After the divorce, he begged

Rebecca was busy prepping in the kitchen.

lan moved to help out. He asked, “Are you really cooking for yourself these days?”

“Yeah,” Rebecca replied.

“How about | get you a nanny?” lan suggested.

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Rebecca cut him off without missing a beat, her hands moving with confidence. She said, “No need. It's a great

chance forto learn.”

lan snatched the knife out of her hand and said, “I got this.”

Rebecca protested, “Hey, I'm supposed to treat you. What are you doing?”

“I'm just afraid your cooking might kill me,” lan shot back, the familiar banter flaring up between him, Rebecca,

and Jessica. He said, “For the sake of my own survival, it's safer if | handle this.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes and shot back, “As if your cooking’s any less deadly.”

lan raised his brows with a smug grin and said, “Guess what? | am actually a certified chef.”

Rebecca honestly hadn't believed lan at all, but as he plated dish after dish, each one looking so good it made

her mouth water, her doubts disappeared in an instant.

lan passed her the plate of stir-fried veggies, radiating confidence from head to toe. He said, “Con, give it a

try-bet it's way better than yours.”

Rebecca picked up her fork and took a small bite. Then, her eyes went wide with surprise, unable to hide just

how shocked she was.

“Well? Isn't it crazy delicious? Told you I'm pretty much a kitchen genius,” lan boasted, totally sure of himself.

Jan was notoriously picky when it cto food, and whenever he gave something his stamp of approval,

Rebecca and Jessica never failed to agree.

He had seriously put in the work to master his cooking, hoping that one day he could capture Rebecca's heart

through her stomach.

Rebecca flashed him a thumbs-up and said, “Not bad.”

lan’s grin just got smugger, looking completely self-satisfied.

Rebecca started setting the table, grabbing two sets of plates and utensils. Just as she was about to dig in,

someone knocked on the door.

lan got up to answer it, calling out, “Who is it?”

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Standing outside was Jeffrey: tall, sharp-featured, and absolutely unruffled, his poker face showing zero reaction

at seeing lan open the door.

Without a second thought, lan slammed the door shut.

Jeffrey was quick to react, jamming his hand against the door to keep it from closing.

lan put his whole weight into trying to close the door.

Neither one was backing down, and the door didn’t budge an inch in their little standoff.

Just then, Rebecca cout of the kitchen with two bowls of rice. She spotted lan bracing himself against the

door and headed over. She asked, “What's going on? Who's outside?”

Just as she finished speaking, Jeffrey gave a sudden burst of strength, and the door flew wide open.

lan’s eyes practically popped out of his head. He thought, ‘Seriously? | just used every ounce of strength | had,

and he wasn’t even breaking a sweat?’

Rebecca shot Jeffrey a cold glare and asked, “Why are you even here?”

Jeffrey made up an excuse. He said, “Samuel wants to wear that frog onesie. | cto fetch it for him.” He'd

been here before and knew the place like the back of his hand.”

Rebecca didn’t buy it for a second.

Jeffrey stepped inside, not glancing at anyone.

“Hold it right there. Ill get it,” Rebecca snapped, obviously not happy about Jeffrey coming in.

Jeffrey stayed put, not moving another step.

Rebecca went to Samuel's room. She found the frog onesie in the closet and packed it up. When she cback

out, she saw Jeffrey sitting at the table, casually helping himself to the food as if he owned the place.

Rebecca stared at Jeffrey.

Anyone with a shred of dignity would be dying of embarrassment right now. But Jeffrey remained unfazed.

Rebecca handed Jeffrey the bag and said, “Here's Samuel's clothes. You can leave now.”

Jeffrey took the bag from Rebecca, set it aside carelessly, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his forearms, and, acting

as if he owned the place, grabbed a fork and went straight for the dish closest to him.

Chewing the food, he thought, ‘Not bad at all. This is a waste on lan

“Jeffrey,” Rebecca called out, clearly exasperated by how shameless he was being.

“Whatever, let him eat,” lan said, totally unbothered. He just went to grab himself another plate and a fork. He

added, “With all this food, it’s not like having him here will make a dent.”

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Jeffrey stopped in the middle of chewing, a weird feeling prickling at him. He thought, ‘He makes it sound like |

am the extra here.’ Suddenly, his frustration flared.

He shot back, “Why are you so keen to kickout? Worried I'll stumble across your little secret or something?”

Rebecca retorted, “Not everyone's like you. And lan’s nothing like Andrea.”

Jeffrey's gaze grew colder, a storm brewing in his eyes. He was quite annoyed by the way Rebecca so familiarly

called lan by his name. He lifted his eyes, his voice smooth but carrying an unmistakable pressure. “So, tell me-

what kind of person is Andrea?”

Rebecca spat, “Shameless. And she knows she is the sidepiece, but she still goes for it.”

Jeffrey snapped, “So what do you call someone who knows she’s married but still shows up at her door in the

middle of the night? What kind of gis Mr. Yeats playing?”

“We're just friends,” Rebecca said.

“Andrea and | are just friends, too,” Jeffrey shot back, throwing her words right at her.

Rebecca shot back, “Don’t twist what friendship means. Seriously, which friends are out here hooking up,

sleeping over, living together, and still telling their own spouse they want to take care of someone else for the

rest of their life-and all before even getting divorced?”

“Well, | haven't exactly seen any wives secretly inviting another man over late at night, hiding it from their

husbands,” Jeffrey fired back, not even bothering to explain himself.

The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. Neither one was backing down.

lan propped his chin up with one hand, completely unfazed as ever. He called out, “Hey, Mr. Hanson.”

Jeffrey's cold, indifferent gaze shifted to land on lan.

lan said, “You know what they say-if you're stuffing your face at someone else’s table, you ought to show some

respect. You've eaten so much of my food, and you still have the nerve to talk trash about me? That's kinda

outta line, isn’t it?”

Jeffrey asked, “Your food?”

lan replied, “Yeah. Becky might've bought the groceries, but every dish tonight was made by me.”

Almost immediately, Jeffrey knew lan was telling the truth. For a split second, Jeffrey's poker face faltered-he

looked almost as if he'd swallowed a lemon.

lan put on an over-the-top performance, clutching his chest like he'd just been betrayed by his closest bro. He

said, “You ate my food, and now you're talking smack about me? Seriously, that hurts.”

Jeffrey’s grip on his fork tightened. He thought, ‘No wonder the food tastes different this time.

lan continued, “But hey, I'm big-hearted, so | won't stoop to your level. After all, besides being Becky's soon-

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to-be ex-husband, you're also Samuel's dad. | guess I'll cut you sslack.” With that, he picked up his fork and

helped himself.

Those words cut like knives straight to Jeffrey's heart. The fork bent in Jeffrey’s hand, unable to withstand his

grip.

Rebecca said, “That'll be 30 bucks.”

Jeffrey asked, “What?”

Rebecca glanced at the fork and said, “Fork compensation fee.”

“Charging this kind of shady fee, aren't you afraid karma’s going to catch up with you one day?” Jeffrey replied,

his eyes dark as midnight-completely unreadable, not showing a trace of emotion.

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