I grew up with Nora Shaw in an orphanage. We met, became friends, fell in love, and got married. Shortly after she gave birth to our child, her biological parents found her, and she became the only daughter of the Sanders family. Our son received an elite education from a young age and took on the Sanders surname. Years later, when I handed Nora the divorce papers, She seemed impatient and asked why. I calmly replied: “Because last night, the dinner I made got cold.” Nora Shaw and I grew up together in an orphanage. We met, became friends, fell in love, and got married. Shortly after she gave birth to our son, her biological parents found her. She became the only daughter of the Sanders family. Our son received an elite education from a young age and took on the Sanders surname. Years later, when I handed Nora the divorce papers, she seemed impatient and asked why. I replied calmly, “Because last night, the dinner I made got cold.” “You want to leave with nothing?” Nora asked, her eyes not leaving her phone screen. Her company was about to go public. I used to be proud of her changes, but now all that’s left is a shattered dream. “I’m giving up custody of Zach Sanders,” I said. “Before we got married, I only had that small apartment. That’s all I want to keep.” Mentioning our former cramped living space made Nora’s expression soften slightly. “Are you still upset about Luke Parker driving me home yesterday? He’s just a business associate.” Yeah, a “friend” who knows you’re married but still pursues you relentlessly. I didn’t respond, just looked at Nora. It had been a long time since I had the chance to really look at her. Nora was impeccably dressed, with pink diamond earrings worth several months of our old expenses. In just a few years, everything had changed. Seeing me shake my head, she asked impatiently why I wanted a divorce. I replied calmly, “Because last night, the dinner I made got cold.” Before Nora was found by the Sanders family, I was a full-time novelist, and my only hobby was cooking. Nora studied finance and had a low starting salary. She worked hard and often skipped meals. I would pack food for her every day and bring it to her. She always said it was the best food she’d ever eaten. After Nora was found by the Sanders family, she insisted on keeping her surname and refused to divorce me. I continued to prepare three meals a day for her, just like before. The first year, she told me she wanted to eat my cooking for the rest of her life. But after a few years, she came home drunk, brought back by a suitor. I took her from the man’s shoulder and urged her to eat something to settle her stomach. Looking at the food I had prepared, she said with disgust, “We have professional chefs at home. You don’t need to do this every day.” “Why don’t you go work at the company like I asked? Are you always this idle?” I didn’t like business and didn’t want to get involved with the Sanders family’s enterprises. Zach was very attached to her and only came down to eat when he heard her voice. I handed him the food, but he shook his head. I asked why he wouldn’t eat. Nora thought my tone was too harsh: “He likes gourmet food, not ordinary dishes. What’s the problem?” Feeling emboldened by his mother’s support, Zach pushed the bowl hard. The porcelain bowl shattered, and the hot soup scalded my arm. Nora hugged the child and comforted him softly. Then she turned to me and said, “Just have the maid clean it up. I’m tired.” Looking at Nora’s confused expression, I didn’t bother to explain further. In her eyes, only the flow of millions of dollars in capital mattered now. As for Zach, he couldn’t care less about this situation. He had been exposed to elite education from a young age and had dreamed more than once of having a more impressive father. A man who could dominate the business world, not someone who liked to cook in the kitchen. In the daylight, Nora finally noticed the burn on my arm. She called Zach over: “Dad got hurt last night. Go comfort him.” Zach was eloquent in various speech competitions, but he always disdained to speak in front of me. I never had a father, so I thought that investing enough care would earn my child’s love. But the fact proved that I didn’t have this gift. Zach just looked at me coldly. Apart from the few times he called me “Dad” when he was learning to talk, I never heard him call for me again. “You don’t deserve to be my dad,” he said. Nora lightly tapped Zach’s nose as a form of punishment. “The old apartment is too run-down. It’ll take some time to process the paperwork, so you can still stay here for now,” she said. “Don’t you love the cookware set I gave you? It would be a shame to take it with you.” I had packed my things last night, just one suitcase. “That cookware set can be thrown away if no one uses it,” I replied. Suddenly, I found it amusing. The Sanders family had people specially preparing and delivering meals. If it weren’t for me, this residence wouldn’t even need to consider a kitchen, let alone have an expensive set of cookware. “Are you going back to the old apartment?” Nora asked. “I can have Uncle Wang drive you.” I declined, looking at the mother and son with a smile: “You two are allergic to many things. Remember to have the family doctor check and inform the chefs.” With that, I turned and left, not looking back at the two people I once loved most in this world. I didn’t go straight back to the old apartment. Instead, I went to the orphanage, the place that raised me. Nora and I had talked about coming here together. But the Sanders family probably thought it wasn’t glamorous enough, and the plan was postponed again and again. Over the years, I had been donating part of my writing income to the orphanage. As soon as I entered, the director recognized me. She didn’t know about my divorce from Nora yet, and she reminisced about when we were kids. Nora and I grew up here. She was a year younger than me, and we were both small back then. The director suddenly pointed to the kitchen, saying I used to watch the cook intently, wanting to cook for myself. Nora didn’t like rosemary, and the orphanage’s conditions didn’t allow children to be picky. But later, whenever I cooked, I would secretly leave out the rosemary. The director’s sudden reminiscence sparked my interest, and I took on the task of being the chef for lunch that day. I lit the fire, chopped vegetables, and made soup. Several children gathered around me, chattering: “A brother who can cook is so cool!” “It smells so good! I want to be a chef when I grow up! Give me ten stars, all of you!” Amidst these praises, I remembered the first time I met Nora’s parents. Nora was even more nervous than I was. When they heard that my profession was writing and my hobby was cooking, if it weren’t for their inherent wealthy manners and the guilt of owing their daughter so much, they would have practically written “please leave” on their faces. Mr. Sanders only said, “What use is it for a man to cook?” Word spread quickly in their circle, and suddenly Nora had many more relatives and friends. Every one who came to visit would tease Nora when they saw me cooking: “Your husband is quite rare, he can actually cook.” Luke Parker also frowned and expressed concern: “Nora, doesn’t your husband smell like food? Can you sleep well at night?” After hearing these jokes too many times, Nora couldn’t keep face anymore. But she still cared about my feelings and only told me gently: “When friends come over in the future, let the staff cook.” “The Sanders family can afford to hire chefs.” Zach was also influenced by this: “My dad isn’t just some smelly cook who only knows how to make food.” “You’re so embarrassing. My dad should be a great hero.” I stayed at the orphanage for a few days before returning to my old apartment. Suppressing the memories that seemed to be everywhere, I started clearing things out. When Nora was found by her birth family, the Sanders told us not to bring anything, as they had everything the child would need. All the furnishings in the old house were frozen in time from that day. I thought I had won the lottery, but it turned out to be the moment I woke up from a beautiful dream. After clearing out everything related to Nora, I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until noon. I found over a dozen missed calls on my phone, all from Nora. As I was checking my phone, an unknown number called: “Hello, is this Zach Sanders’ father?” “I’m Zach’s homeroom teacher. The child refuses to eat lunch in the cafeteria, saying his father usually packs lunch for him.” The voice paused, then politely asked again: “Did you forget it’s the first day of school?” I frowned, not understanding what Zach was up to. Zach attended the best elementary school in the country, where the cafeteria not only focused on taste but also on nutritional balance. Moreover, the few times I had packed lunch for him, he had brought it back untouched. “Hello, teacher. He doesn’t need my packed lunches. From now on, it should be the family chef taking care of his meals,” I said calmly. I added, “I’m no longer Zach Sanders’ father. For his matters, you can contact his mother directly. There’s no need to bother me anymore.” Perhaps the teacher had me on speakerphone, and Zach was standing right beside her, hearing everything clearly. I heard a sudden exclamation from the other end: “Zach, don’t run!” The teacher quickly apologized to me before hanging up. I thought back to my childhood, wondering if I ever had such an unpredictable adolescence. But Zach’s emotions had always been quite stable, actually. His grandparents didn’t want him to stay with me, so they would take him back every summer vacation. Zach’s attitude towards me grew colder and colder. At first, he would still ask me: “Why do you always do the servants’ work?” “Don’t you feel like you’re wasting your time and value?” “Why can other uncles fly planes, but you only know how to cook at home?” Later, he refused to communicate with me at all. I only learned about his school tasks through the parent group chat. He didn’t care about this at all, and the Sanders elders were happy to see Zach distancing himself from me. I hung up the phone and went shopping at the mall. As I was carefully comparing products, Nora called: “What did you say to Zach? He refuses to eat.” “Can you come back? The child still needs you.” I heard a deep male voice in the background: “Let’s take Zach to my newly opened French restaurant.” Nora seemed to move away from him, and when no one was around, she continued: “That was a business partner. Do you know where my allergy medicine is? The chef didn’t know I’m allergic to carrots.” I heard a hint of grievance in her voice and frowned helplessly: “Nora, if you can’t find something, just order it online or have the staff buy it. It’ll be faster than waiting for my call.” “I told you to have a doctor test you and Zach for allergies to avoid situations like this.” Nora was silent for a moment: “Can you send your recipes to the chef? Great-grandpa really misses your cooking.” “What about Zach’s family assignments? Are you not going to handle them anymore? I’m usually busy at the company.” At the mention of Great-grandpa, my heart immediately softened. He was the only elder in the Sanders family who truly supported me and really liked my cooking. But I didn’t want to get more entangled with the Sanders family: “You can find common home-style recipes online easily.” “Nora, the child never acknowledged me as his father, and you know that very well.” “I need to start my own new life. Don’t bother me anymore, all of you. Take care.”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295369”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #魔幻Magic #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #惊悚Thriller #玄幻Fantsy #重生Reborn
Leave a Reply