She was standing with her back to Theodore, and the smile in her eyes was obvious enough to be discerned.

At first, she was dubious about whether Helen had stayed the night, but now she was convinced that Helen had never been here. How could a delicate woman like her, as a patient with poor health, bear to eat what one could barely call food?

“What ingredients do you need? I'll ask Horace to bring them over," Theodore offered.

Ariana nodded and didn't turn to look at him, trying to appear demure. She turned around, got some paper, and wrote down the ingredients she wanted.

After finishing, she realized that all the ingredients she listed had something to do with Theodore's favorite dishes. For fear of being discovered, she furtively altered a few of them.

But her self-deceived demeanor didn't escape Theodore's observation. He didn't show he noticed and was extremely cheerful when he took the paper and handed it to Horace, who was waiting outside the door.

Horace was efficient and soon returned with the purchased ingredients in numerous bags.

He simply placed the shopping bags at the door and didn't go in. As a senior special assistant with excellent working ability, he would never be oblivious enough to get in the boss's way.

As white smoke curled up, the hustle and bustle of the kitchen that had long since been bleak had returned.

Coughing on the smoke, Ariana fumbled for the button of the kitchen hood.

Although the manor had been standing for a long time, the equipment inside was high-tech and modern, and even an ordinary kitchen hood was controlled with artificial intelligence technology.

Ariana was careful and quick, and soon two hot dishes were served.

During this period, Theodore had been sitting at the door, his eyes closely following the woman hurrying around the kitchen as she worked.

That gaze was so intense it was as if it was going to swallow her whole at any second.

Gradually, Ariana felt increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze. She stopped what she was doing and tumed to glare at the man behind her.

"What are you looking at?

Is there anything on my face?"

On the stove, there was some food boiling in the pot. There was a gentle warning ping from the oven, which emitted the warm, delicious fragrance of the toasted bread, filling the room with a cozy atmosphere.

Ariana tumed off the kitchen hood. The kitchen went quiet.

Theodore moved his fingers, which had been resting on the armrest, to pull out a strand of her hair stuck under her collar. He said in a gentle voice, "Ever since my mother passed away, there hasn't been a smell of cooking oil in the kitchen for so long, as if it left along with her. But because you're here, this place feels alive again."