There was a hint of gratification in Thomas’ eyes.
He had probably been waiting for this day for a very long time.
The two of them took their seats, and Tina smiled as she handed them their tableware. “Your father should be home very soon. We can eat first; there’s no need to wait for him.”
Thomas furrowed his brow as he took the first set of tableware from Tina and placed it in front of Yannie. Then, he reached out to take the second pair for himself.
Denise gritted her teeth when she noticed this.
What the hell? Why was Thomas treating Yannie so kindly?
She was the one who had loved him for many years, yet he never once noticed her.
What was so good about this Yannie, anyway? What right did she have to receive Thomas’ love and affection? Was it just because she had given birth to Thomas’ daughter?
Denise narrowed her eyes at this thought.
Well, she would get herself pregnant with Thomas’ child, too!
The servants soon finished setting the table, and they began to eat.
Tina kept placing food on Thomas and Yannie’s plates, but Thomas refused to eat a single bite.
Instead, he twiddled his phone in his hand and asked calmly, “When is that old geezer coming home?”
The truth was, he could sense that something was not right from the moment he realized Senior Howard was not home. However, he was unwilling to believe that Tinal and his father would pull a trick on him at such a time, which was why he decided to go along with it.
Still, he could not help becoming more puzzled as he noticed the time ticking closer to their intended meeting time.
Therefore, he was cautious not to eat any of the food prepared.
“He’s probably going to be home soon.”
Tina gave an awkward chuckle and continued ladling food onto Yannie’s plate.
“Come eat, Yannie. Why aren’t either of you eating? Do you think I poisoned the food?”
She quickly took a bite from every dish and turned to smile at Yannie.
“See, Yannie? I didn’t poison anything. Are you going to disrespect me too just because Thomas is doing so?”
Yannie never thought that Tina would suddenly target her. She bit her lip and instinctively glanced at Thomas.
Thomas furrowed his brow and turned to stare coldly at Tina. “Don’t terrorize her.”
“You think she’s terrorizing her?”
Denise was upset by the way Thomas defended Yannie. “Thomas, Godmom is just trying to be nice.
“It’s already lunchtime, yet the two of you refuse to touch even a single bite. Do you somehow think that Godmom and I have spiked the food?”
Denise picked up her fork and placed a bite of every dish onto her plate, then said, sneering, “Since you guys are convinced the food is poisoned, feel free to stay hungry.”
Then, she lowered her head and began to eat.
Yannie bit her lip and glanced first at Thomas, then at Tina and Denise, who was sitting across from her.
The atmosphere in the room was awkward.
Yannie sighed and contemplated for a long time, then finally picked up a spoonful of food.
Since she and Thomas had already shown up, it meant that they had already agreed to sit at the table with Tina and Denise for a meal. It was pointless to refuse to eat.
At the thought of this, she lowered her head and began eating too.
She could not taste any trace of poison inside the food, but she had to admit that the chef’s cooking was exceptional.
She had not eaten something so good in a long time!
However, no matter how pleasantly delighted she was by every bite, Yannie still tried to suppress her emotions to prevent anyone from seeing right through her.
After all, her mother had advised her that no matter how freely she behaved at home, she had to learn to be ladylike and polite whenever she was with Thomas.
Therefore, even though she favored a few particular dishes, she still tried to eat every dish out of courtesy.
Thomas sighed when he noticed how careful Yannie was behaving and finally let his guard down. He put some. more food onto her plate and said, “You don’t have to be so nice to them. No matter how hard you try, they won’t grow to like you anyway.”
The color drained from all three women’s faces.
Tina let out an awkward chuckle. “How can you say that, Thomas? What makes you think I won’t grow to like Yannie? She’s a good girl; of course I like her!”
“Is that so?”
Thomas took a sip from his cup and stared coldly at Tina. “Yes, Yannie is a good girl, but I don’t think you’ll end up liking her.”
Then, he glanced coldly at Denise and added, “If you truly like Yannie, you wouldn’t even have allowed your goddaughter to be sitting here with us. Do you need me to recount what Denise had done to Yannie before?”
Tina and Denise’s expressions darkened upon hearing this.
Yannie pursed her lips when she sensed the atmosphere grow cold and quickly placed some food in front of Thomas. “Let’s eat first.”
Thomas fell silent and finally gave up pursuing this. Instead, he shut his mouth and continued eating.
A glimmer of triumph flashed through Denise’s eyes when she saw Thomas eating, and she instinctively exchanged a knowing glance with Tina.
As long as Thomas ate something at this table, they succeeded!
“This cooking…”
Thomas furrowed his brow after tasting all the dishes, then instinctively glanced in Tina’s direction.
“Tastes familiar, doesn’t it?”
Tina curled her lips into a smile and stared back at Thomas with a triumphant look. “This is probably what your mother’s cooking used to taste like.”
She sighed and added, “I had spent a lot of time and effort sending people over to your mother’s hometown to brush up their cooking skills.
“Not only that, but I even forced your father to taste–test multiple times before finally confirming that this is indeed how your mother’s cooking used to taste like.”
Thomas narrowed his eyes. “Why are you trying so hard to get on my good side?”
Tina chuckled. “Well, that’s because…’
A look of helplessness washed over her as she explained, “
After all, the entire Howard family–even the entire
Saigen City–is now at your and Brettley’s beck and call, so of course I’d want to get on your good side.”
She was lying, of course.
The truth was, the chef who had prepared this impressive meal had already been working for the Howard family for many years.
Despite the fa?ade that she and Senior Howard put on, showcasing their love for each other, Senior Howard had been struggling to move on after Eanne’s leaving.
Therefore, to win over Senior Howard’s heart, Tina had spent hours tracking down the chef that could replicate Eanne’s cooking.
She had done all this to please Senior Howard.
The truth was, the chef had been working for them and making their meals for many years, instead of what she claimed to Thomas. Thomas did not know this since he had not returned home for many years.
The last time he came over for dinner, Tina purposefully switched out the head chef for that day so that Thomas would not be able to taste his mother’s cooking.
This time, she swapped the head chef back just to get on Thomas’ good side and make him think she was genuine.
Thomas was silent for a long time before finally sighing and letting his guard down.
They finished the rest of their meal, but to their surprise, even after they were done, Senior Howard still had not shown up.
“Is he coming back or not?”
Thomas asked coldly, glancing at Tina as he put down his tableware.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.