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chapter 43
Last Updated:
2025-04-07 05:52:47
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The chef and The charmer chapter 44
The air was thick with humidity as we stepped outside, the garden lush with tropical flowers and towering palm trees swaying gently in the breeze. The morning sun cast a golden glow on the table set with fine china, as if everything about this moment was meant to impress, to look perfect.Damien’s hand brushed against mine, his fingers warm, but there was no comfort in his touch. It was a fleeting connection, barely enough to soothe the unease that had settled in my chest since last night.I followed him to the table, my steps slow, measured. Morgan, Damien’s mother, as usual sat at the head, her expression unreadable, like she the queen presiding over some royal council. Beside her was his Uncle Anthony, loud and boisterous, already cracking jokes that didn’t quite land. His cousin Miranda sat across from him, her eyes narrowed, calculating—always on guard. Aunt Claire sat silently, as if waiting for the storm to hit, her gaze darting between the two of us, sharp but quiet.They were
Last Updated : 2025-04-08The chef and The charmer chapter 45
Damien povI hate the smell of this room—the heavy scent of jasmine and the stale air that seems to hang like a fog. I can’t escape it, not here, not with her. My mother. She’s sitting there, on that damned velvet chair, with a glass of wine in hand, her eyes narrowed like she’s studying me from across the room. Everything about her exudes control, dominance, like she owns the space. I used to care about it. I used to be afraid of it. But not anymore.“Damien,” she says, her voice cutting through the silence like a blade. “We need to talk about the engagement.”I take a breath, steadying myself. Here it comes.“ Mother, Evelyn and I aren’t getting engaged.” I say it as calmly as I can, but I know the tension in my voice betrays me.Her lips curl into a thin, almost disdainful smile. “You’re being stubborn, just like your father. He never listened to reason either.”I can’t stop the flash of irritation that sparks in me. “Don’t bring my father into this.”“Oh, I’ll bring him up if I wa
Last Updated : 2025-04-09The chef and The charmer chapter 46
Damien povThe soft hum of the private jet was the only sound that filled the space as we descended into New York. Outside the window, the skyline came into view—a cold, familiar silhouette against the night sky. I leaned back in my seat, eyes fixed ahead, my jaw tight, arms crossed. Evelyn sat beside me, her hands clasped together in her lap. She kept stealing glances at me, but I didn’t turn to meet her eyes. I couldn’t. Not yet.The landing was smooth. The kind of landing that made you forget you were ever up in the air, but I was far from grounded.The ride to the penthouse was a quiet one. The black SUV glided through Manhattan traffic with ease. Streetlights flickered across my face as I stared out the window. My reflection in the glass looked just like I felt—tense, distant, unreadable. Evelyn finally broke the silence.“Are you okay?”Her voice was soft, almost hesitant.“Yeah,” I said, too quickly. My voice didn’t carry the weight of truth, but I didn’t have the energy to pre
Last Updated : 2025-04-10The chef and The charmer chapter 47
Evelyn povThe morning light bled softly through the sheer curtains of Damien’s penthouse, casting golden stripes across the marble countertops and hardwood floors. I stood in the kitchen, barefoot, hair pulled into a loose bun, flipping fluffy blueberry pancakes on the stove. The smell of vanilla, cinnamon, and warm butter filled the space, offering a fragile sense of normalcy after the stormy whirlwind of the past two days.Damien had barely spoken since we landed last night. He wore that stoic mask of his, one that didn’t break even when I gently asked if he was okay during the drive back from the airport. He’d simply nodded, eyes fixed on the skyline through the tinted windows, his fingers clenched so tightly his knuckles turned pale. I didn’t press. I could feel the weight he carried.What his mother said to him… the look in his eyes when he stepped onto the beach to tell me we were leaving Miami—it haunted me. There was pain there, real and raw. A wounded little boy buried beneat
Last Updated : 2025-04-11The chef and The charmer chapter 48
It had been a few days since that cozy breakfast with Chris and Damien—the kind of morning that stitched warmth back into your bones after a storm. Since then, the atmosphere in the penthouse had settled into a rhythm I found surprisingly comforting. I cooked, Damien worked, and somehow, the silence we shared was no longer awkward. It was… soft. Familiar. Like we were both learning how to exist in each other’s orbit.But something inside me had shifted. Ever since Damien held up my scrappy little notebook and told me I could turn it into something real, something shareable, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. What if I did? What if I actually created something from these random recipes and ideas that had lived only in my head and on paper? I found myself sketching out themed menu ideas—personalized brunches, comfort dinners, elegant date-night sets. Each one had a story, a feeling, a reason. For once, it didn’t feel like I was just cooking. It felt like I was telling a story
Last Updated : 2025-04-11The chef and The charmer chapter 49
I told myself a hundred times that this wasn’t supposed to happen.Not the butterflies when Damien walked into a room. Not the subtle ache in my chest when he smiled at someone else. And definitely not the way my thoughts kept drifting back to him when I was alone.This was fake. A performance. A contract sealed with obligations and convenience. But lately… it’s started to feel like something else.And that terrified me.I stepped out of the guest room, now basically my room, and headed down the hallway. I didn’t mean to stop, not at first. But as I passed Damien’s room, I noticed the door slightly ajar. i know i shouldn’t eavesdropped on peoples conversation especially Damien’s but i cant help itHis voice—sharp, low, and edged with frustration—filtered through the crack. I froze.“I told you this already,” Damien snapped. “I’m not going to let you manipulate me into staying, Mother.”Silence on the other end, then the hiss of her voice—his phone must’ve been on speaker.“You would g
Last Updated : 2025-04-12The chef and The charmer chapter 50
The smell of coffee and freshly toasted bagels drifted through the penthouse, dancing with the sound of sizzling eggs. I stood at the stove, barefoot, flipping an omelet while Damian sat at the kitchen island scrolling through something on his phone.It had become a quiet rhythm, these mornings with him. The tension that once hung in the air like a storm cloud had softened, replaced by something quieter, something… warmer.“Evelyn, I would like you to accompany me to a children’s charity event tonight at 8 PM. Will you be able to join me?”Damien said whiles scrolling through his phone“sure” i repiled“Did you sneak goat cheese into my omelet again?” he asked, raising a brow.I smirked. “You liked it last time.”“I tolerated it,” he said, but I caught the slight lift at the corner of his mouth. A playful flicker I was seeing more often lately.“Liar. You cleaned your plate.”Damian was about to retort when his phone buzzed against the counter top. The name Chris flashed on the screen.
Last Updated : 2025-04-12The chef and The charmer chapter 51
I’ve always found comfort in creating. Whether it was through the careful stir of a simmering pot or scribbling quick notes in the margins of a food-stained notebook, cooking had always been more than just nourishment to me. It was storytelling.So when Damien casually mentioned again over coffee one morning that I should share my recipes online, I hesitated. “You think people would actually want to follow me for that?” I’d asked, sipping slowly.He’d smirked at me from across the kitchen counter, one brow raised. “Eve, come on. You’re basically a walking Pinterest board. If you don’t post those recipes, someone else will—and then I’ll be forced to pretend I like someone else’s food.”I rolled my eyes, but his teasing tone was oddly encouraging. His belief in me—real or not—had a way of sinking in, settling beneath my skin. Later that day, I found myself arranging a flat-lay of my brunch, jotting down the recipe, and uploading it to a new Instagram account called Eats with Evelyn.To
Last Updated : 2025-04-13
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The chef and The charmer chapter 58
EvelynWaking up in Damien’s arms was… not part of the plan.And yet, here we were.Somewhere between my REM cycle and existential crisis, I’d apparently decided his chest was my new pillow. His arm was snug around my waist, and one of his legs—his legs, people—was tangled with mine.I blinked at the ceiling in silence.God, he smells good.No. Nope. Brain, don’t do this. We’re not doing this today. He’s my boss. A fake boyfriend. A relationship prop with very nice arms. That’s it.I carefully, very carefully, tried to wiggle away like some kind of stealthy ninja.Damien grumbled in his sleep and tightened his hold.I froze. My soul left my body. For a second, I thought he might kiss me in his sleep and I’d have to legally commit arson just to escape the situation.But after a beat, he relaxed again, and I used that window of mercy to scoot to the edge of the bed like it had grown lava.Freedom.I slipped into the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face, and gave myself a pep talk in
The chef and The charmer chapter 57
If I’d ever doubted Damien’s ability to perform under pressure, that doubt evaporated the moment he extended the bouquet toward my mom.“For the most beautiful woman in the room,” he said with a megawatt smile that could sell toothpaste to a shark.My mom blinked. Then blinked again. Then did the thing where she tilted her head slightly and raised her eyebrows in that “okay, I’m listening” kind of way.“You’re charming,” she said, eyeing the bouquet before taking it. “Dangerously so.”“I try,” Damien replied smoothly, removing his suit jacket like he’d done it a hundred times in this very hallway—which, knowing him, maybe he had. He was that kind of guy. Effortless.I gave him a warning glance over my shoulder as I walked back to the kitchen. “Don’t lay it on too thick.”He winked. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”Dinner was already filling the penthouse with the comforting scent of garlic, herbs, and butter. My mom placed the flowers in a vase—because yes, apparently this place had vases just
The chef and The charmer chapter 56
The ride through Manhattan was something else.My mom sat beside me like she was going to a royal gala instead of just visiting her daughter’s… totally fake relationship penthouse. She had this air of “I’m not impressed” plastered on her face, but her eyes betrayed her. They were darting around like a kid in a candy store. I caught the little smile tugging at the corners of her lips and the way she subtly leaned toward the window every time we passed something remotely shiny.“Still the same old buildings,” she said, flicking a hand toward the skyline. “Little more glass, that’s all.”“Mhm,” I replied, biting back a smirk. “Totally normal street. Just happens to house… you know, multi-million-dollar penthouses. No big deal.”She gave me a side-eye like I was trying to pull something over on her. She wasn’t wrong. I was.But I was also enjoying the game.When the car slowed to a stop, the doorman rushed to open my door with a professional nod. Mom stepped out like she was used to this
The chef and The charmer chapter 55
It was Monday morning, and the warm sunlight spilled into the room through sheer curtains, gently coaxing me out of sleep. For a second, I didn’t want to move. My body ached in that lazy, pleasant way that follows a day spent walking, laughing, and feeling like the world wasn’t such a complicated place. Yesterday with Damien had been… nice. Too nice, maybe. It had felt real. Too real for something that was supposed to be fake.I stretched beneath the covers, staring at the ceiling with a soft smile tugging at my lips. The way Damien looked at me when I wasn’t paying attention, the little gestures—opening doors, taking my hand when we walked along the shoreline, and the way he let me ramble about the best beach snacks—played like a movie montage in my head.We’d gone to the beach. One of his beaches, apparently. He owned it. That still hadn’t quite sunk in. Who just owns a beach? Damien, apparently. And yet, despite how surreal that should’ve felt, it had been peaceful. Calm. Just the
The chef and The charmer chapter 54
Evelyn povThings were finally starting to settle after a few chaotic days—the whole Lawrence drama, the unexpected leak prank—everything had thrown us off balance. But Damien, ever the calm in the storm, somehow managed to regain control of the situation and smooth things over. It felt like the first real breath of peace in days.It was just another quiet Sunday morning, sunlight spilling lazily through the curtains, when Damien turned to me with that familiar spark in his eyes and said, “Get ready—I’ve got somewhere to take you.”His tone held that mysterious edge that always made my heart race just a little fasterI should’ve known something was up when Damian added for me to “wear something comfortable but nice.” Those were the kinds of instructions you gave someone you were trying to impress, not someone you were fake dating to get your mother off your back.Still, I found myself slipping into a soft linen dress and pulling my hair into a loose bun, not for him, obviously. Just…
The chef and The charmer chapter 53
Damien povThe past few days had dragged me through the mud—emotionally, politically, and now, publicly.Since Lawrence aired his grievances on national television, accusing me of manipulating my way into the CEO seat, my world had become a media circus. The name Blackstone was trending for all the wrong reasons. Not for our legacy in luxury hospitality, or our latest expansion into eco-retreats—but because of a bitter half-brother with a microphone and an agenda.The moment the interview aired, my phone didn’t stop ringing. Clients. Investors. Journalists. Even former flames who suddenly remembered my number. But the call that hit the hardest came from my mother.She never begged. That wasn’t her style. My mother was a woman who led with iron and ice, and I’d long accepted that her love came dressed in expectations. But that night, after Lawrence’s tirade, during our phone called she repeated herself again this time with her voice trembling.“Don’t step down, Damien,” she had said,al
The chef and The charmer chapter 52
Damien povThe past few days had been a blur of tension, damage control, and emotional static I couldn’t quite shake.It all started when Lawrence—my half-brother—decided to get cozy with a primetime talk show host and vomit our family drama on national television.I’d seen it live. Watched with clenched fists as he dragged my name across the screen like it was some pawn in his tragic sob story. Spun tales of me being a “corrupt heir,” a “silver-spoon narcissist” who didn’t deserve to inherit Blackstone. His delivery was polished, charismatic even, and laced with just enough truth to make the lies sting harder.The phones started ringing before the credits rolled. Investors, journalists, our PR team.But the worst call came from my mother.“I TOLD YOUR FATHER NOT TO BRING THAT BOY INTO OUR LIVES!” she shrieked into the phone, no hello, no warning. “But no, he just had to play savior—had to ‘do the right thing.’ And now look at the mess!”“Mother—” I tried.“Don’t you ‘Mother’ me. I sw
The chef and The charmer chapter 51
I’ve always found comfort in creating. Whether it was through the careful stir of a simmering pot or scribbling quick notes in the margins of a food-stained notebook, cooking had always been more than just nourishment to me. It was storytelling.So when Damien casually mentioned again over coffee one morning that I should share my recipes online, I hesitated. “You think people would actually want to follow me for that?” I’d asked, sipping slowly.He’d smirked at me from across the kitchen counter, one brow raised. “Eve, come on. You’re basically a walking Pinterest board. If you don’t post those recipes, someone else will—and then I’ll be forced to pretend I like someone else’s food.”I rolled my eyes, but his teasing tone was oddly encouraging. His belief in me—real or not—had a way of sinking in, settling beneath my skin. Later that day, I found myself arranging a flat-lay of my brunch, jotting down the recipe, and uploading it to a new Instagram account called Eats with Evelyn.To
The chef and The charmer chapter 50
The smell of coffee and freshly toasted bagels drifted through the penthouse, dancing with the sound of sizzling eggs. I stood at the stove, barefoot, flipping an omelet while Damian sat at the kitchen island scrolling through something on his phone.It had become a quiet rhythm, these mornings with him. The tension that once hung in the air like a storm cloud had softened, replaced by something quieter, something… warmer.“Evelyn, I would like you to accompany me to a children’s charity event tonight at 8 PM. Will you be able to join me?”Damien said whiles scrolling through his phone“sure” i repiled“Did you sneak goat cheese into my omelet again?” he asked, raising a brow.I smirked. “You liked it last time.”“I tolerated it,” he said, but I caught the slight lift at the corner of his mouth. A playful flicker I was seeing more often lately.“Liar. You cleaned your plate.”Damian was about to retort when his phone buzzed against the counter top. The name Chris flashed on the screen.
