Chapter 175: You Don’t Belong Here

Chapter 175: Chapter 175: You Don’t Belong Here

Chapter 175

Audrey’s phone vibrated against her kitchen counter.

She picked it up and read the glowing text on the screen.

Victoria: I haven’t forgotten my invitation. Are you free tomorrow afternoon?

Audrey smiled. She had genuinely forgotten about the offer. Between the newspaper, the investigation, and navigating Mason’s crowded schedule, a private cooking session with his stepmother had slipped her mind.

Audrey: I am free. What time?

The next afternoon, Audrey walked into Victoria’s luxury culinary studio. The space was pristine. White marble countertops, stainless steel appliances, and massive windows overlooking the city.

She walked past the front counter, expecting a relaxed afternoon with Victoria.

Instead, she saw a second woman standing by the prep station.

Vanessa turned around. A slow, polished smile appeared on her face.

"Audrey."

Audrey stopped walking. She looked from Vanessa to Victoria, who was pulling a silk apron over her head.

"You invited her too?" Audrey asked smoothly.

Victoria walked over, seemingly oblivious to the immediate spike in tension.

"Vanessa has experience with large-scale formal entertaining," Victoria explained. "I am organizing a private tasting menu for next month, and she offered to help with the prep work. I thought the three of us could make a day of it."

Audrey offered a polite smile. "Sounds good."

Vanessa watched her closely. Audrey did not shrink. She did not look uncomfortable or intimidated.

They moved to the main counter. Victoria handed Audrey an apron and set out a row of fresh ingredients.

Vanessa did not attack Audrey’s background directly. She had tried that at the family dinner, and Victoria had shut her down. She needed a different angle.

"You are inexperienced," Vanessa said, picking up a paring knife.

Audrey paused while tying her apron string. "Excuse me?"

"With this level of entertaining," Vanessa clarified, keeping her tone light and conversational. "Mason attends a lot of these functions. The sponsors. The board members. The major donors. The people he has to interact with require a certain standard."

Vanessa sliced a tomato with precision.

"Have you ever had to host something like this, Audrey?"

"No," Audrey answered honestly.

Vanessa smiled. "I thought so."

It was not an open insult. It was just enough to draw blood.

"Mason’s life involves a lot of this," Vanessa continued.

"I am aware," Audrey said. She picked up her own knife and started mincing garlic.

Vanessa tilted her head. "Are you?"

For the next hour, Vanessa started casually dropping information about Mason. It was not romantic information. It was lifestyle data.

She mentioned his favorite high-end restaurants. She referenced charity events he attended years ago. She talked about the people he grew up around. The established traditions. The unspoken expectations of a Calloway executive.

She wove the details seamlessly into the conversation about food prep, making Audrey feel like she had arrived late to a life everyone else already understood.

"Mason probably didn’t tell you about the Calloway Foundation dinners," Vanessa noted, transferring chopped vegetables to a pan.

Audrey scraped her cutting board. "No."

Vanessa offered a sympathetic smile. "There are quite a few. They can be draining if you are not used to managing that kind of social circle."

She let the silence stretch for two seconds.

"You will get used to them."

The implication hung over the marble counter. If you can.

Audrey did not pretend she knew everything. She did not become defensive or list the reasons she was a good partner. She finished mincing her garlic and wiped the blade of her knife.

"I don’t need to know everything today," Audrey said.

Vanessa looked up. "No?"

Audrey smiled. "I will learn."

She went right back to cooking.

Vanessa’s jaw tightened. She was trying to make Audrey feel small, and Audrey simply refused to shrink.

Ten minutes later, Victoria walked over to inspect their progress.

"What do you think of this sauce?" Victoria asked, holding out a tasting spoon to Audrey.

Audrey tasted it. "It is good. But it needs more acid to cut through the richness of the main dish. Maybe a splash of white wine vinegar."

Victoria tasted it herself. Her face lit up. "You are right. That is exactly what it was missing."

Victoria added the vinegar and stirred the pot. She looked at Audrey with genuine approval.

"You have good instincts," Victoria said.

Vanessa stood frozen at her station.

She was not just failing to make Audrey feel inadequate. She was watching Victoria accept her more deeply by the minute.

A little while later, Victoria stepped out of the kitchen to take a phone call regarding the venue space.

The studio grew quiet.

Vanessa wiped her hands on a towel. She looked across the counter at Audrey. No audience. No Victoria to intervene.

"Can I give you some advice?" Vanessa asked.

Audrey did not stop whisking a bowl of dressing. "You can try."

Vanessa smirked at the defiance.

"Mason’s world can be overwhelming," Vanessa said.

Audrey said nothing. She kept whisking.

"There is a difference between being welcomed into someone’s world and actually belonging there," Vanessa stated.

Audrey finally stopped whisking. She looked up and met Vanessa’s gaze.

"Maybe," Audrey agreed.

Vanessa’s expression faltered. She had expected a fight.

"But that is something Mason and I will figure out together," Audrey added calmly.

Vanessa gripped the edge of the counter. She needed a sharper weapon.

"You know, I was surprised when I heard Mason was dating a journalist," Vanessa remarked casually.

Audrey glanced at her. "Why?"

"Because Mason’s life is already complicated enough."

Audrey smiled faintly. "I manage."

Vanessa looked at her for a long moment.

"Do you?"

Audrey put the whisk down. She gave Vanessa her full, undivided attention.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Audrey asked.

Vanessa’s expression remained perfectly pleasant.

"Nothing," Vanessa said. "I just wonder how long you can keep choosing your career over his world. At some point, something has to give."

Audrey did not answer immediately.

"I don’t have to choose," Audrey replied.

Vanessa’s smile tightened. She opened her mouth to push harder.

The studio door swung open. Victoria walked back into the room holding her phone.

"Good," Victoria said, catching the tail end of Audrey’s sentence. "Because I wanted to ask Audrey something."

Audrey turned. "What?"

Victoria walked over to the counter. She looked at the prep work Audrey had finished. She looked at the adjusted sauce. She offered a warm, genuine smile.

"Would you like to host my next private event with me?" Victoria asked.