Chapter 30 30

Chapter 30 30
Nora’s POV

By dinner time, I was already in the kitchen. Although Lucy looked like she wasn’t cool with the idea of me staying with them, she had no other option.

Even the maids threw glances my way every few seconds, making me know I wasn’t welcome here, but I didn’t mind. I was here for a reason.

My long, thick hair was all wrapped and tied up, and I was wearing an apron. We were having mac and cheese for dinner with some roasted chicken. There was also bacon available for those who didn’t want chicken.

I diligently assisted them because, honestly, apart from my evil plan, I actually loved cooking. I had to love cooking because back home, I always prepared my meals. Who would prepare them for me? My stepmother?

I would make large meals for the whole family, and even then, I wouldn’t be given any. I would be told to make something else for myself.

Lucy and her girls probably thought I was a spoiled little girl because they were surprised at my skills in the kitchen. Though they said nothing, I could feel it in their eyes.

When dinner was ready, I needed to act fast. I was already famished from cooking, and I really needed to eat. Also, I didn’t know how dinner was going to be with Julian in regard to my plan, so I quickly dished up my food, excused myself, and headed straight for my room to hide it, just in case Julian chose to starve me afterward.

I was familiar with being starved because among other things, my evil stepmother derived immense joy from seeing me weak from hunger.

That witch.

Now back to Julian, I would have preferred if I wasn’t at the dining room because of the drama that was going to unfold, but it was kind of tradition for food to be had at the dining table. Plus, being absent might alert Julian just in time.

While cooking, I heard when Julian came back home, so now he was probably waiting for dinner to be served. I watched as the food was already ready to be eaten before I finally backed off.

I didn’t back off empty-handed, though.

While cooking with them, I had taken a very large chunk of salt and hidden it in the pockets of my shorts. Now, all that was left was action.

When I got to the dining room, I took my seat. Just as I had anticipated, Julian wasn’t here yet. I urged the maid to serve the meals before sending someone to get Julian.

Finally alone with Julian’s food, I sprang out of my seat, walked over to his food, took out the large chunk of salt I had hidden, and without wasting any time, poured everything into his food.

With a spoon, I mixed everything carefully until it was one mixture.

After turning his food so fast that I wouldn’t be caught, I noticed it now looked a little too rough, but I hoped he wouldn’t notice. Since I used his spoon to turn in the salt, I had to quickly switch our spoons.

When I heard footsteps approach, I rushed back to my seat and took a deep breath. The maid who had gone to call Julian downstairs for dinner was back.

She passed me and went into the kitchen like everything was normal. I, on the other hand, was not calm. My palms began to sweat as I started to wonder if I was being too extreme. As I waited for Julian to show up, I constantly reminded myself that I had no other choice. This was the only way.

What’s the worst that could possibly happen?

As I calmed down, Julian finally showed up. He was wheeled in by one of the guards.

Without sparing a proper glance my way, he took his position and was ready to dig in.

“God, I’m so hungry,” he muttered under his breath as he reached for his spoon. I watched as he took a long drink of his water first, before reaching for his food.

Just when he was about to take a bite, he paused and stared coldly at me.

“Is there a problem?” he asked, looking irritated.

“Huh?” I asked, my heartbeat increasing.

“Why the fuck are you staring so damn hard at me? If you’re not hungry, leave the fucking table,” he spat.

“I wasn’t staring at you,” I returned as I quickly looked away. I feared he would notice something was wrong. Fuck, why was I staring so hard at him?

“This is my house and I will do whatever I want. If you’re not happy with how things are being done here, you’re free to always stay up in your room till your attention is needed. Do you understand?”

What the fuck is he even talking about now?

“Sure,” I said and nodded obediently like he has always wanted. I guess he expected me to lash back at him, but with my indifference, he only seemed to stare more at me. I then realized it was because I kept staring at him.

Fuck.

I cleared my throat, reached for my food, and took a spoonful into my mouth. My body jerked immediately because the spoon I had used to mix the salt into Julian’s food was the one I took, and I didn’t get a chance to rinse it first. If the spoon tasted this bad, I could only wonder what the food would taste like.

Trying to act normal kept my gaze away from Julian, and I began to chew. Only then did he relax.

Now back to his food, he scooped a large amount of mac and cheese with his spoon and ate.