Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 213

Luca, unlike me, is having no such problems. He all but inhales his food. I try not to stare, but there's no way he's actually tasting it.

"Stop." Onai glares at him.

It goes right over Luca's head. "Dad says I'm growing and I need all the food I can get." The younger boy wipes his hands on the table and reaches over to Onai's plate to-

I look away before Onai manages to kill him over a croissant.

Focusing on the task at hand, I pick up my breakfast biscuit, eyeing the steaming egg and cheese layers. I'll admit, it does look good... I slowly take a bite. "Mmm," I say dramatically to Axel, hoping he'll believe me so we can finally leave this place. "It's delicious." Surprisingly, I actually like it.

Everyone breathes for what seems like the first time in a while, especially Axel. The chef lets out a sigh of relief too, adjusting her coat. "I knew it." She nods curtly to her staff.

Axel smiles, nodding back. Then he turns to me, rubbing my shoulder gently. "See? That's why you can't skip breakfast. You were hungry."

"I wasn't," I say, scarfing it down.

He shakes his head and tries to get me to take another bite.

Note to self: Never let Axel hear my stomach growl again.

He all but dragged me to the nearest food place when he identified where the "whale noises" were coming from-me. I sigh. Don't get me wrong, I love the attention. I love to feel cared for, but not at the expense of his peace of mind. Even now he's watching me like a hawk. He looks so anxious, even though he's trying his best to hide it behind a smile. Maybe he's fooling someone, but it's not me.

I look at his untouched food. I thought the wolf argument with Onai was a fluke, but it wasn't. Something's wrong.

"You know," I say. "You're not eating either."

He raises an eyebrow. Slowly, he turns to his plate as if it just appeared. "...Oh." He takes a bite of his sandwich and turns back to me. Then he tries to get me to eat again.

"Did you eat breakfast?" I ask him.

"I'm fine," he says, but Onai shakes his head.

I frown, but before I can do anything, Axel hands me some of the orange juice he forced me to get. "Drink this. It's good for you."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because fruits are a vital source of vitamin C for humans," he says. "But maybe you'd prefer kiwis or pineapples... Cantaloupe?" he keeps talking, but that's not what I meant exactly.

I sigh, getting up.

He follows me with his eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Can you watch our food for a second?" I ask the others.