated it. After a bit, he suddenly asked, "Do you often cook for Michael?"

The topic shifted fast.

Anna was caught off guard for a moment, her eyes dimming slightly. "Only sometimes."

For the past eight years, she and Michael had been apart more than together. Michael couldn't stand her always eating takeout. Whenever he flew abroad to be with her, he'd usually cook himself. During those times, she rarely cooked.

She had tried to cook for him herself. But he always caught her. Then he'd hold her hands and gently say that being with him, she never needed to cook herself.

He said he wanted to turn her into a little bumbling idiot. A little bumbling idiot who could only rely on him to survive.

He also wanted to nurture all her bad habits. That way, no one else would want her except him. She would have to stay by his side forever.

At that time, Michael said the heaviest future, with a jest.

Back then, Anna was naive, really thinking he couldn't bear to let her cook.

Coming back from her memories, Anna looked up at Charles, who was about to finish cooking.

She couldn't help but think, if she hadn't met Charles a week ago, who knew what her life would be like now. Even if she managed to escape from Michael one day, with her cooking skills, it was hard to say how she would live in the future. She couldn't possibly order takeout for the rest of her life.

Thinking about it, learning some cooking skills seemed quite necessary.

Seeing her lost in thought, Charles snapped his fingers in front of her, "What are you thinking about, so absorbed?"

Anna's pupils instantly focused, "Nothing."

She looked at the two bowls of fancy pasta, "Is it done?"

"Yep, come and eat," Charles said.

Charles made a big portion of pasta, and Anna couldn't even finish half of it. Seeing her eat so little, Charles frowned, "Eat some more, or you'll be hungry."

Anna was already quite full. She put down her fork and said, "It's late; eating too much will cause indigestion."

Charles raised an eyebrow, "It won't cause indigestion. There's still exercise after dinner."

"Hmm?" Anna didn't get his meaning for a moment.

Until she caught his sly grin, Anna finally got what he was hinting at.

Her stomach did a flip.

Almost on autopilot, she shot up, pressing her temples, and started heading upstairs. "Nope, I'm beat. Haven't slept well. I'm crashing early; you do you."

She was about to make her escape when Charles grabbed her wrist. Anna, already feeling wobbly, lost her balance.

Charles pulled her into his arms, his hand resting on her waist, making her feel like she was sitting on a bed of nails.

Charles acted like he didn't notice her stiffness. He brought the pasta to her mouth.

"Open up, Anya," he coaxed, like she was a kid.

Anna clamped her lips shut and turned her head. "I'm seriously full. It's late. Let's just sleep."

They had been in bed all day, if they kept going, she might just die.

Seeing her so lively, Charles's smile grew wider. He suddenly tightened his grip on her waist, and Anna instinctively opened her mouth in surprise.

Next thing she knew, the pasta was in her mouth.

Seeing her freeze, Charles shamelessly threatened, "Spit it out, and I'll feed you another way."

By the end of the meal, Anna was stuffed, and Charles finally stopped. He looked down at her, his hand gently touching her stomach, and asked with a smirk, "Anya, too full?"

Anna frowned and glared at him.

Charles pretended not to notice the anger in her eyes. He picked her up and headed to the second floor.

"No worries, the night is young; I'll join you for some exercise."

The next day, when Anna woke up, it was almost noon.

Luckily, she had two days off. Thinking about going back to work tomorrow, Anna closed her eyes again, planning to catch a few more Z's.

Around noon, just as Anna was drifting off, her phone started buzzing non-stop.

Charles had just come back from outside and glanced at the phone and the sleeping Anna. He walked over, intending to turn off the phone's vibration mode for her.

As soon as he picked up the phone, he saw several messages from Aurora on the screen. [Anya, did you see the pics I sent? Some super hot guys are at the first club. Is Charles home tonight? Let's go have some fun!]

Seeing her last two sentences, Charles's face darkened.

Aurora had no clue the phone was in Charles's hands. Excitedly, she sent several photos of male models to Anna. [Anna, check these guys out. They're hot and have killer bodies. Pick one you like. They're in high demand, so hurry and choose. I'll book one for you!]

Charles couldn't take it anymore, veins popping on his forehead. Suppressing the urge to smash something, he unlocked the phone with Anna's fingerprint and checked out Aurora's so-called hot guy photos.

Charles gritted his teeth. 'All male escorts!'

He thought, 'I was too soft-hearted last night! Shouldn't have let her off so easy!'

Looking at the increasingly scantily clad male escort photos, Charles coldly glanced at the oblivious Anna on the bed.

With a few taps on the screen, the buzzing stopped.

Charles deleted Aurora from Anna's friends.

Aurora, on the other side, was furiously typing. Just as she sent a new message, the screen showed that she was no longer the recipient's friend.

Aurora was puzzled.

'What the heck does this mean?'