Chapter 96

Madeleine quietly nodded and ladled a bowl of soup for Beckett. Beckett stared at it for a moment, a bit stunned. He'd already had dinner, but somehow, he still found himself wanting to pick up the chopsticks. Madeleine ate carefully. The moment Beckett set down his utensils, she followed suit and stood up to clear the table. Beckett stepped in, placing the dishes in the dishwasher himself—something he'd never usually do. "We're just work partners. Outside of business, you're not my housekeeper," Beckett said, trying to ease her attentiveness. Madeleine crouched beside the dishwasher, hesitating. Her fingers felt cold as she stared down at the floor, disappointment written all over her face. Five years locked away had left her out of sync with the world. She didn't even know how to use all these new tech gadgets. Seeing her frozen like that, Beckett knelt down too, glancing at the machine with a soft voice. "Honestly? I don't know how to use it either. Let's just leave it for the house