Love Had Come Too Late and It Dissolved Like Smoke

I will never hurt the woman you love ever again and so, you already got what you wanted.

Sebastian had an unexplainable irritation settling in his chest. The food on the table, which usually satisfied him, now felt unbearably bland.

As he served a bowl of soup to Sofia, he watched as she imitated his previous actions. She took a sip before pressing her lips to his and fed him mouth-to-mouth.

He should have enjoyed her shy yet daring teasing, but instead, the unease in his heart grew stronger.

"Why does this soup taste awful!" He blamed his frustration on the food. "If the chef can't do his job properly, he should just leave!"

"Even Chiara’s cooking tasted better than this." He spoke without thinking and ignoring the way Sofia’s face instantly darkened. He said to himself, "Speaking of which, Sofia needs proper nourishment. We should let Chiara out to prepare her meals."

His expression softened slightly as he remembered Chiara was about to give birth. "She keeps using the baby as an excuse, doesn’t she? Fine. Tell her she has to prepare meals for Sofia for a week. In return, I’ll make sure she has a proper maternity ward so she can have a safe childbirth."

His subordinates exchanged uneasy glances as if they had something to say but didn't dare to tell him.

"Why are you all just standing there?" His impatience flared.

"Sir, y … you should check the cafeteria," one of them stammered. They wiped the sweat from his forehead and they looked very panicked.  "The steamer ... it's full of blood."

Sebastian looked panicky but he soon chuckled, "Ah, it's fine. She may have gone into labor and her water probably broke."

"Well, this's truly a perfect timing. She should take this opportunity to apologize properly to Sofia and then I’ll take her to the hospital."

The subordinate shuddered. "Sir ... Madam … she is already dead." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Yesterday afternoon ... she stopped making any sounds and then ... there was a smell ... like cooked meat from the steamer."

"What! “Sebastian shot up from his seat. His move was so powerful that it knocked over the table and chairs and they fell in disarray all over the floor.

"That’s impossible!" His face turned deathly pale with anger. "I personally chose those kitchen appliances. They were designed with advanced safety features to prevent accidents. I heard the power cut off before I left … I heard it myself! How could something go wrong?""

"You’re all lying to me, aren’t you?" He laughed coldly while striding toward the cafeteria. "You’re all in on it with her and try to scare me. I’ll see for myself what trick she’s playing this time."

When he arrived at the cafeteria, a group of employees stood frozen outside the locked door. Their expressions were stricken with terror.

"Why are you all just standing here? Don't you have work to do?" Sebastian roared. He then had the door opened and stepped inside.

The moment the door was unlocked, a weird, nauseating stench filled the room. "What is that smell?" He frowned. "Who’s responsible for cleaning? Did your cafeteria staff fail to clean up?"

No one dared to speak. All eyes were fixed on the enormous steamer in the center of the room in horror.

A sharp, suffocating pain spread through my chest. Even though I couldn’t see what had happened, the agony of being burned in my final moments made me choke back a sob.

I whimpered and walked over to see that poor child of mine.

Sebastian, his face dark and unreadable, approached the steamer as well. He hesitated before placing a hand on the lid then immediately yanked it back after a while.

"Hah," he actually let out a short laugh. "See? I knew Chiara was just being stubborn and trying to fool me again."

"The metal is cold," he stated flatly. "I told you. The appliances have automatic shut-off features to kill the power. There’s no way anything could have happened."

Knocking on the steamer, he smirked. "Chiara, have you learned your lesson?"

I smiled bitterly. How could I possibly answer him now?

Sebastian’s expression darkened even more as the silence stretched for a long time. His hands trembled slightly as he reached forward and opened the streamer.