Chapter 40: Compassionate Chef.

Steven and Shane arrived home and Steven went straight into the kitchen. He rolled up his sleeves and began to prepare dinner, while Shane watched him.

Dua feeling dispirited, dragged her feet to the kitchen, and the moment she saw the men her face lit up. "Hi," Shane smiled at her.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're both back. I've been so bored," she lit up and Shane chuckled.

"How was your day?" She asked.

"It was a little hectic, but with some rest I'll be good," he smiled.

"And you, knucklehead?" She said to Steven and he simply nodded.

She walked to him and picked up the onions he put on the table. She took a knife and a chopping board and Steven finally spoke. "I'll do it myself."

"It's only to help you dice some onions. Don't worry, I won't mess it up." Dua said.

Steven left her be and continued with another thing while Dua began dicing the onions.

Seeing them work together closely, Shane mischievously excused himself in hopes that they would get along and their relationship would deepen.

While Dua diced the onions, she stole glances at him. "You should pay more attention to the knife, not my face." He said and she quickly looked away, focusing on her work.

"Diane's older brother was here today," she spoke.

"He wants me to go to their house tomorrow," she continued.

"Her father came to see me too at the warehouse." Steven finally spoke.

"You have a warehouse?" She was surprised. She didn't know he had a warehouse.

"Make the dices smaller," he instructed and she corrected herself with an "oh."

"Seeing that her brother came to me and her father came to you, they must be up to something. Be careful," she warned.

"Is this you caring about me?" He gave a light chuckle.

"Don't get it wrong. I'm just doing what the Bible says..."

"...love your enemies," he completed her statement and she bit her lips shyly. That simple act of hers, causing a turmoil in him that made him swallow hard.

"Are you that deeply rooted in your faith?" He asked with a hint of amusement playing on his lips.

"Yup, I'm trying hard to be a good Christian," she replied, picking up a carrot.

"Make the dices a little bigger than the onion dices," he instructed her and she nodded, getting to work.

"So what about you, how hard are you trying to be a good Christian?" She asked.

"I don't believe in anything," he replied and her head sprang up at him in unbelief.

"But both your names say that you're a Christian," she said.

"That's a result of those who said they gave birth to me," he replied. Dua looked at him in concern. That wasn't a friendly statement to describe parents.

"Aren't you in good terms with your parents?" She asked him but he said nothing and she sighed.

As she looked at him and made a dice on the carrot, the knife cut through her finger.

Steven quickly dropped what he was doing and attended to her, adding pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding, as he took her out of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, I messed up again," she apologized as she looked back at the carrots messed up with her blood.

"I told you to dice some carrots, not dice your finger." Steven said and she pouted her lips.

As soon as he made Dua settle on a couch, Shane entered the living room. "Good, you're here. Fix her up." Steven said to Shane.

"And what will you be doing?" Shane asked him in return.

"What do you think I should be doing?" Steven threw a question at him.

"You should be tending to your wife now." Shane replied.

"And the dinner?" Steven said.

"Dinner can wait." Shane shrugged and scurried out of the living room, leaving Steven scoffing.

Steven turned his attention back to Dua, who was trying to stop the bleeding herself, her other hand pressed against her wounded finger, adding pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding, a little wince of pain flashing across her face. "I'll be back," he said to her and left the living room.

He came back after some minutes with a first-aid kit and knelt before her, his dark brows furrowed with concern.

“Let me see,” he said softly, coaxing her hand away. A small red cut marred the soft skin of her finger. It wasn’t deep, but it definitely needed attention.

“You don’t have to fuss over me, really,” Dua murmured, trying to sound brave, but the tremor in her voice betrayed her discomfort. “It was just a little mistake.”

“A mistake that should have been avoided,” he replied sternly, contrasting the gentleness in his touch as he examined her hand. His fingers were calloused and rough, yet they moved deliberately and tenderly, cleaning the small cut before wrapping it in a bandage.

“Besides, you don’t want to bleed all over my kitchen,” he added with a slight smirk.

Dua scoffed, “Yes, sir, I won't.” She said, her tone sarcastic that made Steven almost let out a chuckle. He found her sarcastic remarks amusing.

“Just rest for a moment,” he instructed, sitting back on his heels, fixing her with a steady gaze.

"No, I can still help you out," she insisted.

"How?" He scoffed. "You really suck at this cooking thing." Steven remarked, the corners of his mouth pulling into a teasing grin.

Dua shot him an incredulous look, her eyebrows shooting up. "Really? Because I thought I was doing just fine until I got distracted by you," she retorted.

"So I'm that much of a distraction to you," he smirked amusingly.

It was at this moment that Dua realized the words that had slipped out of her mouth, and she quickly avoided his gaze.

"I know I'm handsome, everyone tells me that. But no one has ever said it to my face that I'm a distraction," he searched for her gaze but she kept avoiding his.

"You're also beautiful," he admitted. "Enough to bring any man to his knees."

"Yeah, but men don't swoon around me. They say I'm crazy," she finally spoke.

"You know they're not wrong," he chuckled and she laughed.

"I'm not. If you get to understand me, I'm actually very nice," she said.

"Yeah, only Shane sees that," he replied and she laughed again.

"Really, you should rest," he got on his feet to set off to the kitchen.

"Thank you," she smiled at him, her smile igniting something that had been long dead inside of him.

Before Steven could respond, Shane spoke, his expression exhibiting disbelief as he watched Steven and Dua all along at the corner of the stairs. "Wow, would you look at that? Steven, the compassionate chef." He applauded, but Steven cared less about him and went to the kitchen.

As Steven prepared dinner, his mind lingered on Dua and he shook his head at how she had the capacity to rile him up beyond limits, almost making him go insane, and then crack him up.

Meanwhile Dua also smiled at how he'd annoy her, pushing her off limits, and then still make her ful of life, put a smile on her face and make her laugh.