When I Was a Wallflower (Leo and Amelie) novel Chapter 225

“Oh, thanks.” Amelie only realized she was supposed to take the ginger from him then. She took it and peeled its skin off with a knife while Leo simply stood around and watched her. She was dumbfounded. Why is he looking at me as if I’m putting on some performance for him? “The kitchen can smell pretty oily and smoky after a while. I think you should wait outside, Mr. Alston. Food will be ready in 20 minutes.” She felt too uneasy about having him watching her cook, so she ‘kindly’ reminded him of the stench in the kitchen.

Leo nodded to show acknowledgment but remained in his spot anyway. Amelie no longer knew what to say. Fine, fine. He can watch me if he wants to. A rich guy like him has probably never seen anyone preparing his food. Perhaps he thinks of me as one of those people on cooking shows. In the end, she simply kept her focus on her food, completely ignoring the man’s existence.

“Are you good at cooking?” he questioned Amelie when he saw how smoothly she had chopped the ginger into tiny slices. Amelie laughed to herself under her breath. “I bet rich guys like you don’t have enough memory to remember everything about your lives. My main duty was to stay in the kitchen and clean the house, remember?” Before she became a part of the Alston Family, she had never once gotten her hands dirty.

Steven treated her like a princess, and he didn’t allow her to do any chores at all. However, after she entered the Alston Family, she was downgraded to becoming a maid. Jodie and Melissa’s critical comments would fill the house as Amelie desperately tried to complete all her chores. However, Amelie no longer wanted to think about the past, so she merely poured some ginger and garlic into the oil before frying it.

Soon enough, the room was filled with the heavy scent of ginger and garlic. Leo tilted his head a little as he watched how smoothly and skillfully she cooked the food. She’s right. I never once paid attention to her back in the Alston Residence. I hated her too much back then, so I didn’t show any care for what my family did to her or what she was told to do in the house. Every time I saw her walking here and there with Miss Potts, and every time I saw her cooking or doing chores, I just assumed that she was trying to attract my attention. But it’s now evident that she doesn’t need my wealth to live a good life on her own, Leo thought.

“Is your father a cobbler as well?” he asked. Amelie was sweating from the heat as she cooked, but she froze and turned to look at the man when she heard his random question. Her brows were pressed into a puzzled frown when she realized the way he worded his sentence. Why did he ask if my father’s a cobbler ‘as well’? Does he know anyone else who’s in the same line of work?

She let out a laugh without questioning Leo. She didn’t explain the reason she was laughing, but Leo was quick to understand the reason for her laughter. He had been married to Amelie for four years, yet he didn’t even know what her father worked as. A rather bashful look surfaced in his cold expression. He reached out and held onto her arm right before she brought the bowl of soup out to the dining area. “Were you a frequent visitor of the hospital in Quinn Town?” he asked.

Amelie turned around to stare at him. Did he recall something? She was about to make a comment when his phone rang out of nowhere. “You should pick it up,” she uttered after some hesitation. She still wasn’t too sure about how she was going to talk to him about the past.

While Leo picked up his phone, Amelie took this chance to exit the kitchen. He only joined them a while later, looking somewhat uneasy. He rubbed his long fingers against his brows for a while before glancing at Amelie and Bria. Bria was sitting in Amelie’s lap, but she was looking at Leo.

Amelie, on the other hand, didn’t bother to meet his gaze. “You should leave if you have something to do, Mr. Alston.” Her tone was harsh and cold. When she walked out of the kitchen earlier, she overheard the voice on the other end of the line. She heard Elyse’s name coming up in the conversation. If Elyse is still interacting with him at this point, then it’s clear that their relationship is something beyond their regular friendship. I guess that’s good, Amelie thought. If Leo pays more attention to Elyse, then Carol will stop blaming me for taking up Leo’s time.

“It’s not urgent,” Leo replied before he moved to sit beside Bria. Amelie stared at the man for a brief moment, but the man was already busy picking up Bria’s bowl to scoop up some rice for her. He scooped another bowl for himself before he reached for Amelie’s bowl in front of her. She was utterly speechless at that point. Doesn’t he care about Elyse anymore? In that case, why did he seem so uneasy earlier, then?

She only returned to her senses when she felt the weight of a bowl on her palm. What was I thinking about? It doesn’t matter if Leo cares about Elyse. It’s none of my business. The person who should be worried about this is Miss Joyner. Moreover, he’s probably only staying because he doesn’t want to disappoint Bria. At that thought, Amelie looked up and focused on eating her meal.