Chapter 26

Thomas shouted desperately, "Fire!!!" using a pot lid as a shield to protect himself from the spreading blaze. "Lucca, help me here!"

The other cooks rushed to grab a fire extinguisher. Lucca smacked his forehead, impressed by Thomas's foolishness.

One cook returned with the extinguisher in hand and quickly put out the fire. The place was now surrounded by smoke, causing some to cough due to the lack of air.

"What did you do?" Lucca asked Thomas. "I just asked you to put the pan on the stove!"

"And I did that. It's not my fault if this stove is possessed by the devil," retorted Thomas, crossing his arms defensively.

The door separating the kitchen from the customer area swung open, revealing Kai's figure. Faster than lightning, the two intruders hid behind the ceramic counter.

"Who was responsible for this?" Kai asked, referring to the accident moments ago.

Everyone fell silent, their gazes lowered. Kai continued to wait for an answer while looking at each employee's face, growing impatient.

"I'm sorry, sir," a cook stepped forward, taking the blame.

Kai let out a deep sigh to calm himself. "I won't tell the boss, but be careful next time," he said. The woman nodded her head. "Where is Adelaide?"

"She went to the storage to get some missing ingredients," the same woman replied.

Apparently, Kai had bought into that lie and soon left the kitchen, leaving the others relieved.

"That was close!" Thomas exclaimed, placing a hand on his heart.

"When do you think Klaus and Aurora will be back?" Lucca asked, changing the subject.

***

As Adelaide and Griffin walked through the garden, chatting and gazing at the starry sky, a very romantic atmosphere settled between them.

"Let's go to my table. I want to introduce you to my father," Griffin said, holding Adelaide's hand, making her extremely nervous.

"Y-your father?" she stammered.

"Yes, he said he wants to meet my date," Griffin reassured with a smile. "To be honest, he's a bit annoyed because of Tristan, but don't worry. He's a good guy."

Adelaide's expression quickly changed. Now, she looked serious, and Griffin immediately understood the reason for her change of mood.

"I'm sorry for this, but your brother is a jerk. I know all about his reputation as a womanizer, and I noticed the way he looks at Aurora since the day we met."

Griffin swallowed hard. He wanted to tell her the truth, that Tristan and Aurora were already quite close and had met on many other occasions, but that secret wasn't his to share, and he couldn't get involved in that story.

"I understand your reasons. He and I never got along very well either. We started talking more now that he's back," Griffin said, interrupting the upbeat music that had started playing.

"Back?" Adelaide interrupted, curious.

Griffin hesitated a bit. It was a long story, but he would try to give her the basics and avoid too many details.

"Tristan didn't care much about studying when he was younger, unlike me, who always worked hard to get good grades. Because of that, our father started praising me and belittling my brother," he paused, not liking to recall that time. "The two of them argued every day until our father decided to send him to live in Canada with our uncle when he was fifteen. He returned this year."

"So, you were away from him for ten years?!" Despite hating the Arrogant Mr. Arrogant, she felt a bit sorry for him.

"Yes. Ten years without seeing him or talking to him. He just vanished," his voice turned low, showing how sad he felt remembering that time when he felt so alone. It was as if he didn't even have a brother.

"I'm sorry for bringing up this subject, but may I ask one more question?" Griffin smiled minimally at her and nodded. "If Tristan doesn't get along with your father, then how did he become the president of the company?"

The doctor was about to answer, but he was interrupted by the upbeat music that started playing, which was strange because events like that usually played only classical music.

A little distance away, they spotted Aurora skipping towards them with a huge smile on her face.

"Let's dance, Sister!" She took her sister's hands and did the same with Griffin. "You won't stay out of it, handsome doctor! Don't be shy."

The doctor felt awkward in that situation. It wasn't that he didn't know how to dance. Griffin was very skilled at waltzing with a lady, but he couldn't quite let go in such a lively and dynamic song.

Aurora led the "couple" to the center, where some people were already dancing and didn't care about keeping their composure. After a few seconds, that's exactly what happened with Griffin and Adelaide: they danced, jumped, and laughed every time they made some silly dance moves.

Gradually, Aurora moved away from the lovebirds, satisfied that she had played her role as a cupid. She had decided to go after her money-driven friend, aka Klaus, but couldn't resist moving her body to the rhythm of the music, which happened to be one of her favorites. She noticed the predatory looks from men, but paid no mind to them. She was there just to have fun.

"Finally found you!" Klaus approached Aurora, not stopping dancing. He had a lot of energy, presumably due to the drinks he had consumed. "Let's leave now. We have to help the others."

"And what about that guy you were chasing?" she asked playfully, earning a disapproving look from Klaus.

"He claims to be straight," he spoke in a doubtful tone. "But I suspect he's one of those who don't want to come out of the closet."

"Why do you think that?"

"I may have many flaws, but I'm not clueless. I noticed he can't stop looking at me," he gestured slightly with his head toward the guy who occasionally glanced in his direction.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing. I won't waste my time insisting. Let's go," Klaus replied.

"Just a few more minutes," Klaus stretched his lips into an ironic smile. Slightly, his hand rested on the girl's back, holding her close and pressing her against him.

The bodies of Aurora and Klaus danced sensually, almost pressed together. And when they least expected it, their arms were pulled in opposite directions, separating them. Aurora smiled as she realized that the man who had rejected Klaus minutes ago was the one who pulled him away. Only then did she notice that she was also being pulled by someone. Suddenly, her back hit the trunk of a tree, taking her away from the award ceremony location.

She looked at the face of the individual, and even before her brain registered that it was Mr. Arrogant, her lips were passionately kissed by him. She remained in shock for a while, but soon she returned the kiss, making the atmosphere even hotter. It seemed that her body had disregarded the logical part of her brain. She didn't even take the time to think if returning the kiss was right and didn't worry about the fact that she might regret it the next day.

They broke the kiss, both breathing heavily. Aurora felt his scent filling her lungs; the fragrance was wonderful.

"What are you doing?" she panted, trying to appear hostile. "You have no right to grab me like that!"

"I want you," he said in a hoarse and faltering voice. "I want all of you, and this desire is driving me crazy."

She didn't want to admit it out loud, but she agreed with him. She was tearing herself apart inside not to surrender again, knowing it would be a mistake.

"I received the necklace..." she tried to change the subject.

"Don't change the subject," he ran his thumb along her cheek. Only then did she notice his hands wrapped in bandages. "You're a woman with a strong will, but you ignore your true desires and what your body really wants because your mind tells you it's wrong."

"Don't jump to conclusions about me. You're just wounded in your pride because you got rejected," she teased, noticing the stiffness in his jaw. "What intrigued me the most was you buying the necklace, thinking that I would give in once again."

"Do you think I need to buy gifts to have any woman?" he laughed without humor. "Don't think that your rejection affected me."

"Then why were you kissing me just now?"

"Because you provoked me, and I couldn't resist. But don't think you have me wrapped around your finger. I don't need that, and I certainly don't need you," he spoke firmly, but Aurora didn't believe his words. She believed that Tristan said that to convince himself that he could control that desire.

"By the way, I threw the necklace in the trash," she lied to see his reaction.

Tristan remained serious, but his lip trembled slightly, and his irritation was visible in his gaze.

"Don't think I'm playing hard to get or something like that," she continued before he drew wrong conclusions. "I just wanted you to know what it feels like to be used, and now that you've tasted your own medicine, I sincerely hope you'll stop treating women this way."

"You think you're something special, don't you, girl?" he arched an eyebrow. "I'm not going to change because of you."

"That's a shame."

Seeing that the conversation was over, she left the place, leaving Tristan somewhat anxious with feelings and sensations he didn't even know were real.

He didn't stay still for long. He went after her. He wanted to tell her that he didn't need her pity or compassion, but after searching the garden and the hotel for long minutes, he realized she had already left.

***

It was late at night, and the restaurant was still open. The employees were almost asleep from exhaustion, the only one who hadn't succumbed to sleep was Thomas, who was peacefully dozing off in a chair in the corner of the kitchen. Bored, Klaus found a black brush and drew a mustache on Thomas.

Kai spent more time in the dining area as he took care of welcoming the customers and observing the waiters. Sometimes, he entered the kitchen to check if everything was alright, and the intruders would hide behind the counter.

Aurora was putting a pot of water to boil. She didn't know how to cook very well, but she tried to help with small tasks. As she turned on the stove, she sat on the ceramic counter and absentmindedly played with the chain around her neck.

She thought she should have returned the necklace the day she received it, but she realized a bit too late that she couldn't completely let go of Tristan. Every day, something reminded her of him.

Lucca snapped his fingers near her ears, and she quickly snapped out of her trance.

"What's up, aggressive shorty?" Aurora said.

"I was calling for you. I need your help to chop some vegetables, but it seems like you're in another world," Lucca replied in a low voice, but the girl heard him.

"They are just trivial problems," Aurora said.

"Alex said the same thing," Lucca replied.

"What about Alex?" Aurora asked, concerned. The short guy turned with his hands raised, showing that he wouldn't answer. "Lucca! Come back here!"

She got off the counter and followed him. Stopping by his side, she watched him chop vegetables on a wooden board.

"You'll keep insisting until you find out what happened, won't you?" Lucca said.

She nodded with an innocent look.

"Alright, but promise me you won't tell him that I told you."

"I promise. My lips are sealed," Aurora assured him.

"Well... Last week, Alex was very distracted. He didn't answer my calls or Rose's. They ended up arguing because of that."

"You have no idea what's going on with him?" Aurora asked, worried.

"No, and he doesn't want to tell me. When I ask, he just says they are trivial problems."

Aurora felt apprehensive and curious. Maybe Alex was telling the truth and just needed some time alone, but she ignored that possibility. She had met him a few days ago, and he seemed perfectly fine. Either way, she would try to find out what was going on with her friend.

Klaus alerted loudly, "It's almost midnight! We have to fetch Adelaide."

"I'm going," Aurora said.

She knew that deciding to go with Klaus wasn't the right choice. He could very well go and bring Adelaide back, so why was she putting herself through the torture of seeing Tristan again?

A stronger person would be able to get rid of the necklace, cut the ties that bound her to Tristan, move on, and not look back. But annoyingly, when she was with him, she felt both weaker and stronger at the same time.