Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3098

The moment she walked through the doors and spotted Xavier, Norah's mood instantly brightened. She flashed a beaming smile and waved. "Boss!"

However, Xavier merely gave a noncommittal grunt and turned back to the kitchen to keep working.

Norah froze for a second. Seeing that the dinner rush was picking up, she quickly threw on an apron to help.

While she was in the kitchen picking up orders, Zachary handed her a steaming bowl of stew. "This is made with the wild mushrooms and ribs you and the boss brought back from Bloomfield. It just finished cooking—try it!"

Norah took a bite of a mushroom, and her eyes lit up immediately. "Wow, that's amazing!"

"Let me get in on that!" Damian squeezed past, casually grabbing a piece of meat with his bare fingers and popping it into his mouth. He chewed enthusiastically, nodding. "Incredible! The mushroom flavor is so rich. Pure mountain goods!"

He gestured for Norah to keep eating before dropping his voice. "What brings you by tonight?"

Norah smiled sweetly. "I missed you guys! Plus, I got off work early today."

Damian let out a cheeky laugh, leaning in closer. "Missed us, or missed a certain someone?"

Norah didn't back down, answering boldly. "If you know the answer, why are you asking?"

Damian lowered his voice to a whisper. "When the boss came back last night, the light in his room stayed on until the crack of dawn. I bet he was missing you too!"

Norah's cheeks flushed a pretty pink, her eyes darting around. "How do you know he was missing me?"

"Well, there's nobody else to miss!" Damian chuckled.

Norah's smile grew even sweeter. "Thanks, Damian!"

"What are you thanking me for?" Damian joked. "We're all just waiting for the wedding invites!"

Norah nodded confidently. "I'll make sure you guys party for three days straight!"

Damian threw his head back and laughed out loud.

Suddenly, Xavier walked in, his brow heavily furrowed. "We're slammed out there. Why are you all huddled in the kitchen?"

Norah pouted in protest, holding Circe closer to inspect her. "She's gorgeous! How is she ugly?"

Xavier didn't respond, simply continuing to hammer his nails into the wood.

Norah stood up to go give Circe a bath. Before she went inside, she glanced back at Xavier. He was crouched in the dim, shifting light, his sharp features shadowed and unreadable.

When they were in Bloomfield, he had been so warm and close to her. But the second they returned to J City, he had instantly reverted back to this cold, distant wall.

Norah felt a slight ache in her chest, but it didn't extinguish a single spark of her fighting spirit. If anything, it made her want to push even harder!

Two days later, Sunday night.

After waving goodbye to the final table of guests, Damian and the team scrubbed down the main dining room.

Zachary walked out of the back, surprised to see the front doors already locked. "It's not even closing time yet. Why did we shut the doors?"

The second the words left his mouth, every light in the restaurant suddenly went pitch black.