The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 230

Chapter 230

Cola showed absolutely no shame about it, either. The second Zeph declined the “gift,” he hurriedly carried his precious bowl of bones away to hide it again.

The door closed, and dinner officially began.

The four of them made for a much quieter atmosphere than Nicole’s birthday celebration had been.

Nicole simply wasn’t capable of pulling off Jeremy and Hughie’s over-the-top energy. Instead, she handed Zeph the canned food and birthday cards from the others.

“I’ll spare you the birthday song,” she said. “Just make a wish.”

At the same time, she opened the musical card, and a cheerful birthday tune immediately started playing.

Poppy clapped excitedly beside them. “Make a wish, Zeph!”

Maybe it was just Nicole imagining things, but while Zeph silently made his wish, she could’ve sworn he glanced not only at Poppy, but at her, too.

Then, everyone finally started eating.

Beef brisket stew tasted even better with hot sauce, and somehow Zeph actually had some.

The man seriously was like a walking treasure chest. 1

Nicole ended up eating two full bowls of rice. Between the rich stew and the spicy heat from the hot sauce, the meal warmed her so thoroughly that she actually started sweating by the end.

There was far too much food to finish, leaving plenty of leftover ribs and pork belly.

Zeph looked at the dishes for a moment before speaking.

“Leftovers don’t taste as good overnight. Want to help finish them later tonight?”

Nicole paused before saying, “Uh, yeah, sure.”

After dinner, they sat on the couch watching shows on the tablet while Poppy hugged Cola and giggled

nonstop.

Suddenly, Zeph leaned closer without warning, startling Nicole so badly her body nearly slipped into defensive mode on instinct.

“Help me take out some grapes for Poppy.” Then, probably afraid she would pull out too many, he added calmly, “Half a bunch is enough. It’s too cold to eat much fruit in this weather.”

The man only had two bunches total and still wanted to ration them out half a bunch at a time. He was even stingier than she was.

While Poppy and Cola weren’t paying attention, Nicole used the couch pillow to block their view and

1/3

+15 Bonus

Coincidentally, Zeph had been thinking the exact same thing.

Their hands nearly bumped together.

Even with the charcoal heater burning in the living room, eating grapes during deep-freeze weather still required serious courage. The cold practically seeped into their bones.

Poppy shivered while eating, but the fruit was simply too delicious to stop. 1

As she chewed, she looked curiously at Zeph. “Where did the fruit come from?”

Zeph’s tone stayed gentle, but his answer was direct and absolute.

“If I give you food, just eat it. Don’t ask too many questions. If you keep asking, you won’t get any next

time.”

He rubbed her head lightly.

“I’ll do my best to give you the best things possible, but you can’t tell other people what we eat or use. Otherwise, I could end up in danger, and all those good things would disappear, too.”

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