Too Late Mr. White! I'm Married To Your Rival Now novel Chapter 161

Aria's POV

The delicious aroma of homemade chicken noodle soup and grilled salmon wafted through the air as Aiden opened the containers. My stomach growled loudly in response, the sound embarrassingly obvious in the quiet office.

"Grrrrr..."

Aiden looked up at me with amusement in his eyes. "Thank you for going through all this trouble, Mrs. Liam."

I forced a smile, feeling my cheeks heat up. "It was no trouble."

Yeah, right. Just my luck to end up in this ridiculous situation.

Aiden methodically arranged the food containers on his desk and handed me a fork. "Eat."

I accepted it, watching him hesitantly. "Aren't you going to eat too?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

Hadn't he just said he was starving? This was my home cooking, after all. Didn't he want to at least try it?

"I am," he replied simply.

Since I'd come straight from home without eating, I'd packed two sets of utensils and containers. Aiden took a sip of the soup, then paused when he caught me staring at him.

My eyes must have betrayed my anticipation because his lips curved into the slightest smile. "Did you make this lunch yourself?" he asked.

I blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"

Damn it. I'd just confessed without him even really pushing.

His dark eyes studied me. "It tastes different from Nanny's cooking."

At his words, I tightened my grip on my fork nervously and laughed. "I'm not very good at cooking. It's probably not as good as Nanny's."

"Is that so?"

He took a bite of the salmon, chewed thoughtfully, then said, "Your cooking suits my taste better, actually."

"Really?"

Was he just being nice?

"I'm not just saying that to be nice," he replied, as if reading my mind.

I felt my face flush again. "Um, thanks."

How the hell did he know exactly what I was thinking?

"I should be the one thanking you," he said.

I looked at him, confused. "Why?"

I'd been cold to him just two days ago, giving him the silent treatment, though he probably hadn't even noticed. But when I thought about how he might have waited for me outside my apartment for an hour and a half while still recovering from a fever, I felt like the worst person alive.

"If you hadn't come by today, I probably would have had stomach pain this afternoon."

I remembered reading in the file Lucas had given me that Aiden had stomach issues.

"I just... felt like cooking today, that's all..." I stammered.

Aiden nodded. "We have Nanny at home. Next time, you could have her prepare the food and just bring it over."

He paused briefly before adding, "It's perfectly normal for a CEO's wife to bring lunch to her husband, isn't it?"

I'd been wondering if this was appropriate, but hearing him say that made me realize I was overthinking things.

Not all displays of affection need to be grand gestures. If we were constantly over-the-top with our relationship, people might suspect we were trying too hard. But these small, everyday moments were much more convincing.

"Absolutely normal!" I agreed quickly, then added, "But won't it interrupt your work?"

"Even CEOs need lunch breaks," he replied, his dark eyes dancing with subtle amusement.

I felt embarrassed again. "Sorry, I'm overthinking this."

Of course, the mighty Aiden Liam was still human. Even powerful executives needed to eat.

"Mmm," he hummed in agreement, then focused on eating.

I fell silent too, occasionally stealing glances at him. When I realized he genuinely enjoyed my cooking rather than just being polite, I couldn't help feeling secretly pleased.

I tried not to stare too obviously, sipping my soup in small mouthfuls. That way, I could sneak looks at him without being too obvious.

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