Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 65

"Wow, that smells amazing!" Amber stared at the table filled with incredible food. Drooling, she reached out for a piece of chicken, but her dad gently tapped her hand with a fork. "Xanthe isn't at the table yet. Wait a minute, where are your manners?"

Arthur felt embarrassed. He had only gone to the market to buy ingredients for a chicken broth, but when he returned, Xanthe had practically cooked an entire feast.

He just simmered the soup.

Looking at their small dining table completely covered with five dishes and a soup, Arthur felt an overwhelming wave of gratitude. For the first time since Amber's mother passed away, he came home to a hot meal and the joyful sounds of a family.

Arthur didn't want wealth or status in this life; he just wanted the simple comfort of a warm home with his family.

Grace was ambitious and demanding. She ran her own diner during the day, and when Arthur finished his construction shifts, he felt bad making her cook for him. Of course, he felt he had no right to demand it anyway.

Initially, he had hoped they could run the diner together as a family, but Grace felt he would try to mooch off her profits. She refused to let him be a partner, only allowing him to "help out."

In the early days, when he restocked supplies for the shop, she would pay him back. Eventually, she just stopped, and part of that was because he never pushed for the money.

None of that had seemed like a big deal at the time. After all, he genuinely wanted to build a family with her.

But somehow, twelve years had slipped by, and the one who suffered most was Amber, who had to start cooking for herself when she was just ten.

Whenever Arthur was too busy or exhausted from work, Amber handled the meals. Whenever Grace and Lucian joined them for dinner, they never lifted a finger to help. Neighbors had occasionally commented on how weird their living situation was, and Arthur had brought it up to Grace. But Grace was hypersensitive, claiming they needed to live separately for the sake of the kids.

Eventually, Arthur grew numb to it and stopped arguing. He saw that Amber and Lucian got along well enough, and figured that even if things didn't work out with Grace, it would be great if the kids ended up together.

More than anything, Arthur just wanted to avoid awkwardness since they lived so close to each other.

"Xanthe, I really owe you tonight. Please, sit down. I'll go grab something to drink. No matter what happened with Amber today, I'm just so glad you were there. I won't lie to you—she is the most precious thing in my life." Arthur was grateful for Xanthe keeping an eye on the diner and cooking dinner for them when Amber was hurt.

He hated owing favors, but today he had racked up a huge one.

"Arthur, you're being too polite. If you hadn't picked me up at the station yesterday, who knows what would have happened to me. You and Amber are wonderful people. I'm just helping out where I can; there's really no need to thank me." Doing chores was her everyday reality. The fact that he appreciated it instead of taking it for granted was more than enough for her.

Not knowing how to respond to that, Arthur changed the subject. "It's getting late. Did Loretta forget about you again? Don't take this the wrong way—I'm not trying to kick you out—I'm just asking."

He picked up his phone. "I tried calling her earlier to see if she wanted to join us for dinner, but..." He frowned. It really wasn't appropriate for him to keep another woman living in his apartment indefinitely.

He called twice. It rang, but no one answered.

He had no idea what Loretta was so busy with. Grace was already discharged, so she shouldn't be at the hospital.

He dialed a third time. Still no answer.

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