Chapter 36: Soren’s messy cooking.

"Put me down." She wriggled in his arms.

"Don’t move," he warned. "Or I won’t be able to keep holding you."

Elowen stopped struggling instantly. Afraid that she might fall, she coiled her arms around his neck firmly.

Soren allowed an amused smile to dance on his lips.

She saw that smile. Mortified, her face flushed. "I only held on because I didn’t want the baby to get hurt."

"Yes, I understand." That teasing smile still lingered on his face.

Elowen blinked. She had never seen this side of him before.

The teasing glint in his eyes, the playful smile, and the strange gentleness in his tone—it all felt unfamiliar.

She had never believed Soren was capable of treating her this way. Now, she could barely recognize the man carrying her.

He carefully put her on the bed, his gaze never leaving hers. "How are you feeling now? Do you need something?"

"I’m fine."

Soren didn’t look convinced. He studied her quietly. Then his gaze landed on the bracelet on her wrist.

"This..." He gently touched the small, silver heart. "Is it new?"

Elowen instantly covered it with her other hand. She couldn’t let him know that Theron had had it with him for all those years and that he had finally returned it to her.

"It’s not," she replied. "My mother gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday. I found it today and thought I’d wear it."

Soren looked at it for a long moment. Something flickered in his eyes.

"It’s beautiful. It suits you." He straightened. "Stay here and rest. I’ll prepare dinner tonight."

"You are going to cook?" Elowen almost laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Don’t underestimate your husband. I can cook." With confidence brimming in his eyes, he walked out of the bedroom and headed to the kitchen.

Elowen watched him disappear. She couldn’t help wondering whether he actually knew what he was doing.

A few minutes later, Elowen followed him to the kitchen. She stopped at the entrance.

Soren was standing in front of the stove with his phone propped against a glass.

A cooking video was playing. The chef on the screen was explaining how to prepare creamy chicken pasta with vegetables.

Soren stared at the screen with full concentration. He didn’t notice Elowen standing behind him, watching his every move. He looked at the ingredients on the counter.

Chicken, pasta, carrots, broccoli, peas, and sauce.

"Everything is ready," he murmured.

Preparing the ingredients was one thing, and actually cooking was another.

He took a deep breath. "I can do it."

He turned on the stove and put the pan on while he chopped the vegetables. When the pan was hot enough, he added oil and dropped the vegetables in it.

He picked up the spatula and tried to stir the vegetables. The spatula slipped from his grip and clattered on the floor.

"Shit..." He picked it up and tried again.

Elowen suppressed a laugh. She had never seen him cook. For all those years, she had been the one who had prepared meals for him. She had made sure there was always something he liked waiting for him when he returned home.

And now, for the first time, she was watching him struggle to prepare a meal for her.

He was terrible at it. But he was trying. That was enough for her.

’Has someone replaced him with another person?’

She almost laughed at that thought.

Soren Vale, who could control an entire company with a few words, was standing in the kitchen fighting with a spatula.

The chef continued to explain the next step in the video.

Soren watched it carefully before he added the chicken. He looked completely serious. Yet somehow, everything seemed to go wrong.

The sauce was too thick. The pasta nearly boiled over.

Panicked, he tried to stir it and reached for the pan, not realizing how hot the handle had become.

"Ouch!" He immediately pulled his hand back.

Elowen covered her mouth. She couldn’t stay there, watching quietly. She rushed toward him.

"Did you burn your hand?"

Soren looked up instantly, caught off guard. He pulled his hands behind his back.

"It’s nothing." He forced a smile. "The dinner is not ready yet. It will take some time."

He soon realized the video was still playing. He reached out and paused it.

"Why did you come here? Do you need something?"

Elowen ignored his question. She stepped closer, took his hand, and pulled him toward the sink. She turned on the faucet and held his hand beneath the cool running water.

"What are you doing?" Soren tried to pull away.

"Don’t move." Her fingers tightened around his wrist, holding him in his place.

Soren stopped moving. His eyes remained fixed on her face.

Elowen’s brows were drawn together in concern. The worry in her eyes was impossible to miss.

He remembered how many times he had seen that expression. Sadly, he had never truly noticed it.

Whenever he came home drunk, she had been there. She had cleaned him up, made him soup, and taken him to bed. Whenever he was sick, she had stayed awake through the night.

Elowen had kept his clothes organized, arranged his belongings, and remembered his preferences. She had quietly taken care of countless little things that made his life easy.

They had seemed insignificant, so ordinary that he barely noticed them. But if she had not been there, his life would have been chaotic.

Whatever she had done for him, he had ignored everything.

’It’s her duty. She is my wife. Of course, she should take care of me.’

This was what he used to think.

But he had never stopped to wonder whether she was tired, whether she was sick, or whether she needed someone to take care of her.

’I never asked her whether she was okay. I simply accepted everything she did as though it were something I was entitled to.’

Just one night, he tried to cook something for her and struggled with every step. He had even burned his hand.

He understood how tough it was.

’She might have burned herself like this too. She might have been tired after taking care of me.’ A dull pressure gathered beneath his ribs. ’And I was never there for her.’

He regretted every moment he had spent ignoring her.

’What an asshole I was,’ he cursed himself.

He had never appreciated her for what she had done for him all those years.

’But not anymore. I’ll spend whatever time I have left showing her my gratitude.’

He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

Elowen froze at his unexpected kiss. Her head turned sharply toward him.

Their eyes met.

"Thank you."

Those simple two words seemed to steal her breath away. Her chest caved.

"You took care of me for all those years, and I never noticed." His gaze was still on her. "I never appreciated it. But from this moment on, I won’t take any of it for granted. I’ll thank you for it. Every chance I get."

His intense gaze made her heartbeat quicken, and she suddenly became aware of every breath she took. When his fingers touched her face, a shiver passed through her.

Their eyes remained locked.

He tilted her chin slightly, holding her where he needed her. Then he lowered his head and met her lips.