Baby steps
Devon woke up the next day in a good mood. There’s no new memories but at least her relationship with Daemon improved a bit. They went to sleep without shouting or arguing hard even though she’s quite disappointed that he didn’t make a move on that cold night except for occasional hugs and rubbing of her back. Smiling before falling asleep beside her handsome dangerous husband is a good feeling, she reckoned. She’s been in a good mood for the whole week.
“Alice, can you tell me what Daemon likes to eat?” she asked the head cook of the mansion one day. Alice is the only helper in the entire mansion who she senses doesn’t genuinely hate her.
“Why? You’re planning to surprise your husband, Ma’am Devon?” she teased her.
Giggling, she shook her head. “No, I’m just bored and I thought that I should explore this sudden role I landed. I mean I can’t do the usual things I do now. Can’t go out alone. Can’t do anything random. I’m so bored in this house so I decided to just make food for that evil pig.”
“Evil pig?” she chuckled. “You called Sir Daemon an evil pig?”
“Yes because that’s what he is. He’s an evil pig.”
Alice had to stop chopping tomatoes to laugh.
“You think that’s funny?” Devon crossed her arms on her chest to look serious but then burst into laughter upon seeing Alice teared up laughing. “Come on, tell me about his favorite food.”
“Risotto. Sir Daemon likes to eat risotto. If there’s only one dish you could make him eat the whole day then it’s risotto.”
“Risotto it is. Teach me how to make one, Alice.”
“It’s a complicated dish.”
Putting her arm across her shoulder, Devon winked at her. “Come on, I’m a fast learner. No one can better handle complicated things other than me. No one is as complicated as that evil pig.”
Daemon arrived just an hour after she finished cooking her special risotto a la Devon. She doesn’t know if it tastes good or bad enough to his liking but as long as her presentation is great, he will definitely like it. Her hours of stirring the pot will not go to waste.
“Hey Daemon! Wanna have dinner with me?” She walked alongside him after climbing out of his car.
Surprised, he looked at her with squinted eyes. “Why do you want to suddenly have dinner with me?” he asked, suspicious of her.
“You’re such an evil pig. Do I really have to have a reason to eat with you?”
He studied her face and nodded. “You’re making sense but I’m not hungry. I have just eaten outside. You go enjoy yourself then.”
After patting her head like a dog, he went straight into the stairs leaving her looking like a teenager who just got rejected after confessing to her long-time crush.
“That heartless evil pig. He should have put in an effort to see how beautiful my risotto is!”
Sulking, she went to the kitchen to get some bottles of beer and locked herself up in the room. She was disheartened. Her effort of cooking that fucking risotto just got wasted!
“I will never cook for you again! Ever!” she promised herself while gulping the alcohol like water.
When she finished drinking all the beer and she didn’t quite feel any better, she decided that she needed more. She wanted more. She needed to shake off this disappointed feeling in her just because an evil pig didn’t have dinner with her. She opened the door to go downstairs only to find Daemon outside peering at her.
“You’re drinking,” he uttered, sniffing her neck and looking at the empty bottles scattered on the floor.
“I cooked your favorite food,” she blurted out of the blue while glaring at him. “I cooked risotto for you but you didn’t even bother to taste it.”
“You didn’t tell me that when you asked me to have dinner with you. If I had known, then I would have never declined your offer.”
“Don’t force yourself,” she said dismissively and stepped to his side to leave.
“It’s too late. I’ve already eaten and finished it.”
With widened eyes, she turned her back with mouth open. “What?! You finished it all?!”
“Yes and after eating your cooking, there’s only one thing that came to my mind.”
“And what is that?”
“Do you want to poison me?”
“Is it that bad?” she asked, biting her lip.
Daemon’s eyes fell to her mouth and stayed there for a couple of seconds before clearing his throat as if to awaken himself from a trance.
“It tastes fine. It’s very sweet, which should not be the primary taste of a risotto.”
Her heart bled again upon hearing that. How dare him insult her risotto that she painstakingly cooked for hours! For hours because she kept on messing it up. She could just make Alice cook it or she could buy it at a restaurant and pretend she made it but she didn’t. She learned how to make it.
“Thanks for that,” she said coldly and walked away to get more drinks but Daemon already pulled her waist and dragged her back to his side.
“You’ve taken enough beer. I won’t let you drink more, especially on an empty stomach. I’ll send food here for you. This is why you don’t drink.”
“Liar, I’ve been drunk countless times before I lost my memories.”
“How did you know?”
“I just know.”
“You’re lying.”
“You lied to me too when you told me you finished my risotto! Who would finish one whole pot of sweet risotto!”
“Me,” gesturing to himself. “I finished all the food you cooked.”
“Really? You’re just joking! I won’t believe you.”
Daemon breathed out sharply. He’s losing patience. “You have access to the security room. Watch me finish the whole pot there if you still won’t believe me.”
“I won’t,” she firmly said and pushed his hand away from her arm and headed back into the room.
Devon came down at dawn to the security room to find the video he’s talking about. He’s really telling the truth. He really finished a bowl of risotto she made. She found herself snickering when he put down the bowl on the table and wiped his mouth as if wanting to get rid of the taste immediately.
“He looks so adorable,” she muttered to herself when she saw him gag. “You’re not really as heartless as I thought you are, Daemon. I think I can finally deal with you now.”
