Stepping boundaries

"Now that you have checked that I am doing good, shall we proceed?" She said and directed him out of the room, shutting the door to the kids' room as silently as she could before calling after him, "Would you like dinner?" She asked casually, as she swallowed her saliva repeatedly.

"Are you really asking me if I would like to eat?" Ethan asked her with great surprise etched upon his face, because it felt like something so surreal that she would care about his stomach or his well-being. Though he prepared something nice and ate with the kids already, he told her that he had not.

Ava checked the pots in the kitchen to see if there was still food, and the cooker was shimmering with warm food because Beatrice had just prepared it less than an hour ago. She served some out for Ethan and arranged the desserts from her fridge, in the perfect way that she usually did for him in the past, and also served some for herself too before taking her seat across from him.

Ethan was so grateful when