“I’m sure I will,” Collin replied, his gaze falling on the pile of unchopped vegetables. “Let me help with those.”
Linsey paused for a moment before nodding. “Okay, you can chop the vegetables. Just try to make them roughly the same size.”
“Got it,” he replied.
They settled into a comfortable silence as they worked. Oddly, Linsey felt no awkwardness at all. Instead, she felt a deep sense of peace. Perhaps, without even knowing it, she had already become accustomed to Collin’s presence.
In a short time, Linsey had prepared four dishes. It wasn’t an elaborate meal, but it was the perfect amount for the two of them.
Sitting opposite Collin, Linsey felt proud of the meal she had prepared. She served Collin a bowl of soup. “I tasted it earlier, and it’s perfect. Try it.”
Collin took a sip, nodded, and remarked, “It’s delicious.”
His compliment made Linsey beam. She quickly picked up a piece of steak and placed it on his plate. “Try this,” she said. “I followed the recipe exactly, so it shouldn’t be greasy.”
Collin took a bite of the steak and praised it enthusiastically. “That was really good.”
Linsey’s smile widened as she added some omelet to his plate. “This is the first time I’ve made this,” she said. “I didn’t use a recipe, but it looks good. Try it; it should be fine.”
Collin tasted the omelet and, as she expected, said, “Of course. It’s very tasty.”
With each compliment, Linsey’s confidence grew. “Really?” she said. “Looks like I’m a natural! Dolores always said I wasn’t cut out for cooking…”
As she spoke, Linsey took a bite of the omelet to see if it was as good as Collin said. But the moment the food touched her tongue, her expression changed drastically. She struggled for a moment before swallowing it. “Water! Get me some water!” Linsey called urgently, waving to a servant.
The servant quickly brought her a glass of water from the kitchen. “Here you go, Mrs. Riley.”
Linsey grabbed the glass and drank it quickly.
Everyone nearby was surprised. What had just happened?
Linsey drained her glass of water and gave Collin a puzzled look. “How can you eat that? It’s incredibly salty! You need to stop.”
She glared at the omelet, a frown creasing her brow. “I must have grabbed the wrong container… How strange. Everything else I made was fine.”
Collin, however, remained unfazed. He calmly took another bite of the omelet, his expression serious. “It’s actually quite good,” he said sincerely.
Linsey’s eyes grew wide as she watched him devour the salty omelet. She started to wonder if his taste buds were on strike.
“Are you serious?” Linsey asked, incredulous. “It’s so salty, you can barely taste anything else!”
Collin nodded, his gaze so earnest that she couldn’t doubt his sincerity. The staff exchanged bewildered glances, their faces mirroring their disbelief. Collin was known for his picky eating habits. If the kitchen made even a tiny slip-up, he wouldn’t go near the food. And yet, here he was, happily munching away on Linsey’s salty creation without a single complaint.
“You really should eat something else,” she said, reaching for the plate of omelet.
With a perfectly straight face, Collin stopped her hand. “Hey, what are you doing? Trying to steal my food?”
Linsey chuckled. “Okay, okay, I get it. You’re trying to be nice. But seriously, you have to stop. It’s way too salty, and that can’t be good for you. Try some of this salad instead. It’s not gourmet, but at least it’s not going to give you a heart attack.”
Worried about Collin’s well-being, Linsey told the staff to whisk the offending omelet away. Collin sampled the salad and nodded approvingly. “Hmm, anything you make is delicious.”
Linsey’s smile remained. She had never realized Collin had such a playful side.
Noticing the easygoing atmosphere between Linsey and Collin, one of Collin’s subordinates hesitated, as if wanting to say something but thinking better of it.
Linsey saw his hesitation and figured he might be hungry. “Would you like to join us?” she asked. “There’s plenty left.”
The subordinate waved his hands frantically. “Oh no, no, I’m fine, thank you.”
He scratched his head, a picture of awkwardness. “Uh, Mrs. Riley, I was just wondering. You don’t seem worried at all.”
Linsey stopped, a puzzled look creasing her brow. “Worried about what?” she asked, genuinely confused.
Seeing her genuinely puzzled expression, the subordinate figured she must have been swamped with work and completely missed the latest online gossip. He quickly filled her in. “Mrs. Riley, those rumors about you online? They’re exploding. If we don’t do something fast, it’s going to get way out of hand.”
Linsey remained calm, her expression unchanged. “I know about them. But now’s not the time to react. Worrying won’t do any good, so I’d rather focus on enjoying myself for a bit.”
She paused, a faint, almost mischievous smile playing on her lips. “Besides, Marisol and Joanna are the ones who should be freaking out right now,” she added.
The subordinate nodded in confusion, but his respect for her cool-headedness grew. Since she seemed so unconcerned, he decided it was best not to pry.
Just as Linsey had suspected, Marisol and Joanna were in full-blown panic mode.
“What the hell is going on with Linsey?” Marisol fumed. “I’ve paid a fortune to those paparazzi to dig up dirt on her, and she’s acting like nothing’s happening!”
Marisol’s face was a mask of anger. “It’s been two days, and she still hasn’t come crawling back to us. She’s driving me crazy!”
“It is strange, isn’t it?” Joanna remarked, a puzzled tone in her voice. “Logically, Linsey should have been groveling at our feet by now. But it’s been days, and she hasn’t even attempted to contact us.”
She paused briefly, her voice taking on an edge of irritation. “Is it possible that Linsey simply doesn’t care? With countless people online parroting the tabloids, openly attacking and insulting her, how can she remain unaffected? Does she live under a rock? Is there anyone who wouldn’t be terrified by such a torrent of online vitriol?”
Marisol’s eyes narrowed, and she let out a scornful snort. “That woman is clearly just bluffing. If we increase the pressure, she’ll break. I simply don’t believe she can hold out much longer.”
Later that evening, after Linsey had finished her evening routine, she received a call from Dolores.
“Linsey, you won’t believe this! Marisol is at it again. You were absolutely right!” Dolores’s voice bubbled with excitement. “Get on social media right now. The timing couldn’t be better. Marisol is truly going all out to attack you.”
Linsey chuckled softly as she strolled over to her desk and turned on her computer. “Well, Felix is her only child. It’s no surprise she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get him out of this mess.”
As the local trending page loaded, Linsey couldn’t help but let out another chuckle, this time laced with sarcasm. “Marisol certainly has a knack for theatrics.”
A live stream link was prominently displayed on the page. It was a live stream event orchestrated by Marisol, featuring those notorious gossip reporters. The title even featured Linsey’s name in bold letters. It was ostensibly intended to address the rumors about Linsey that had been circulating online.
The live stream was a spectacle, drawing in a multitude of gossip reporters and curious spectators eager to witness the drama.
Marisol occupied the center stage in the camera’s frame, with Joanna beside her, tears streaming down her face.
Linsey clicked on the link with an air of composure, then leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. She was curious to see what kind of charade the two women had concocted this time.
The live stream commenced without delay, and a reporter immediately launched into the questioning. “Mrs. Wells, are the recent online rumors surrounding your son and Linsey accurate?”
Immediately, a chorus of reporters joined in, aggressively demanding answers. “Did she really abandon your son at the altar to marry another man?” one shouted.
“Mrs. Wells, is your son Felix truly innocent?” another pressed. “Was it Linsey who, out of spite, had him imprisoned?”
“Mrs. Wells, can you please address these rumors directly?” a third reporter insisted.
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.