Chapter 335
"I’ve got it," Joseph said, shrugging off his jacket and rolling his sleeves.
Cassie was taken aback; in all their time together, she'd never seen him handle a spatula. Could he even cook?
Joseph needed to learn about the kitchen, but he believed he could wing it with the help of the plethora of online tutorials at his fingertips.
After an hour, he served up a dish that looked passably appetizing.
Cassie caught a glimpse of the red burn on the back of his hand, a casualty of oil splatter. Without some ointment, it was sure to blister by morning.
Her lips parted to say something, but she held back. It served him right; she wasn't about to go soft on him.
"Let's eat," Joseph said, scooping her a bowl of chicken soup.
The chicken was chopped to a pulp, a testament to his less-than-stellar knife skills. Still, the soup's base ingredients were decent, and the flavor was acceptable. However, when Cassie tasted the roasted eggplant, it was beyond words.
Joseph tried it himself and didn't fancy it much either. He quickly loaded a large piece of fish onto her plate. "Have some fish."
Obediently, she ate the fish and, surprisingly, she didn't pick at the rest of the meal either.
At first, Joseph didn't notice anything amiss, but after tasting the fish and finding it fishy and bland, he dumped the eggplant and fish in frustration. "Enough, don't eat this. It's terrible. Why didn't you say anything?"
The irritation in his voice rose, causing Cassie's fork to tremble and her big eyes to fill with anxiety and alarm.
Joseph felt a pang in his heart and pulled her into an embrace, his voice filled with regret and a hint of dominance. "Cassie, I want you to be with me like you were back in Madison."
Cassie blinked and tilted her head, looking at him with shaky eyes. "Do you mean I should try to please you?"
That's how it had been back in Madison. She had done everything to win him over, pushing herself to the edge of losing her spirit and giving up everything she loved.
Joseph stiffened and tasted the bitterness in his thoughts. "Is that what our time in Madison was to you? Just you trying to appease me?"
"I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn," Cassie quickly apologized, unsettled. "Don't be mad."
"I'm not mad. From now on, you can tease me, lose your temper, make demands, and treat me like your boyfriend. I swear I won't be like that again," Joseph vowed, holding her tightly.
Cassie murmured an acknowledgment, her eyes downcast, her heart laced with sarcasm.
Boyfriend?
He was Luna's boyfriend, not hers.
To the world, she was just the other woman, kept in the shadows.
"Can I make demands?" Cassie asked tentatively.
"Mhmm, just nothing about David," Joseph responded after a pause, adding, "I don't like you seeing him anymore."
Cassie nodded, hesitating before mustering the courage to ask in a low voice, "Can you bring Liam back?"
After she asked, she saw Joseph's normally warm complexion turn icy at an alarming rate, even sinister, reminiscent of that fateful night.
Terror etched across her face, and she pleaded, "I was wrong. I won't ask for anything more. Pretend I never said anything, please... don't hurt me..."
Joseph's simmering rage cooled instantly at the panic in her voice. He didn't mean to get angry; he wished she understood that Liam represented a shadow in his heart, a taboo he couldn't ignore.
"I wasn't going to hurt you," Joseph reassured her and gripped her arm gently, attempting to calm her down.
Visibly distressed, Cassie looked at him. "I think I'd like to go upstairs and rest."
She honestly didn't want to stay with him any longer.
Without a word, Joseph scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, placing her on the bed. "You haven't eaten enough. I'll have the hotel send some food and call you when it's here."
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