Chapter 4
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Caleb had the maids move Olivia’s
luggage into the master bedroom. Chloe turned to me triumphantly.“What are you doing here? Go make dinner! Olivia doesn’t like her food to be spicy. Keep it light.”
We had maids but I had always been the one who cooked, because Caleb was picky. Even Michelin–star chefs couldn‘ t satisfy him. To him, only my cooking was acceptable. Chloe came here occasionally for dinner but was always picky about the food.
I shook my head. “No.”
Caleb looked at me. I’d never said no
to his family before. Olivia’s eyes welled
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up.“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I’m an outsider. I shouldn’t ask Sarah to cook
for me.”
She was about to leave, but Caleb pulled her back.“It’s not your fault.” He looked at me, his voice sharp.“I thought
you were okay with this. What do you mean by that?”
I showed him my bandaged
hand.“I’ve hurt my hand and I can’t touch
water for a while.”
It was a lie. The truth was, the
contract was over and I didn’t want to
waste my time on Caleb anymore. So, I bandaged my uninjured hand.
The atmosphere froze. The maids thought I would handle the housework,
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so they had already left. No one else could cook. Getting new maids would take too long
Chloe frowned.“Why didn’t you say that earlier? Are you gonna starve us?”
Olivia stopped her.“Chloe, don’t.” She said to Caleb,“Caleb, I still remember that hot pot place near our high school. We spent a lot of time there after class. How about hot pot tonight?”
Caleb agreed.“Okay, I’ll take you
there.”
They took me along. Caleb chatted with Olivia and Chloe in the back seat about their high school days. Olivia was
cheerful; Chloe chimed in occasionally. They laughed like a family. Suddenly,
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Olivia looked at me.“Sarah, I’m sorry. We
didn’t mean to ignore you. You weren’t part of those memories.”
I wasn’t just excluded from those memories; I wouldn’t be part of their future either. I hummed and closed my eyes. Caleb glanced at me. He felt I was different.
We arrived. “Soup pot. Olivia doesn’t eat meat, so get us more vegetables, but no cilantro,” Caleb told the waiter. He still remembered Olivia’s preferences. “Sarah, any allergies?”
It was the first time in four years he’d asked me that. I wiped my
chopsticks.“Anything but seafood.”
Caleb focused on Olivia, barely
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eating himself. He kept serving her food.
A fight broke out at the next table, escalating quickly. The man threw a pot of boiling soup to the other! He dodged and that hot soup came right to us! Caleb shielded Olivia, but I couldn’t dodge… Everything splashed onto me…
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