Chapter 165 - Food Exchange

"Is everything alright?" Theodore asked worriedly as he returned downstairs to find his daughter trembling, with her phone dropped at her feet.

She jolted out of her thoughts and threw herself into his arms. "I misunderstood her."

"Who are you talking about?" He asked as he helped her pick up her phone. Don't tell him she was referring to Lucy? What did that woman do to earn her trust this time?

She knew that he would probably not trust Lucy if she explained what happened so she showed him the surveillance recording on her phone instead.

When he was done watching it, his eyebrows were tightly furrowed. "Zaria, don't you think it is far-fetched for someone to suddenly access a surveillance footage from so many years ago? What if they reenacted the whole thing to fool you?"

"I thought of that possibility too." Zaria confessed. "However, I know that it is true. It didn't make sense for someone who doesn't know me to save me. I didn't ever tell anyone about what happened that day but Zeus somehow knew."

"Zeus? That online friend you have been keeping for years?" Theodore confirmed.

"Yes." Zaria felt emotional. "I had a feeling that he was the one who had saved me that day. I didn't know that I was right and on top of that, Zeus is actually mother." She looked down in shame. "Yet I didn't believe her. I suspected her of deliberately wanting to hurt us."

"Zaria, you cannot…" He spoke, but it was too late as Zaria had already rushed out of the house.

Theodore clenched his fists. "Lucy Roatta, I underestimated you."

…

"Ma'am, there is a young woman here to see you. She claimed to be your assistant but she is not miss Elena." The butler reported to Lucy who was drinking coffee in the living room.

She placed the cup on the table and stood in surprise. "My assistant?" Aside from Elena, her only other assistant was Zaria. Was it her?

"Let her in." She immediately instructed, and when Zaria walked into the living room, she dismissed the servants and grabbed her into a hug.

"How did you know where I live?" She asked curiously, since she had never given Zaria her address.

Zaria pulled away with a gentle smile. "If I don't even know where my mother lives, how can I qualify to be her daughter?"

Lucy was startled when she heard what she said. "Zaria…"

"I'm sorry for misunderstanding you, mother." She was embarrassed for jumping into conclusions.

"I don't blame you, honey. I would be skeptical if I were in your shoes." It was already good enough that her daughter was back, so Lucy did not wish to drag unnecessary matters.

"Dinner will be served soon. Would you like to join us? Your brother will be here soon." She coaxed.

Now that she mentioned it, Zaria realized just how hurriedly she had left. Theodore must have been shocked, so she had to miss out on the dinner. "Dad must be worried about me."

"Then carry some food with you at least?" Lucy tried to convince her. "I cooked it myself."

Hearing that her mother had cooked it, how could Zaria say no? She nodded and Lucy went to the kitchen, returning with a food flask.

Just like that, Zaria returned home full of smiles and with a food flask in her hand.

"What poisoned food did she give you?" Theodore couldn't make sense of whatever was unfolding. Zaria rushed to talk about the incident with Gabe. How was it suddenly about a food flask?

"It's not poisoned." Zaria chuckled and carried the food flask to the dining table. She almost drooled when she opened it. "Don't you want to have a taste? The chicken looks appetising."

"If she thinks she will win us over with some food, she better wake up and stop dreaming." He harrumphed.

Zaria chuckled and picked a piece with her fork, putting it in her mouth. "This is the best chicken I've ever tasted. Are you sure you really don't want to taste it?"

She was having fun teasing him, which she ignored.

Just when she thought he was immune to the allure of food, he tasted a piece of the meat. In the end, he gobbled up a plate of Lucy's rice and chicken.

"I was hungry." He coughed and awkwardly explained himself when he caught Zaria giving him a teasing look.

She burst into laughter. "You can just admit it, dad. No one will judge you."

To be fair, Lucy was exceptionally good in the kitchen. If she didn't become a CEO, she would have been a world-renowned chef.

Theodore insisted on blaming his reaction on hunger so Zaria stopped teasing him. He wouldn't admit it so she might as well save her strength.

When she was done, she sent a text message to Lucy. [The food was so yummy that Dad almost swallowed the food flask along with the meat.]

She chuckled after indirectly teasing her mother. Was she thinking too much? It felt as though the duo still had feelings for each other despite glaring daggers and throwing insults at each other at every turn. It would be cute if their hate actually turned into love.

"Stop imagining nonsense." He flicked her forehead. He didn't need to be told to know that she was letting her imagination run unnecessarily wild.

She rubbed her forehead with a laugh, then went to her room. She wanted to finish up on some work but before that, she gave Desmond a video call.

"My love, you finally decided to give me a video call." The man was cheerful. She had been rejecting his video call requests so he did not expect her to initiate it.

She averted her gaze from the screen as soon as she saw him. "Get dressed!"

He looked down at his chest that had been exposed on the camera. "Why? I thought you found me more handsome this way."

"I'll hang up if you do not wear a shirt." She threatened.

"Please don't." He disappeared from the screen for a while and when he returned, he was wearing a pajama shirt… with nothing on the lower half of his body.

She tried not to look at him before he sat down.

"Honey, why are you shy? Not only have you seen this body in real life before, but you have also kissed and touched it." He teased her, finding her flushed face amusing.

"I didn't call to talk about that." She dismissed him. Though she had to admit that she imagined herself stroking his abs when she saw them. "Are you ready for your business trip?"

"Did you have to remind me of how much I will miss you?" He lamented at her heartlessness. She must have wanted to torture him.

She chuckled. "You will have Zeus accompanying you and won't miss me for a second."

"What are you saying?" He frowned.

"He is so annoying. You will be too busy to think about me." She laughed just thinking about it. "Are all your documents for the trip ready?"

"Everything is ready except one thing." He responded, looking like he had suffered a loss.

"What is it?"

"Your kisses." He complained. "Will you see me off at the airport?"

She thought about her schedule and felt troubled. "That will depend on what time your flight is scheduled for. I can only take one hour off work.

"That's good enough." He was relieved. Luckily, he was going on a private plane so he could take off whenever he wanted to. "Can you really not accompany me?" He tried to push his luck.

"How about we go out for fun when you come back? I will take you somewhere fun." She promised and finally managed to placate the big baby.

____

The following morning, she woke up to the aroma of food.

"What are you cooking? It must be yummy." She asked a maid as she yawned out of hunger.

"It's master Theodore. He woke up and started preparing breakfast. Our stomachs are about to break down from the torture." The maid joked.

When Zaria entered the kitchen, the situation was indeed torturous. Theodore was packing dumplings onto one of the tiers of the food flask. When he saw her, he smiled. "Good morning. I figured you would return the food flask to her today so you might as well use it for your breakfast."

Although he made it sound like he was only preparing her breakfast, she noted that the food was too much for one person. Was he perhaps hoping that she should share it?

"I know what to do." She grabbed the flask with a brilliant smile.

"What do you mean? What's going on through your idle brain?" He had a strange feeling when he saw her naughty smile.

She turned and hugged him briefly. "Nothing. I will be a good messenger."

______

Mini theatre

Theodore: Everyone is exchanging messages and letters. How about we express our love through food? Our daughter can be the messenger.

Lucy: What love?

Theodore: The one you expressed by giving our daughter my favorite foods to bring back home.