Chapter 38: Simple al
Mia, who had just entered her room with the al she had prepared for Mr. Ice cube, was taken aback to see him awake and wearing an annoyed expression. Did he wake up in a bad mood? She wondered to herself. He appeared ready to explode as he stared down at sothing with a darkened look.
She also glanced at what had captured his attention and realized it was her cat seeking comfort on his lap. Mia felt the urge to laugh at how he was glaring at her innocent cat as if the animal had done sothing wrong. She could guess that he wasn’t fond of cats, and he confird it by shoving the cat off the bed. However, Robby was a very stubborn cat who wouldn’t give up easily when he wanted sothing, and right now he wanted to be beside Mr. Ice cube.
"Keep your damn kitty away from ," he growled through gritted teeth as he continued to glare at the cat attempting to climb back up. Neil had never been a fan of cats, even in his youth; he preferred dogs because they were more obedient and calm. He didn’t despise cats, but he didn’t appreciate them getting too close to him. Unfortunately, it seed this cat was a persistent one who wasn’t going to back down.
Seeing the growing irration on his face, Mia quickly walked into the room and locked the door behind her, she dropped the tray on the table and picked up her cat before Mr. Ice cube would eat him raw with such glare. She had woken up earlier than her uninvited guest, and because her mother had gone out to the eatery, Mia had taken the opportunity to cook sothing for him so he could eat when he woke up. Though she bet he wouldn’t like what she made as it wasn’t sothing a rich person would eat, but she had still made it; because his stomach had been growling the whole ti she took to bath and changed her clothes.
Didn’t he eat last night? She had wondered when she heard how his stomach had been growling repeatedly, it was like his intestines were having a war in his stomach. And because she knew he might be hungry when he woke up, she had gone to the kitchen and made a simple al.
Neil, who had finally relaxed after the cat had been taken away from his side, glanced at the girl as she went to put the cat away on the other side of the room. He realized that she had freshened up and was now wearing a simple brown shirt and short black pants, which exposed her pale, smooth, and slender legs. Her brown hair was tied up in a ssy bun. He couldn’t help but notice her striking features. Her features, objectively speaking, were undoubtedly attractive even without any makeup. The symtry of her face, the way her brown eyes sparkled as she glanced at the creature she put away, he thought she was the first woman he would agree was beautiful enough to make him stare more than he should.
Neil also noticed that she was barefoot, and as he watched her feet, he subconsciously thought that they looked like a child’s compared to his size twelve feet. However, he didn’t show any expression that would reveal all those silly thoughts that went through his mind. He watched as she walked back towards him and picked up the tray she had brought to the room, placing it beside him on the bed, she said,
"Have sothing to eat before I check your wound for any signs of infection." Then you can leave. Mia thought in her mind as she wasn’t comfortable having to share her room with soone as intimidating as him, and besides she didn’t want the police to co knocking into their house searching for a criminal and finding him in her room. That wouldn’t just cause a big scandal but also implicate her into sothing she wasn’t aware about. Though for so reasons, she believed it in her heart that he wasn’t a criminal, however she also didn’t want soone to find out a man had slept in her room. So it was best he leaves before anyone knows.
Neil, who was given the tray of food arched a brow as he glanced down at the simple al the girl had prepared. It was a hearty dish of rice porridge, seasoned with a mix of spices that filled the air with a comforting aroma. He frowned, his gaze shifting away from the food, unsure about consuming sothing so different from his accustod als. Though he rarely ate traditional als, he hadn’t tasted porridge since the death of his mother, who always made it for him whenever he was sick in childhood.
Sensing his hesitation, Mia looked up from where she had went to sit down on her desk to do so of her assignnts and t his eyes. "I know it’s not what you’re used to, but don’t judge it by appearance alone, you need to eat." she said, her voice gentle yet firm, like a mother nagging her child to eat.
Neil’s expression twitched a bit, he didn’t like it when anybody told him what to do, but for so reasons the concern in her eyes as she urged him to eat, surprised him and amazed him at the sa ti. When was the last ti soone urged him to eat for his own good? He couldn’t even rember the last ti he ate sothing made at ho, because he didn’t have a ho but a house, a big empty mansion with no one to remind or urge him to eat.
However, despite those thoughts, Neil remained skeptical as he continued to scrutinize the humble offering on his lap. Was he supposed to eat this simple looking porridge or just order for sothing much better online?
Mia, displeased with his apparent disdain for the food she made, spoke up again. "I didn’t have much to work with, but it’s good, I promise."
Despite Mia’s reassurance, Neil didn’t make any attempt to pick up the spoon. The food didn’t look all that bad, he just wasn’t used to eating sothing as simple as a porridge, it had been a long ti since he last ate porridge, and the thought of eating sothing that was last cooked for him by his late mother after such a long ti, made him reluctant as he didn’t want to rember anything about her nor his life before.
Mia, who misunderstood his reluctance to eat, didn’t like how he regarded the food as if it were poison, she decided to speak again. "I get it, it’s not a fancy al, but it’s nourishing. And right now, that’s what you need, Mr. Bennett. But If you are not comfortable eating it, I will not force you and you can keep the food and find your way out of my room. However, make sure to leave when there is no one outside to see you co out of this apartnt. You_"
Her words were cut off by the sound of his stomach growling loudly, drawing her attention down to his flattened toned abs. Curiousity etched across her face as she asked, "When was the last ti you ate?" She had noticed his stomach had been growling since this morning.
A week ago, Neil thought, but he didn’t say it out and ignored her completely as if she had not just been talking to him. He picked up the spoon and took a huge bite with his impassive expression. The flavors burst in his mouth, surprising him with their richness and warmth. His hunger, perhaps more intense than he realized, kicked in, and without caring that Mia was observing him, he started devouring the rest of the al. The porridge, simple as it was, beca a feast in his hungry state. He even drank the soup eagerly, savoring every sip. He would admit, the girl wasn’t just intelligent but also knows how to cook.
Neil wasn’t the type to eat like this, but for the first ti he ate sothing he quite enjoyed, or perhaps it was due to his hunger that made him feel like this was the best thing he had ever eaten in ages. In no less then five minutes, the bowl on his lap was empty. He then picked up the glass of water and drank from it, without a care where the water had ca from like most of the rich people would care.
Relieved to see him finally finished eating, Mia couldn’t help but smile. "See, it wasn’t so bad, right?"
"Hmm," he humd indifferently, hiding his enjoynt of the delicious porridge.
He noticed Mia’s disappointed expression at his cold response to her cooking. Her smile vanished as she got up and approached him to take the tray back. He didn’t understand why he cared if she was upset or not; he wasn’t usually concerned about people’s emotions unless they affected him. However, he felt compelled to and his words to make her feel better.
"The food was good," he said flatly. But his sudden complint seed to stun her, and she spun around to face him. This ti, her smile was even wider, accentuating the dimples on her cheeks. As he looked at her, her innocent smile reminded him of the little girl he used to protect when they were in Mirage sa. He would ride his bicycle all the way from his father’s estate to the town fair just to get her favorite ice cream. But now, they were strangers to each other. She was no longer Mimi, and he was no longer Xavier...
As Mia left the room and went to wash the plate, Neil looked around the room once again, this ti he realized that Mia seed to really fancy gray eyed n, because all the n in the posters were gray eyed, just like his own eyes.
How strange. He thought, but then dismissed the thought as he began to think of how to leave when he couldn’t move his limbs. He needed to have the military doctor look at his wound and give it a proper treatnt, but then to get out of here, he needed his legs to walk. And calling Liam to co over to get him would only bring more attention to him and the girl who had helped him.
So technically he would be stuck here until he could move or wait until it was night when everyone were asleep and call Liam to co and get him. Normally, he wouldn’t give a hook about what anyone would say if they saw him coming out of the apartnt, he was only being cautious because he was worried about his mission being jeopardized. For all he knows, the man who shot him lived around here, so he had to be extrely careful.
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