The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 40: Love In The Kitchen

Chapter 40: Love In The Kitchen

Annalise browsed through the kitchen cabinets as she searched for something to fix a quick meal for herself and Valerius.

It was already past midnight and the castle was filled with complete silence. Thankfully, she had her husband accompanying her which helped her to relax and focus on the task at hand.

After looking for a while, she finally found eggs, milk, bread, and some leftover braised chicken that Aunt Claire had probably cooked for dinner.

Without wasting any time, she immediately started working on fixing a meal as her stomach was protesting in hunger. Besides, Lord Valerius was also waiting for his meal. She couldn’t deny that she was a little bit nervous. After all, it was the first time any of her husbands was going to taste something cooked by her.

"Do you need my help?" Lord Valerius asked as he came to stand next to her and watched her work on the eggs. From the way her hands moved so swiftly and smoothly, she seemed like someone who knew her way through a kitchen.

"Not really. I can manage this much on my own." Annalise replied as she continued with her work. She was aware of her husband’s gaze that was fixed on her as he watched her work and it took every bit of her strength to not get flustered.

It barely took her twenty or so minutes before she was done preparing the food and had already arranged them on the little dining table that she had previously asked Mr. Warren to place in one of the empty corners of the kitchen.

As she filled the silver glasses with the warm milk, she noticed Lord Valerius walking towards the dining table with candlesticks in his hands.

"These are...?" She asked in confusion. The kitchen was already well-lit, so she couldn’t see the need for more candles.

Instead of answering her question, Lord Valerius continued with his plan. He arranged the candlesticks, with fresh candles, on the table and lit them. He also pulled out a small porcelain vase with fresh purple and pink tulips.

Annalise watched in silence as the man turned their simple late midnight dinner into a romantic moment. The way her heart was thumping inside her chest and the warmth that she felt cocooning her soul, clearly stated that she was more than just appreciating his efforts.

"Have a seat," Valerius placed his palm against her lower back as he ushered her towards her seat before himself settling down on the seat opposite to hers.

Annalise was having a hard time moving her eyes away from her husband as he looked just like an ethereal being who could only exist in myths. His ice-blue eyes, long silver hair, fair complexion, and tall height always succeeded in seizing her attention.

"Are you not going to eat, Annalise?" Valerius asked when he noticed her staring at him in a trance.

"I... Uh..." Annalise got flustered as she realized that he had caught her staring at him. Instead of trying further to speak, she just picked up her glass of milk and took a huge sip.

Since she was too afraid to look at him again, she lost the chance to see the beautiful smile that spilled on his lips.

The two of them finished their dinner in silence but thankfully, it didn’t seem awkward. And once they were done, the two of them worked together to clean up the kitchen, quickly erasing any evidence of their late-night visit to the kitchen.

Once they were done, Annalise suddenly broke out into giggles as she found their actions hilarious. Why did they even have to try to be so sneaky? They were in their own house and still acting like someone was going to question them.

"What is it?" Lord Valerius asked as he closed the cabinets and moved to where she was standing next to the stone counter.

"I... I just find this funny." She confessed as looked at her husband who seemed to agree with her as he too nodded his head and spoke, "I think so too."

Silence took over as the two stood there, not having anything to talk about which made the situation a little awkward.

Annalise tried to think about something to say. As they were done with their meals, they should return to their rooms and get some sleep. However, the problem was that Kenric was still sleeping in her room, and in that case, she find it weird to take her leave and go back to her room.

Her train of thought came to a stop when she felt Valerius placing his hand over hers which was resting on the edge of the counter. She looked at their hands and noticed how his big hand covered her small one completely. Her eyes moved to look at the man and she found him looking back at her.

There was something in his eyes that caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach and a cold wave to hit her body - a sensation completely opposite to how she felt with Kenric or even Damien.

"Why is your aura so cold?" She found herself asking as she grazed her thumb against his fingers, noticing how good his cold skin felt against hers.

"Because my power core is built of ice. Am I making you uncomfortable?" Valerius tried to pull his hand away but she stopped him as she took full hold of his hand. "Don’t!"

Her voice was so sharp and loud that it ranged through the kitchen walls and made Valerius look at her in surprise.

"I... I mean... there’s nothing uncomfortable. Instead, I like how your skin feels against mine." She confessed in a much lower and softer voice only to get alarmed later when she realized how her words could be interpreted.

The shock made her try to pull away but this time around, it was Valerius’ turn to stop her as he pulled her straight into his embrace, wrapping his arm around her waist to make sure she couldn’t pull away.

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