Returning with Triple Treasures: My CEO Husband Is Obsessed novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Echoes of the Past

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“I said, obviously, I shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of faking my death. I should have just gotten a proper divorce and taken you for a much larger settlement…”

Isabella adopted an expression of exaggerated, obsequious regret.

“Do you have a death wish?” True to form, Xavier’s face darkened instantly. He shoved his plate and utensils aside with a sharp

clatter.

Seeing his anger flare, Isabella quickly backtracked. “It was a joke. Don’t be so serious.”

She immediately picked up a piece of steak and placed it in Xavier’s plate. This steak had been similarly marinated with a potent ghost pepper paste. It was just as treacherous as the glazed pork.

“You should eat before it gets cold.” Isabella’s voice was sickly sweet, a parody of wifely concern. Seeing her perform this act of false devotion only deepened the icy contempt in Xavier’s eyes.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“…”

Isabella feigned a blush, then set her own fork down with a decisive click. “Xavier, no matter how you treat me, as Mrs. Moore, I want to try to… bridge the distance between us. But if you’re determined to reject this olive branch, I won’t force you!”

Xavier remained silent, his gaze inscrutable.

Thoroughly annoyed, Isabella stood up and began gathering the plates. Suddenly, the tines of Xavier’s fork came down, gently blocking her wrist.

He stared at her for a long, tense moment with those unreadable eyes.

Then, he picked up the piece of steak from his bowl and put it in his mouth.

He actually ate it.

Isabella’s heart leapt into her throat. She struggled to keep her expression neutral, but her features twitched with the effort.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

But the reaction she was waiting for never came. She watched, stunned, as he chewed methodically, swallowed, and remained completely, infuriatingly composed from head to toe.

That was ghost pepper.

“Is it… good?” she finally managed to ask, her voice faint.

“Adequate,” Xavier replied, his tone flat.

“Just ‘adequate‘?” Isabella blinked, swallowing hard. “You don’t feel anything… unusual?”

Xavier studied her for another moment, then used his fork to transfer a slice of the same meat to her plate. “Not at all.”

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Chapter 12 Echoes of the Past

Isabella was baffled. Had she bought counterfeit peppers?

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Under his unwavering stare, she reluctantly picked up her own fork, cut a tiny piece, and brought it to her lips for the smallest

taste.

That single, minuscule bite was enough.

“Cough-!” An inferno erupted in her mouth. She doubled over, tears springing to her eyes uncontrollably. She grabbed her water glass and gulped it down, but the searing heat only seemed to spread across her face and scalp.

“Ghost pepper. How inventive.”

Xavier’s eyes turned glacial, his expression colder than ever. He’d known her intentions were malicious.

With that, he rose from the table and left the dining room without a backward glance.

It took Isabella a full hour to recover.

She couldn’t understand it. They had eaten from the same dish, yet he had shown no reaction whatsoever.

“Can Xavier actually tolerate spicy food now?” she asked the young maid who was quietly clearing the table.

“No,” the maid replied carefully, keeping her voice low. “Mr. Moore has a very low tolerance for spice.”

Having witnessed this woman stand her ground against Xavier, the maid felt a wary respect for Isabella.

“A low tolerance? That can’t be right,” Isabella murmured, more to herself. “He showed absolutely no reaction…”

The maid hesitated, then leaned in slightly. “Mrs. Moore… Mr. Moore… nearly lost his sense of taste some years ago. His perception of pain is also… diminished. It happened about five years back.”

“Xavier lost his sense of taste?” Isabella was genuinely shocked. “What happened?”

“Who told you to gossip here? Get back to your work at once!”

Before the maid could answer, Emma appeared, her voice sharp. She shot a venomous glare at the young maid, who flinched and scurried away. Emma then turned to Isabella, her tone artificially polite yet chilly. “Mr. Moore does not permit the staff to discuss his private affairs. If you’ve finished, please retire to your room. We need to clean the dining area.”

“I wasn’t prying. Frankly, I don’t care about Xavier’s business,” Isabella retorted with a dismissive sniff before leaving the room.

Once Isabella was gone, Emma snapped a cleaning rag toward the spot where the young maid had been standing. “One more word of gossip and you’re finished here! Do you understand?”

“Y–Yes,” came a timid reply from around the corner.

Glancing toward the hallway where Isabella had disappeared, Emma waited for the room to empty. Then, slipping into the staff quarters, she closed the door and placed a call to Allen Villa.

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Chapter 13 Guardian’s Resolve