Memories Of The Night

Setting aside the cookies on the table, she goes to open the door to reveal Aaron standing outside in his bespoke suit.

Seeing the man who has repeatedly stalked and hara.s.sed her in the past appears at her small apartment makes Katrina balk. Even though she is a little dense sometimes, she instantly becomes wary and defensive at his appearance.

Upon seeing Aaron, she immediately tries to close the door.

But Aaron is faster, he shoves one foot in front of the door and pushes it open with his hand. Then he announces, "I came for Beta."

Katrina is rendered speechless by his words. Since Aaron"s dog is still in her apartment, it isn"t appropriate to make him wait outside.

Pursing her lips, she gives way to Aaron and heads inside.

Aaron follows her and closes the door behind her. When he walks in, he sees Beta on the floor, eating cookies that Katrina obviously gave him.

The scene momentarily renders Aaron"s speechlessness.

Katrina treats his dog more warmly than she does him. When Beta shows up, she welcomes him in and even serves him cookies.

On the other hand, it"s almost impossible for him to get through the door. Her first instinct upon seeing him is to shut the door in his face. Knowing his dog is getting treated better than he makes him feel horrible. The reality couldn"t be any more depressing.

Katrina goes to the water cooler and pours Aaron a cup of water. "When did Beta arrive?" she asks.

Aaron takes the water from Katrina and places it on the coffee table in front of him. "He arrived a while ago. He"s been sick since then. After staying in the pet clinic these past few days, he feels better now.

"He"s been missing you a lot. As soon as he was picked up from the clinic, he was clamoring to see you, so I brought him over. I had an emergency to deal with earlier, so I left him at your door."

Aaron turns to Beta and continues, "He hasn"t had much of an appet.i.te these days, but it"s good to see him eat the cookies you gave him... I wonder if he was just feeling lovesick."

Listening to Aaron, Katrina wonders if he has the ability to talk to dogs, or if he has some kind of supernatural power to read Beta"s mind.

Hearing that Beta has been sick makes Katrina worried. He must have suffered a lot recently. She can"t help but touch Beta"s head in concern.

Watching Katrina squat on the floor and feed Beta cookies one after the other, Aaron becomes jealous. "I"m hungry, too," he says.

Katrina looks up and gives him the cookie she is about to feed Beta. "Do you want one?" she asks.

Aaron freezes, unable to say a word. Katrina is actually making fun of him.

The last thing he wants to do is to push Katrina into the bed and satisfy his hunger. He doesn"t want to have his way with her out of anger, only to ignite her hatred for him all over again.

Amidst the joking, Katrina hears faint gurgling from Aaron"s stomach.

Every day, Aaron has to work hard all day in addition to taking good care of Beta. He must hardly have any time for dinner.

Katrina isn"t cruel enough to ignore Aaron"s suffering.

After all, whenever she was in trouble in the past, he helped her in secret. When she was in a bad mood and wallowing in depression, he accompanied her and took her out to the arcade as a distraction.

For the sake of his kindness, she can"t bear to see him go hungry.

Katrina pa.s.ses the cookies to Aaron and tells him to continue feeding Beta. Then she gets up and goes to the kitchen.

When she opens the fridge, there aren"t many ingredients inside: a few eggs, two tomatoes, and a handful of noodles.

Back when they were in Hadley City, Aaron was spoiled by a group of world-cla.s.s chefs in his villa. Every meal they served was high-cla.s.s and made with the utmost attentiveness.

In contrast, Katrina lives a much humbler life. She wonders if her cooking would be good enough for him

The kitchen and living room are connected, separated only by a simple sliding door to block soot coming from the outdoors.

Katrina looks towards the living room and asks, "Is tomato and egg noodles, alright?"

Aaron replies immediately, "Yes."

He doesn"t care how simple the meal is, and he"ll like anything that Katrina will make him. Even if she cooks him a bowl of bland noodles with no nutrition value, he"s certain that he will find it delicious. As long as she makes him something by herself, he will be happy.

Katrina busies herself in the kitchen, was.h.i.+ng and cutting vegetables, turning on the stove, pouring oil into the pan…

Aaron gives the cookie to Beta and walks to the kitchen door, watching her busy figure through the transparent gla.s.s.

In his eyes, every move she makes is graceful and beautiful.

Watching his beloved woman making a midnight snack for him gives him unspeakable happiness. Aaron feels a deep warmth in his chest, and his insides begin to go soft.

In no time, the egg and tomato noodles are ready. The pot is steaming hot, mouth-watering aroma filling the small apartment.

While Katrina transfers the noodles to a bowl, some soup splashes onto her hand. She reflexively pulls her hand away.

Leaning against the door nearby, Aaron immediately notices something is wrong. Realizing that Katrina must have gotten burned, his face instantly turns serious.

Aaron quickly opens the door and rushes in. He takes Katrina"s hand and pulls her towards the sink. Turning on the tap, he soothes her hand with cool water.

Aaron"s sudden movements take Katrina by surprise. One moment she is transferring the noodles into a bowl, and in the next instant, she is being manhandled towards the sink.

It takes her a few seconds to realize that Aaron thinks she got burned.

He rushed in so fast, has he been watching by the door the whole time? She wonders. Aaron was content to watch her make a simple meal. Katrina doesn"t see anything exciting about her cooking.

Face a little flushed, Katrina pulls back her hand quickly. "I"m fine."

It"s not unusual to accidentally burn yourself while cooking. Katrina is not such a delicate person that she needs attention for such a trivial thing. Besides, she no longer feels any pain. Aaron is making a mountain out of a molehill.