Chapter 57: I almost knocked him out with this bowl

Inside the vast void space.

Nova sat down, staring at the large screen with a serious, calculated expression on her face. A thick, contemplative tension hung in the air. "This Edward guy isn’t that stupid. He even knew to investigate me," she commented.

Anah arrived beside Nova, floating silently in the air. "He just wants to be safe. Thankfully, I handled everything on time, he’s no longer suspicious of you," she replied.

Nova chuckled, the sound sharp against the quiet void. "Somehow, I think this mission is quite fun. Now both brothers hate each other. It’s time for their parents to see this, too," she commented.

"That Nina girl didn’t like oily food. You should be careful of that when dining with them," Anah reminded her.

"I’m not impersonating Nina, I’m myself. Edward and Alex aren’t just rich fools. If they notice that I’m acting like Nina, which makes them remember her, they will immediately start suspecting me instead of being even more obsessed with me," Nova replied.

"Mhm," Anah nodded. "That’s good too. The stuff they collected from her—I have confirmed its location. It’s in Alex’s secret room and is about to be traded. You should act faster."

Nova chuckled. "Is it that important to you?" A cunning, dangerous smile appeared on her lips as she stared at Anah, the atmosphere instantly growing heavy and volatile. "Don’t think you can order me around. I’m not the type that takes orders," she said.

Anah stared at Nova, her gaze unyielding. "Once again, you have no choice but to complete it. And if you don’t, you are risking..."

"Shut up!" Nova gritted her teeth together angrily, a suffocating, lethal tension exploding between them. "I said it before, you shouldn’t involve my husbands in this matter," she glared at Anah.

Anah turned her head toward Nova. "You shouldn’t mention not wanting to complete the tasks again, as well," she replied, her voice turning completely cold.

Nova took in a deep, sharp breath, remaining violently silent.

"It’s time to wake up. I have restored your body back to its original health, just play along properly," Anah commented, breaking the heavy standoff.

"Mhm," Nova nodded, and then everything went blank.

.....

On the bed, Nova slowly opened her eyes and stared at Alex, who was also looking at her with a deeply worried expression on his face.

"Beauty, you are awake! Let me get you the doctor," he said, and was about to leave, but Nova immediately stopped him.

"I... I’m f... fine now, n... no need to... to bo... bother the doc... doctor."

Alex stared longer at Nova. Seeing her smiling brightly, he breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, the frantic tension in his shoulders easing slightly.

"You must be hungry, right? Let me get you something to eat. You should rest more here, okay?" he said, and stood up, exiting the room.

Nova rolled her eyes immediately after she saw the door close. Her eyes fixed sharply on the nightstand table, noticing the hidden camera planted inside the lamp.

"This is his way of monitoring me? Hasn’t he heard that cameras can be deceiving too?" she thought.

Her expression instantly shifted into a mask of pure, innocent curiosity as she walked closer to the lamp, admiring it as if it were her first time seeing something like it.

"So beautiful," she commented out loud.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened. Acting perfectly shocked, she jerked back, accidentally hitting the lamp. It fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Her eyes fixed on Alex, looking completely terrified and nervous. "I... I," she stuttered, shrinking back. The tension in the room spiked instantly, vibrating with her feigned fear.

Alex smiled, walking closer to her. He sat her down on the bed with one hand and passed the food in his other hand to Nova. "I know, you are curious about it, right?" he asked.

Nova nodded timidly. "I... I have n... never seen some... something like that be... before," she replied, lowering her head. "I... I’m sorry I... I broke it," she added.

Alex smiled, gently patting her head. "It’s fine. As long as you stay with me, you will not only see new things but also have them as yours," he said.

Nova’s eyes widened. "Really?" she asked, excitement filling her voice.

Alex nodded. "Yes. Eat first," he said.

He walked over to the broken lamp and immediately reached into the debris, secretly hiding the small camera in his pocket before he started packing up the broken pieces of the lamp.

A dangerous, mocking smirk appeared on Nova’s lips as she watched Alex’s back. "Stupid," she thought.

She then started eating her food. Just as she put one spoonful into her mouth, she almost vomited it back out.

"Damn the cook, why does the food taste so awful?" she thought, her brows knitting together tightly in disgust. But her expression immediately smoothed out when Alex stood up and stared at her.

She forced a bright smile onto her lips.

"I will dispose of this first," he said, holding the broken pieces, and left.

Nova quickly put the bowl down on the nightstand table. "And they are eating this?" she thought, utterly repulsed.

"Let me see," Anah appeared beside Nova and moved closer to the nightstand to check the food in the bowl. Seeing it, she lightly shook her head.

"Just swap it if you can’t eat it," she said, and instantly swapped the terrible food with something edible. "He probably cooked it himself," she added.

Nova took the bowl and took another bite, confirming the taste had actually changed. "Who asked him to cook? Animal," Nova replied inwardly, cursing Alex angrily as she started taking large bites of the new food.

Anah chuckled and vanished immediately.

Alex entered the room. Seeing Nova eating with a highly pleased expression on her face, a proud, arrogant smile appeared on his face. "First time trying cooking, I didn’t expect to be this good that she’s eating it so happily," he thought, a warm smile spreading on his lips.

He walked closer to Nova and sat intimately beside her on the bed, shifting the tension into something far more suffocating and possessive. "Do you want more?" he asked.

Nova raised her head, staring at him. "I... I’m full... but... but the food... is so good," she replied.

Alex’s smile widened. "I will cook more for you from now on, okay?" he promised.

"Pardon, but I won’t leave you that chance," Nova thought, suppressing a dark urge as she forced a shy smile onto her lips. "G... g... great," she said.

Alex leaned forward, wanting to kiss Nova. The air in the room grew instantly heavy, thick with unwanted anticipation—but then there was a sudden, sharp knock on the door, followed immediately by a maid’s voice.

"Second Young Master, the Master and Madam have arrived."

Alex’s brows knitted together immediately, annoyance breaking the intimate atmosphere. "Why are they here?" he thought. He quickly patted Nova’s hand. "Stay here and don’t move around, okay? I will be back," he said.

After earning a timid nod from Nova, he left the room.

"Guess he still has some luck. I almost knocked him out with this bowl," Nova murmured to herself in the empty room, her true voice laced with pure anger.