Chapter 1

The endless chopping sound whenever the knife touched the chopping board was only getting louder while time passed by. Followed by the bristling noise from the meat thrown in the pan with oil, the open tap with flowing water and its gushing sound in the sink from time to time, turned the kitchen into stadium-like while an orchestra played a delicate, quiet war song. The conductor was no other than the head chef, Audrey, who stayed up for two nights since she came back from her honeymoon trip, did nothing but experiment with dishes in Nathan’s place.

She prepared the food from breakfast to supper without taking a bite for herself. Her long hair was tied in a bun, wrapped with a hairnet, and this made her look neat yet messy at the same time. The dark circles around her swollen eyes were visible even from afar. Her lips were chapped and dry, and her face was pale. Overall, she looked distressed.

“You should do something to stop her,” Francesca voiced out when she woke up and found Audrey still busying herself in front of the stove. The blonde was concerned about the chef’s health, and she wished she would take a break but didn’t have enough courage to talk to the other. “Nathan, are you just going to let her get wasted?” She looked over to Nathan’s side who was sitting on the couch a few meters away from where she stood. The man was surprisingly calm despite what Audrey was doing.

“Wasted? She’s only cooking which is not new. It’s better than having her in the bar and get drunk. Let her do what she wants,” Nathan replied in his usual tone. He knew how Audrey handle her stress, and he learned to let her do what she wanted until she gave up on her own. “It’s been only 48 hours or so since she started to cook like that. She’ll get tired around 55th hour.”

Francesca heaved a sigh. If Nathan was telling the truth then there should be less than 7 hours until Audrey would take a rest. She shrugged. “At least make her eat something. How many times did you go out to buy ingredients for her yesterday? Yet you didn’t ask her to eat with us even once,” she said.

Nathan stood up and put his hands in his pocket. He walked over towards Francesca who was standing by the kitchen doorway. He flicked her forehead and smiled at her. “Don’t worry. Auddie may be upset, but she won’t harm herself. She must have eaten something while we’re not looking,” he said. They were looking at each other’s eyes when Audrey faked a cough. Nathan was quick to avert his gaze and so Francesca.

“Good morning, lovers. Breakfast is ready. Please take your seat,” Audrey said in her low voice. She had no intention to intimidate anyone despite sounding scary, but she couldn’t help it. “What do you guys want for dessert? I’ll whip some cream right away if you’re into a cake, what do you think?”

“We ain’t lovers, Auddie,” Nathan replied nonchalantly. “Why don’t you join us to eat?” He suggested with a wide smile. He knew why Audrey was devastated, but he couldn’t let her wrap herself in any negative atmosphere so, as much as he could, he wanted her to feel at ease while she was in his place. Nathan wouldn’t let her leave for somewhere as well unless she was fine which was quite impossible in the meantime.

Audrey shook her head while serving the meal she prepared for them. She shrugged before she gave him a response. “I already had some bread earlier. You guys should enjoy your food alone. Don’t worry, I’ll go take my time to sleep after making a mess in your kitchen.” She took off the apron she was wearing and hang it on the chair. Audrey ambled from the kitchen with her gloomy face.

“You can sleep in my room, Auddie. I mean it was initially yours,” Francesca mumbled, awkwardly. Why wouldn’t she feel uncomfortable when inviting her? It was indeed Audrey’s room that Nathan prepared anyway.

“Hmm. ‘Kay,” Audrey replied inaudibly, and she slumped herself on the couch instead. She didn’t care where, but she needed to rest her aching back. It didn’t take her a minute before her eyes went shut. They were so heavy, and she could no longer keep them open. As her sight became dark, her mind traveled back a few days ago to reminisce about the pain she thought she would never felt again after she married Shane. Little did she know, her difficult life was only getting started.

Shane’s face which she always adored saying she could stare at it the whole day flashed in her head. She let her mind dominate her as she kept her eyes folded. She was exhausted due to lack of sleep but at the same time, she couldn’t easily fall asleep. Not when she couldn’t get rid of the event that happened a few days ago when she thought she would be finally living a life filled with affection from her husband and ended up getting an opposite treatment.

It was one sunny afternoon, the superstar Shane Vargas stood in front of the crowd inside the luxurious and well-decorated hall. He was wearing his usual charming smile that could melt almost every lady’s heart. Wearing his best suit, he called on everyone’s attention. His lips spread wider a moment before he opened his mouth. What he said next was like an explosion that broke Audrey’s well-being.

“I’m going to be a father. Stephanie is pregnant with my baby,” he said.

The whole country was shocked by his big news. Different opinions spread out on the internet in just a few seconds. It seemed like people had nothing to do but to pry into the superstar's personal life.

Meanwhile, Audrey was silently standing in the corner, blaming herself for being nosey when she was told not to attend the press conference yet still coming her way to find out about Shane's 'Grand Announcement' only to crashed her heart into bits. She walked away quietly with trembling hands and legs. Her sobs remained unheard amid the crowd. That was when she realized, he was impossible to reach. Impossible to be completely hers.

'Never again, Shane.'