Moments Like These
The bright morning sun streamed through the windows of Damien’s villa. Blade and the rest of the men entered the house, laughing at a joke Graves had cracked, but the moment the aroma of beef soup drifted through the air, their laughter died as they exchanged curious glances.
“Who called her this morning?” Blade asked, referring to their cook.
No one answered as they all shook their heads.
“I’m sure Miss Lila’s the one cooking,” Graves said with a grin. The men smiled at that only for their smiles to vanish when Damien emerged from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of rice, which he set on the dining table.
From where they stood in the living room, none of them dared to speak. But Damien, surprisingly, was the one smiling. He waved his bandaged hand at them.
“Come on.”
The men exchanged another round of uncertain looks before heading toward the dining area and then into the kitchen, where Damien was already ladling beef soup into another bowl.
By now, their jaws were practically on the floor in disbelief.
“Get the plates, Graves. The rest of you, sit down,” Damien said without sparing them a glance.
“Okay, boss,” Graves replied quickly, hurrying to the counter where the flatware was kept.
“Pinch me, Rex. I’m not daydreaming right now, am I?” Thorne muttered as he and Rex walked side by side toward the dining room.
Rex chuckled. “I never knew the boss could cook. Or did he just learn?”
Crusher, as usual, stayed silent. Graves joined them a moment later, setting the plates down on the table.
Blade was the only one who remained in the kitchen with Damien, who was already washing the dishes, completely unfazed by the bandage wrapped around his hand.
“Just spit it out already,” Damien said without looking up.
Blade swallowed hard, still staring at his boss in disbelief.
“Boss, you can’t be doing this,” he finally muttered.
Damien chuckled under his breath. “Why? Because I’m the oldest here, or because I’m doing it for the first time?”
Blade didn’t answer, but the look on his face said enough. He never thought love could make their cold, unshakable boss act like this.
“Come on, buddy. Don’t give me that look,” Damien said, lifting the spoon in his hand with a faint smirk.
Then his tone softened.
“You see, Blade,” he began quietly, “watching Vladislav die made me realize there’s really nothing certain in this life. You just live in the moment and enjoy it, it’s as simple as that. I never thought I’d find myself doing something just to prove I’m worthy to someone… a woman.”
He let out a low chuckle. “But trust me, it’s all part of the moment.”
He raised his head and looked at Blade. “I’m enjoying this, Blade. So please, don’t stop me. If anything, you should be supporting me, so together, I can earn her love.”
He wiped his hand on a towel, then patted Blade’s shoulder as he walked out of the kitchen.
Lila was still sleeping soundly in her room when the door creaked open and Damien entered, carrying a tray of covered dishes. He set it down gently on the nightstand before turning to her.
A soft smile tugged at his lips as he looked at her sleeping face. Reaching out, he brushed a few loose strands of hair from her forehead and quietly sat beside her.
In that moment, he thought she was effortlessly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Just then Lila stirred, her lashes fluttering open. For a second, she thought she was dreaming. She blinked twice before whispering, her voice still heavy with sleep, “Wolfe?”
Damien grinned. “Did you sleep well? Did I wake you?”
Lila blinked at him, a small smile forming on her lips. “What are you doing here? How long have you been sitting there?”
“Well, I just got here a moment ago,” he said, rubbing his palms against his pants before glancing at her again. “I brought you breakfast.”
Lila’s jaw dropped when she noticed the covered dishes. “Y–You cook?”
“Actually, no,” he admitted with a sheepish grin. “I just tried it for the first time. It’s bound to turn out great though since I already failed twice.”
“Oh my goodness!” Lila gasped. “What time did you get up? Why didn’t you wake me to help?”
“I just wanted to cook for you,” he muttered, then stood and lifted the tray, setting it carefully between them. “I went through the device where I saved your favorite dishes and thought I should give this a try,” he said as he uncovered the plates.
Lila’s eyes widened. “Beef soup?”
“Yeah. Does it look good?” Damien asked with a hopeful grin.
Lila nodded quickly, though that was a lie. From the look of it, she could already tell it might not taste as good as it looked in his eyes.
“Now try it,” Damien said, handing her a spoon.
Lila accepted it with a grateful smile. “How did you even know my favorite?” she asked as she dipped the spoon into the soup.
“Well, I asked Luc the first night you got here,” he said simply.
Her face warmed, her heart fluttering at how thoughtful he’d been. She was still smiling right up until the taste hit her tongue. Then her smile faltered, just for a second.
But Damien noticed the change in her expression and his smile faded. “Does it taste bad?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.
Lila’s face immediately broke into a bright grin as she forced the soup down her throat. “Of course not! It tastes superb,” she said quickly, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
“Are you sure?” he pressed, still doubtful.
Lila nodded sharply. “Positive! You’ll make a great cook one day, to think you made this well after just two tries,” she said, continuing to sip the soup despite the taste.
Her words made his face light up, and seeing that, Lila’s chest warmed. He had put in so much effort just to cook for her, pretending to enjoy it was the least she could do.
Moments later, after watching Lila finish her meal, Damien left her to bathe. He had just descended the last stair when he heard his men’s voices coming from the dining room.
“The boss should never try cooking again in this house,” came Graves’ voice, and Damien’s jaw instantly tightened.
“I can’t believe that’s what he made with that huge smile on his face,” Rex added, earning a muffled laugh from Graves and Thorne.
“Looks like we finally found something the boss isn’t good at,” Thorne said and the laughter died the moment Damien appeared at the doorway, his expression dark and chilling.
Except for Blade and Crusher, the rest froze in their seats, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.
“B-Boss,” they stuttered in unison, scrambling to their feet.