Chapter 4

Nathaniel's lips curled slightly at the nervous expression on Yvonne's face. "I'm a doctor. Of course, he came to see me for a medical issue. Why are you so worked up?" Upon hearing that, Yvonne let out a breath of relief and pinched Nathaniel's arm. "Don't speak halfway like that. It's scary. "Anyway, now that our guest is here, let's eat." As Louie feasted like a king at the dinner table, he gazed at Yvonne with admiration practically written on his face. "Yvie, your cooking is amazing! You know I love seafood. Everything here is exactly what I like." Yvonne beamed with joy. "If you like it, come over more often." Louie eagerly nodded. Then, he looked over at Nathaniel who was only eating the stir-fried greens. "Nathaniel, why are you only eating vegetables? Don't you like the seafood dishes Yvie cooked?" Yvonne immediately reached over and picked up a piece of shrimp for him with her fork. "This is a new recipe I learned online. It tastes really good. Try it." Nathaniel put down his cutlery, a pained expression on his face. "Yvonne, did you forget that I'm allergic to seafood?" Yvonne's hand trembled, and the shrimp she was holding dropped onto the table. "How was I supposed to know when you never told me that?" she refuted. "Do I really need to spell out everything for you?" Nathaniel's voice was filled with quiet sorrow. Yvonne loved shrimp, so for five years, even though Nathaniel was allergic to seafood, he would still cook it for her often. Every time he handled shrimp, he would break out in hives. The rashes were so painful that he couldn't sleep through the night and would have to apply ice just to numb the itch. However, whenever Yvonne saw the rashes, she would just complain and make him sleep in a separate bed in case he "infected" her. Over their five years together, she had never noticed the dozens of times he had had allergic reactions. Perhaps having recalled fragments of the past, Yvonne started speaking a bit awkwardly. She said, "Since you're allergic to seafood, I'll make you something else." However, Nathaniel had already put down his cutlery. "No need for that. I'm not hungry anyway. I already ate at the airport." Maybe out of guilt, Yvonne took the initiative to wash the dishes after dinner. Once she left for the kitchen, Louie dropped the act completely. He crossed his legs and sneered at Nathaniel. "You saw my posts on Instagram, right? You're really good at holding it in." Nathaniel calmly sipped his tea. "I'm just surprised you're so into used goods." Louie leaned in closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Yvie and I have known each other since childhood. We'd already slept together back in middle school. She could never truly love you. Now that I'm back, you'd leave on your own if you know what's best for you." Even though Nathaniel had already decided to walk away, he wasn't about to give Louie the satisfaction of knowing about his departure. His tone remained cold as he replied, "If there's a breakup to be had, Yvonne can say it to my face." Louie's expression darkened. He looked at the teacup on the table, then suddenly picked it up and splashed the hot tea all over himself. The scalding tea, the shattered cup, and Louie's dramatic screech made Yvonne rush out of the kitchen in a panic. Upon seeing Louie's face covered in tea, she screamed in shock. Louie pointed at Nathaniel, shouting, "Nathaniel, why did you pour hot tea on me just because I mentioned that Yvie and I used to date?" Upon hearing that, Yvonne shoved Nathaniel hard. "Nathaniel, are you even a man? My relationship with Louie ended a long time ago. There's nothing going on between us now. Can you stop being so paranoid and assuming the worst?" "There are cameras in the house." Nathaniel's voice was ice cold. "Shall I play the footage to see whether I poured the tea or not?"