Signed to love

Chapter 11

Mr Amirion walked past everyone without another word and headed upstairs, his footsteps echoed through the mansion.

For some reason, the silence in the hallway felt different.

It was just quiet.

He loosened his tie as he entered his bedroom and closed the door behind him, his gaze instinctively wandered to the vase of fresh roses Chloe had placed on the bedside table that morning.

He stared at them for a long moment.

"Why am I even looking at flowers? Amirion what's wrong with you?"He muttered under his breath before looking away.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in."

Mrs Loveth stepped inside with a respectful bow.

"Master."

"What is it?"

"I only came to inform you that dinner is ready."

He nodded absentmindedly.

"I'll be down."

Mrs Loveth hesitated for a moment.

"If I may say something..."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What?" A warm smile spread across the elderly woman's face.

"It's been a very long time since this mansion sounded alive, did you by any chance notice that?"

Mr Amirion's expression remained unreadable.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Master"

She looked toward the door.

"The servants smiled all day today."She took pause.

"And... so did you."His brows knitted together as he made his way to deny the allegations.

"I did not." He denied, Mrs Loveth chuckled softly.

"Perhaps you didn't notice."She excused herself before he could deny it again.

The room became quiet once more, Mr Amirion stood motionless.

" I smiled? Amirion did you?" He asked like he was talking to someone else, he couldn't remember the last time he had.

A few minutes later, the dining table was already set.

As usual, several dishes had been prepared.

Chloe was arranging the cutlery when she noticed him approaching, she immediately stood up.

"You're here"

He simply nodded before taking his seat, Mrs Loveth served the meal while the other maids quietly stepped back.

An awkward silence settled between them.

Chloe glanced at him several times before finally speaking.

"Um..." Chloe paused, Mr Amirion looked up eager to hear what she was about to say.

"What?"

"I made one of the dishes"

e looked at the food.

"Which one?"

"I want you to take a guess, you'll eat them and rate them honestly" Chloe said

Mr. Amirion glanced at the dishes spread across the table before shifting his gaze back to Chloe.

"You want me to... guess?"

She nodded with an excited smile.

"Yes, taste them all and tell me which one you think I made"

He stared at her for a second, almost as if wondering why anyone would turn dinner into a game.

" This is childish"

Chloe pouted.

"Just do it please" She stared at him trying to use her eyes to make him do it and it surprisingly worked.

Mr Amirion picked up his fork with his usual composed expression.

"I'll only do this once"

He started with the grilled salmon, he took a small bite.

After chewing for a moment, he placed his fork down.

"Not bad"

Chloe folded her arms.

"Not bad?"

"It lacks a little seasoning"He added.

She immediately shook her head.

"But it's not mine"

Without another word, he moved to the creamy mushroom pasta.

He tasted it, his brows twitched almost imperceptibly.

"The sauce is balanced" He took another bite.

"The texture is acceptable"Mrs Loveth blinked.

For Mr Amirion, that was practically high praise, Chloe bit her lower lip, trying not to smile.

"It's still not mine" He looked at her suspiciously.

"You seem rather too confident"

"I am"She replied smiling, he then tasted the vegetable soup.

He placed the spoon down almost immediately.

"Too salty." Chloe laughed at his comment.

"I knew you'd say that."

"So that one is yours?"

"No."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, she was enjoying this far too much.

One by one, he sampled every dish on the table.

Finally, only one plate remained. A simple plate of fried rice with stir-fried chicken and vegetables.

Nothing extravagant, it looked almost ordinary compared to everything else.

He scooped a spoonful into his mouth, the moment he tasted it his hand stopped.

The flavors weren't perfect, the rice wasn't prepared like the mansion's professional chefs would make it. It carried a strange warmth.

The kind that reminded someone of home, without realizing it, he took another spoonful, then another.

Chloe watched him nervously.

"So?"

He slowly put his spoon down.

"It's this one."Her eyes widened in disbelief as he guessed correctly

"You guessed it?"

"It's obvious"

"How?"

"The others tasted like they were made by professionals I hired"

He looked at the fried rice again.

"This one tastes..." He paused, everyone at the table waited.

"Like something an ordinary Human would prepare"

There was silence then Chloe burst into laughter.

"An ordinary human?"Chloe repeated, Mrs Loveth couldn't help laughing as well.

Even a few servants quickly lowered their heads to hide their smiles, Mr Ammirion frowned.

"Did I say something amusing?"

"You basically called my cooking imperfect"

"I did."

"And yet..."He glanced at the half-empty plate.

"I finished it?" He glanced at the half-empty plate."

Chloe's laughter slowly faded into surprise.

"You... did."

She looked down at the plate, he had unconsciously eaten almost everything she had cooked.

For the first time that evening, a faint warmth spread across her chest.

"Thank you" She said in a little voice, he looked away and spoke.

"Don't misunderstand."

"I'm never did"

"You asked for honesty."

"I know."

He reached for his glass of water.

"It's edible."Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"Edible?"Mrs Loveth cleared her throat.

"Master..."

He looked at her.

"You've already emptied the plate."

Mr. Amirion froze, his eyes slowly drifted back to the dish.

He had actually finished every last grain of rice, a rare hint of embarrassment flashed across his face before disappearing just as quickly.

"I was hungry"

The servants immediately looked away to avoid laughing. Chloe covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling as she tried to suppress another laugh.

"Of course"

Mr. Amirion shot her a warning glance.

"Not another word"

She nodded obediently.

"Ok"

"I'll make it again tomorrow" Chloe playfully said, he picked up his napkin and calmly wiped the corner of his mouth.

"Do as you like."

"It isn't a yes, but it certainly isn't a no"She said and he remained quiet,Mrs Loveth smiled to herself.

Little by little, the cold mansion was beginning to feel like a home again.