chapter 8

Chapter 24

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"—and for the chives as well. Aster? Hey, Aster. Aster Clyde!"

"Oh? Uh, pardon me. What is it again?"

Lore groaned and pointed at the poorly cut tomatoes on the guy's hands. Being the good colleague that he is, he snatched the knife from his hold and pulled the chopping board to his side.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

Lore clicked his tongue. "Spill."

Aster looked away, clenching his tomato juice-filled hand into a tight fist. "There's nothing to spill."

"Don't lie to my face, you've been like this for an hour now, and it's getting really annoying. The interns are getting scared," he pointed at the red fruit in their midst. "And I don't remember asking for tomato paste, may I add."

He followed where his finger is pointing at and placed his hands on the counter, leaning for support. "Sorry, I'll just do another batch again."

"No need, those are already the third batch, and it barely made a difference from the previous ones. Rest for a while, or cook the loin, whatever. I believe the sous chef put it in the refrigerator."

He looked down and turned his heel around. "I'm really sorry, I fell under the weather today."

"It's fine. Go ahead, loverboy, I'll finish this pasta."

He nodded, apologizing to the tomato gods once again before scurrying off. He took the soft loin and opened the plastic container. Taking a handful of pepper and salt, he held the soft meat on his hands and rubbed in the spices like he normally would, adding more pepper than usual since his best friend likes it that way. He was about to put it in the container of soy sauce when a tap on his shoulder refrained him from doing so.

"Wow, loins aren't part of today's menu. Is that a special dish?"

Shaking his head, he placed the meat onto the marinate mix and covered it with a lid. He turned around and stared at Bliss.

"Move."

"Excuse me?"

"You're blocking the sink, miss Acosta." He glanced at her back. She quickly gave way and watched him as he washed his hands. She cleared her throat after he went back to work without minding her presence. She went closer and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"By any chance, is it—"

"No."

"For someone special, perhaps?" 

"I believe it's none of your business, chef."

Xyrill chuckled and removed her hand from its hold on his shoulder. "So you remembered. I'm glad you didn't forget that the loin is my favorite part-"

"Stop." He looked down, sprinkling the last bit of thyme. "I didn't make this for you."

Her smile wavered. "Come again?"

Aster took the container with one hand and turned away from the woman. "Please continue cooking for our hungry customers. Learn to be professional, thank you very much. I would like to excuse myself, I feel the need to take a short break." He walked away, leaving Xyrill rooted in her place. She chuckled bitterly before disappearing in the west part of the restaurant.

He washed his hands in a hurry before leaving the kitchen. He went straight upstairs in hopes of finding something worthy of his attention. Of course, Aster wouldn't be Aster without having a nervous breakdown after the current situation- shituation, rather, came to light once again.

Good grief, she's here. Of all the chefs living in my country, why her?

Exhaling loudly, he slumped on the couch and wiped his face with his hands. His short break was cut off after a few minutes of overthinking and sudden regrets in his decisions.

This is really, really bad. Xyrill is here, and Spencer, she's sick. What if they meet?

Crossing his fingers and praying to the gods, he stood up, chest out and chin up, preparing to meet whatever odds there are. Hopefully.

He was met with a busy Lore and a smiling Xyrill as soon as he stepped his feet inside the kitchen. He walked over to the male chef to see his agenda, only to be greeted with another smile.

"What spices did you put in the beef?"

He raised an eyebrow, throwing a glance at the lady across both of them. "The usual. Why do you ask?"

Lore gave him a smile again, averting his attention to the chocolate he's tempering on the cold metal table. "Check on miss Acosta, she said you ordered her to stop the beef from marinating."

"What?"

"Which made me confused," he cut him off. "You never request for someone else to do it for you. Why are—"

Not wasting any more time, he ran towards Xyrill who's busy searing the meat. He turned the heat off and yanked the pan off her hand.

"Aster..."

"When did I say that?" He closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

Xyrill gulped, staring at the uncooked meat. "I'm sorry, I just remembered how you used to cook it for me-"

"Nonsense," he spat. "What a nonsensical reason, Xyrill. This is not for you. And you ruined it."

"Then let's make another-"

"I'm not interested," he deadpanned, slamming the hot pan onto the large island, surprising the eavesdropping staff. "Go and bother someone else's dish, you're wasting enough food. Haven't I told you to maintain professionalism?"

"I didn't ruin it!" She shouted. "You're being mean right now!"

"Do not entail personal matters while working, miss Acosta. What you did was wrong, it's for another consumer, yet you meddled with just because you assumed it was for you? Who on earth would do such a thing?"

"Hey, stop!" Lore spat, looking back and forth at the two. "If you're going to discuss 'personal matters,' there's a lot of space outside."

With teary eyes, Xyrill never bothered to give the other guy a glance as she grabbed Aster's arm and pulled him away from the noisy kitchen. They found themselves facing each other on the dimly lit street outside of the bustling restaurant. Aster shook his head and stepped back to walk away.

"Why are you being like this?" Xyrill took his hand, preventing him from walking any further. "The man I love never shouted at me, not even once. Baby, you weren't like this before." She held his chin, making him face her. "What happened?"

"Love happened, Miss Acosta." He forcefully removed his arms from her tight grip and looked down. "Please maintain professionalism. Perform well during work hours, or I will have no choice but to report this to the manager at the Philippine branch."

"No."

He scoffed. "Why?"

"You aren't being yourself, Baby. Come back," she held his shaking hands again, whispering in a shaky voice, "Aster, I want you to return there with me."

He faked a laugh, removing his hand from hers with his free one. "And what if I object?"

Xyrill shook her head. "I know you won't. You love me, right? You just pushed me away because you're afraid, right?"

"It's wrong to assume," he scoffed. "What if I don't feel that way anymore?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "You're spurting nonsense. Baby, just admit that you're afraid-"

"I don't love you anymore."

She stopped moving. Forcefully grabbing his arms and letting him face her, she shook her head again. "Look at me in the eye and tell me the truth."

I can't, because my feelings never changed, my heart still beats for you, my eyes will betray me.

"Who is it, then?" 

His breath hitched and his lips trembled, hearing her weakened voice.

"Is there someone else now, Baby?" She looked up, meeting his pained eyes once again. "Have you found another one already?"

He wanted to shake his head, he wanted to grab her frail figure and kiss the living daylights out of her. He wanted to be with Xyrill, but why does his mind think otherwise?

A tear fell on her left cheek as she quickly wiped it off. "Who is it?"

He looked down. "Once upon a time, a woman crashed into my life— my apartment, rather."

His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fist. "Her name is Megan."

"Are you being honest, Baby?"

He caught sight of her glassy, tantalizing eyes that made his legs wobble. With another silent apology, he uttered, "Yes."

No, I'm not. It's still you, but why isn't my heart screaming, longing for your name anymore?

Why are my feelings for you so foreign now, Xyrill Bliss?