The Scorned Heiress's Hidden Empire (by Jade Quinn) novel Chapter 208

alt

Chapter 208 Henry’s Downfall

Chapter 208 Henry’s Downfall

Andrew had made grilled fish, while Blake had prepared baked cod. Une was rich and flavorful, the other was simple and fresh.

Andrew glanced at Natalie

Natalie was leaning against the doorframe, one hand on her hip, her lips pressed together as she looked from the coffee table in the living room to the dining table.

She glanced at the fish, said nothing, and her face gave nothing away. She blinked and nodded lightly. “Yeah, dinner’s quite a feast tonight.”

Rosie stood at the kitchen door, holding a fork and a plate, her mouth hanging open at the spread in the living room

Her eyes flicked between the four guys, and her thoughts went from ‘Wow, dinner’s a feast’ to ‘Is the fridge going to burst tomorrow?’

But right now, Rosie couldn’t focus on anything else. Her mind was filled with nothing but the delicious food waiting in the living room!

Rosie’s eyes were glued to the dishes. Her big, round eyes roamed over every plate, each one bursting with color and aroma, and just the smell alone made her mouth water.

“Uh… I’ll go ahead and set the dishes over there. The coffee table’s big enough for everything,” Rosie said, sounding a bit

nervous.

When nobody objected, she quickly walked over and started placing the dishes one by one onto the coffee table in the living room.

The four guys were still caught up in their silent standoff, but when Natalie shot them a look and went to help Rosie, they all begrudgingly looked away and started moving the food themselves.

Once Natalie made a move, the four guys, not wanting to lose face, finally broke their staring contest and began shifting the dishes too.

Rosie set down the last bowl of soup and glanced back at the dining table. It was spotless, not a single plate left behind. She nodded in satisfaction, set out the forks and plates, then plopped down on the couch and looked up at Natalie. “Natalie, dinner’s ready!” Rosie called out.

With a soft, fuzzy rug spread out around the couch, everyone just sat on the floor around the coffee table. Rosie had just sat down, still fumbling with her fork, when she felt a sudden gust of wind whip past her.

The four guys all bent over at the exact same moment, each snatching up some food, and then, like they’d rehearsed it a million times, they all dropped it straight into Natalie’s bowl.

Four forks shot toward Natalie’s bowl at once, ribs, banoffee, barbecue pork ribs, and steamed chicken legs piled up in her bowl, forming a little mountain of food.

Blake, Ethan, and Andrew all noticed the extra fork at the same time and shot Henry a look.

Wait.

‘Why is he serving her?’

‘We’re her brothers. Who does he think he is?’

‘And he’s actually trying to butter her up right in front of us?’

But Henry, shameless as ever, just pretended not to notice their stares.

He grabbed a rib and dropped it into Natalie’s bowl, saying offhandedly, “The ribs are super soft this time. Last time you had trouble chewing them, so I let them stew longer. Should be easy to bite now.”

As soon as he said that, the tension in the living room got even thicker.

The Mitchell brothers were all thinking, ‘Wait, what?’

‘How does he know?’

‘When did he start serving her food?’

‘Just how many times has he done this?’

The air in the living room felt frozen. Rosie hugged her bowl, shrinking into the corner of the couch, barely daring to breathe

She grabbed a piece of barbecue pork ribs, shot a look at Henry, then at the three Mitchell brothers.

enter

alt

Chapter 208 Henry’s Downfall

Then, quietly, she popped the barbecue pork ribs into her mouth, chewed away, and kept her head down, digging into her food. Her ears pricked up like radar, ready for any drama.

Natalie paused, fork in hand, staring at the mountain of food in her bowl, frowning slightly.

“So, are you just going to keep piling food up and not let me eat?” she teased

They finally realized they were still holding their forks over her bowl and quickly bulled them back

Ethan said, “Come on, Natalie, dig in! You always love my barbecue pork ribs, right?”

Blake said, “Hey, my grilled fish is awesome too. Try it and see if you like it.”

Andrew said, “Baked cod isn’t bad either.”

Henry said, “The ribs are way better. Besides, she doesn’t even eat fish.”

Andrew was speechless.

Blake was at a loss for words.

Ethan was totally stunned.

‘How does Henry know Natalie doesn’t eat fish? Why are we just finding out now?’ the brothers wondered.

Blake looked at Natalie in surprise. “Natalie, you don’t eat fish?”

Natalie nodded. “Yeah, not really my thing.”

The three brothers traded looks. Thinking back, they’d never actually seen Natalie touch the fish, but with so many dishes on the table, who could blame them for missing it?

They all shot Henry a look, catching that smug grin on his face. ‘Ugh, he’s at it again. He actually managed to pull it off! they all thought.

Rosie thought, ‘Henry, do you really think you’ll win Natalie over by shamelessly provoking her future brothers-in-law like this?’

Blake sat down, giving Henry a fake smile. “Never pegged you for someone who could cook, Mr. Pierce. You always act like you can’t do much, but here you are, showing off in the kitchen.”

Henry’s lips curled into a faint smile, his tone cool and casual. “I’m not great at many things, but I can handle what matters. As he spoke, his dark eyes stayed locked on Natalie, watching/her eat like she was the only thing in the room.

Blake clenched his jaw, tapping his fork against the edge of his bowl with a soft clink.

‘So shameless, he thought.

Ethan adjusted his glasses and jumped in, his tone calm and deliberate.

“Mr. Pierce, you’re always swamped with work, and still manage to cook? That’s gotta be rough. But really, you don’t need to bother with this anymore. As her brothers, we’ve got Natalie covered from now on,” he said, a hint of polite but firm territory-marking in his voice.

Andrew nodded along. “Yeah, Mr. Pierce, you’ve done enough lately. Thanks for stepping in these past few days, but from here on out, we’ll handle meals for Rosie and Natalie. You can relax. Rosie’s got her brothers looking out for her now.” Henry kept his cool, sounding totally nonchalant. “It’s really no big deal. If she’s enjoying her food, that’s all I care about.” As he said this, his dark eyes stayed locked on Natalie, and his smile grew even wider.

Blake felt a wave of anger rising up inside him. ‘Seriously, who does this guy think he is, acting all smug in front of me? ‘That’s my sister!’ he fumed.

Blake had always had a temper, and he’d been holding it back for way too long. Back at the Mitchell family house, he’d kept it together because their parents were around, but now? He didn’t have to hold back anymore.

“Why do you even care if she’s happy with her food? What does it have to do with you? Who are you to her, anyway?” Blake shot back.

As soon as Blake spoke, the atmosphere in the living room instantly turned icy.

Ethan glanced at Blake, but didn’t say a word.

Andrew kept quiet too. Their silence was almost a pact.

Henry turned to Blake, his smile faded a bit, but he spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I made the food. If she likes it, that’s proof my cooking’s good. That makes me happy, obviously,” he said. “You-” Blake couldn’t hold back any longer.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify