Overbearing CEO's Contract Love
Chapter 163: Doesn’t Salt Cost Money?

Chapter 163: Doesn’t Salt Cost Money?

Damien Sterling, mustering all his courage, picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the scrambled eggs with tomatoes Emma Hart had prepared, though it only resembled the dish in appearance.

Damien couldn’t be sure if what Emma had made was actually scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Emma watched him intently until he put a piece of the egg into his mouth.

As soon as the egg entered Damien’s mouth, his brows furrowed even tighter, and he shuddered before quickly shoveling several spoonfuls of rice into his mouth to compensate.

"Emma Hart! Does salt not cost money in this house?" Damien’s reaction made it clear to Emma: the dish was definitely too salty.

She suddenly remembered, "I’m sorry, I accidentally added salt twice!"

"Emma Hart!" The man shouted in annoyance once again.

In the end, Emma Hart and Damien Sterling managed to finish the large plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, each having several glasses of water in front of them.

The dish was so salty that rice was no longer sufficient, and they had to rely on drinking water to mitigate the saltiness.

The next evening, Emma couldn’t understand where Damien found the courage to not hire a chef, especially considering how picky he was about his food.

Not only did he not find a chef, but Damien also came home for dinner again. Was he seeking punishment?

Upon entering, Damien immediately said to Emma, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and cook."

Emma looked at him in astonishment, "Are you sure?"

"Who gave you such bravery? "

Emma’s puzzled and bewildered gaze seemed not to alter any of Damien’s thoughts. "Should I do it?"

"Since you put it that way, I’ll have to show you my true skills!" Emma declared, striding confidently into the kitchen.

Today was her day for redemption. Emma had boasted that her cooking wasn’t that bad.

She recalled the meals she had prepared in the past; her grandmother, mother, and brother had all eaten them without any complaints.

It must have been just a temporary lapse due to being taken care of by others lately.

Boosting her morale, Emma took out shiitake mushrooms and bok choy.

She then meticulously measured the water-to-rice ratio with a small cup before confidently steaming the rice.

With full confidence, she was determined not to fail this time.

Today, Emma Hart had prepared an array of dishes.

Damien Sterling approached the table and first commented on the vibrant colors of the meal.

"The array of reds and greens looks quite appealing," he observed.

Emma, proud of her culinary efforts, began introducing the dishes, "Here we have braised pork ribs, bok choy with mushrooms, and a pearl and white fungus soup. Quite a feast, don’t you think?"

Damien picked up his chopsticks to taste the dishes. While not gourmet, there was a homely flavor to the meal, perfectly seasoned to avoid the need for constant water after each bite.

Seeing Damien dig in, Emma felt encouraged that her cooking might actually be decent and joined him.

After her first bite, she couldn’t help but exclaim, "This is delicious!"

"I think your taste might be off," Damien remarked.

Emma rolled her eyes at him, "Not a fan? There’s instant noodles in the fridge. Would you prefer I make some for you, Mr. President?"

Damien, slightly taken aback, simply responded, "Let’s eat."

He resignedly picked up a piece of the braised pork ribs, deciding that real food was better than instant noodles flavored like it.

Emma watched Damien, who had been silenced by her retort, and felt a surge of pride.

It seemed she had become indispensable to him, embodying the adage that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

Emma now deeply understood this sentiment.

Since she started cooking for Damien, she found herself falling in love with the art of cooking, taking over the responsibility for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

One day, as Emma was busy in the kitchen, Damien came up behind her.

Her usual discomfort at his closeness had vanished, signaling the diminishing distance between them.

"Can you make Western food?" he asked.

Emma, who didn’t know how but didn’t want to admit it, defensively replied, "But I think Chinese food is delicious, isn’t it?"

Damien, thinking ahead, asked, "What if our child goes abroad for studies? How will you take care of him?"

Already contemplating their future and potential family, Damien’s thoughts had clearly ventured far ahead.

"Then he can take care of himself. Besides, Mr. Sterling, with your wealth, hiring a few chefs to cater to every culinary whim should be a breeze. Japanese cuisine? Korean, French haute cuisine, Chinese... Haven’t you always said there’s no problem money can’t solve?"

"You have quite the knack for making bold assertions," he retorted.

"Mr. Sterling, your tastes have become increasingly discerning," she teased.

"Let’s not change the subject."

"Oh!" Emma Hart replied in a low voice.

"If you can’t cook Western food, then learn!" the man said coldly.

"Learn, learn what?" The mere thought of school gave Emma Hart a headache, and now this man wanted her to learn Western cuisine? She whined playfully.

"Yes," the man responded, sparing his words.

The next day, Emma had already forgotten about the conversation.

However, her assistant handed her a successfully enrolled cooking class registration.

The man’s efficiency was indeed impressive.

"Miss Emma, this is the cooking class Mr. Sterling enrolled you in?" the assistant said as he handed her the form.

"What?" Emma looked astonished.

The man was indeed a man of action; he had actually enrolled her in a cooking class.

That evening, upon his return, Damien Sterling asked, "Did you see the cooking class I signed you up for?"

"I’m not going!" Emma said stubbornly.

"You’ll go whether you like it or not," Damien stated, not leaving room for negotiation.

"It’s the weekend tomorrow; perfect timing."

"You’re coming with me," Emma blurted out, thinking his busy schedule would never allow it.

"Alright."

Emma was stunned and turned to look at him! She had hoped to use this as an excuse to get out of the cooking class but didn’t expect Damien Sterling to agree so readily!

Early in the morning, Mrs. Harris returned to the villa, preparing breakfast for the two. Emma was surprised to see Mrs. Harris back!

Reunited, she rushed forward to embrace Mrs. Harris, "You’re back!"

Seeing Emma’s enthusiasm, Mrs. Harris was perplexed.

"Miss Emma, why are you so excited?"

"Mrs. Harris, you have no idea how much I’ve suffered in your absence! Look!" Emma said, showing her the cooking class registration, "He signed me up for a cooking class. If you were home, I wouldn’t have to attend such classes."

After breakfast, Emma reluctantly followed Damien Sterling to the car.

Mrs. Harris watched them leave with a smile, thinking it was good for the couple to have more opportunities to spend time alone together.