Feeling his burning gaze, Gwenda flushed. "Yes, I lied," she admitted, gritting her teeth. "But you can't blame me! You randomly moved into my home; my first thought was to get rid of you."

"But you stayed," Olivier countered, laughing. "Is the lie really that important? I wasn't starved, was I?"

"I didn't hurt anyone!" Gwenda retorted. "I just don't want to cook! What's wrong with that?"

She avoided his eyes, gazing at his chest. Olivier, taken aback by her righteous defense, chuckled. He raised a hand, gently caressing her head. "It's fine if you don't want to cook," he murmured affectionately. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

Gwenda's blush deepened. Meeting his serious gaze, her heart pounded. "You'd better hurry and finish cooking," she whispered, pursing her lips. "Don't keep Granny waiting."

Seeing her shyness return, Olivier smiled and stopped teasing her. "Okay," he said, withdrawing his hand and returning to the stove.

Gwenda watched his silhouette, a wave of sweetness washing over her. She smiled.

Half an hour later, Olivier finished cooking. Gwenda called Melanie and Wendy to lunch. The fish was fresh and delicious, and they all ate heartily. Gwenda, however, ate sparingly, fearing fish bones.

Olivier noticed her apprehension. He carefully deboned some fish, placing it on her plate. "No bones," he said. "Eat up."

Gwenda looked up, her grip tightening on her cutlery. Melanie and Wendy were watching them, smiling knowingly.

"I" Gwenda began.

"Go on! Eat up!" Melanie urged, smiling.

Wendy chuckled. "Gwenda, don't waste Olivier's kindness! Eat more."

Gwenda blushed and nodded. "Yeah."

"Olivier, give some of this to Gwenda, too," Melanie directed. He complied.

Lunch was enjoyable, though Gwenda felt restless under the women's playful gazes.

Later, after lunch, Gwenda announced she was going upstairs to rest. Wendy intercepted her.

"Gwenda," she whispered, "my room's terrible. Could we switch? Mine's the second room on the second floor—it's huge."

"Sure," Gwenda agreed readily. It didn't matter where she slept.

"I'll take you upstairs," Wendy offered.

After helping Gwenda move, Wendy went downstairs, where she ran into Olivier.

"Cousin, aren't you going to nap?" she asked.

"No, I'm going for a walk," he replied.

"How can this be!" Wendy exclaimed, panicked.

Olivier raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Why not?"