She hadn’t expected him to go this far for her.

Aurora always assumed men liked the kind of woman who cooked for them, who quietly stayed behind the scenes, preparing meals and tending to the home. That was why she’d tried learning how to cook, making soup, doing those little things she thought would make him happy.

But Lucas wasn’t like that, not even close. His first concern wasn’t how the food tasted, or whether it was nutritious–it was her well-being.

That thought warmed her heart. Maybe she really hadn’t misjudged him. He genuinely cared for her, more than she’d allowed herself to believe. Thinking back, she even felt a bit immature, almost ashamed, for not realizing it sooner.

Still, between them, there was one lingering shadow: his true love. That person had never been mentioned again. She never appeared and remained unclarified. Yet Lucas had stayed by her side all this time. And still, the term lingered. Just hearing those three words made Aurora quietly jealous.

“Alright, I get it,” she said softly. “If you don’t want me to do it, I won’t next time.”

Lucas noticed the dip in her mood and immediately pulled her into his arms, his voice low and tender. “It’s not that I don’t want it. It’s that I hate seeing you wear yourself out.”

“We can afford help. You don’t need to push yourself for my sake.”

“I know your work is exhausting enough. When you’re off the clock, I want that time to be yours. To rest, to breathe, to just be.”

Aurora felt her chest tighten again, but this time with warmth. Lucas really was different. He didn’t want a wife to serve him.

He wanted a partner to live with him. Someone who had her own space, her own time, and shared it freely, not out of obligation. And she liked that a lot.

“Okay,” she murmured, nodding. “I understand now.”

Lucas smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t overthink, alright?”

Aurora let out a soft laugh. “How could I? Of course I’m not overthinking.”

Lucas chuckled with her. “Good. That’s what I want to hear. I don’t want anything weighing on you.”

“Our life belongs to us, not to them. All the sweetness, the struggles, and the quiet moments… only we truly understand those. Right?”

Aurora paused, taking in his words. He was right. Why let outsiders dictate how she should feel about her own life? If she simply focused on being herself and each other, then none of the rest really mattered.

“Alright,” she said with a gentle nod. “You don’t have to worry. I won’t dwell on it anymore.”

Glancing at the slightly messy kitchen, she smiled sheepishly. “Though I think I should ask the housekeeper to help clean up. I’ve made a bit of a mess. Maybe I should stick to staying out of the kitchen from now on.”

Lucas reached over and gently ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll ask her to take care of it.”

“This kind of thing is literally her job. You don’t need to feel guilty, just don’t hurt yourself again, okay? I mean it. I really would feel awful if you did.”

Aurora gave a small nod, tidying up just a bit before deciding she’d leave the rest to the housekeeper. Cooking probably wasn’t going to become her thing after all.

As the two of them headed back to the bedroom, neither noticed the quiet figure peeking out from the room next door–Wendy, watching with narrowed eyes, her expression unreadable.