The Heiress's Comeback

Chapter 191: [ Volume 1] Chaper 191-Jealousy.

"Yeah, no, no. Esme would cook whenever I asked, back when we were kids," Aron continued, with a wave of his hand. "But now, Helga does it. After all, we’re husband and wife. So, of course, she has to cook for me." He laughed, as though it were obvious. "Esme? Well, naturally, she cooks for her husbands now. It’s a way to show love and care, don’t you think?"

At those words, something shifted in the room. The Aron brothers’ expressions darkened. Jay’s jaw clenched while Ryan’s eyes hardened, the unspoken question hanging between them: Esme had never cooked for them, but she had cooked for Aron? Why had she shown that care for him, and not them? The quiet simmered with unspoken emotions, leaving the brothers wrestling with a mixture of confusion and hurt, hidden beneath the composed surface.

Aron turned abruptly, catching the Aron brothers’ stony expressions. His smile faltered, and he hurriedly yanked the phone away from his ear. "Oh! Uh, sorry about that!" he stammered, eyes flicking from one brother to the next. Ray, Ryan, Kai, and Jay all stared at him with unreadable expressions, their eyes sharp with something he couldn’t quite place.

Realizing the awkwardness, Aron hastily ended his call. "Yeah, let’s talk later," he said, then slipped the phone into his pocket with an awkward chuckle. "I didn’t even see you guys here. I was too caught up in the conversation."

Ray, always the more diplomatic of the group, managed a strained smile. "No, no, it’s fine."

Aron, missing the shift in the atmosphere, dropped into a chair beside them, his usual cocky grin sliding back into place. "You guys are so lucky, though. You get to try Esme’s cooking all the time, huh? She doesn’t even make it for me anymore."

Ryan furrowed his brow, confused. "What do you mean by ’we tried’?"

Aron blinked, as though they were the ones missing something obvious. "Wait, you guys haven’t tried her cooking?" His voice rose in disbelief. "You’re her husbands! Back when we were kids, she always said she’d only cook for her husband after marriage. And trust me, her hotpot is something else—best I’ve ever tasted."

The words hung in the air, unsettling. Ryan, usually calm, clenched his jaw. Ray and Kai exchanged silent looks, while Jay’s head dipped slightly, his fingers drumming against the table as if suppressing some inner frustration. Aron, oblivious, pressed on.

"The sauce she makes? Insanely good. And the hotpot curry? Oh, man, it’s like nothing else. She makes this soup—so rich, so full of flavor, you’d think it’s magic or something."

Ray’s polite smile faltered for a split second. The brothers had never tasted this side of Esme. Never.

Aron leaned back in his chair, glancing at Jay, a teasing glint in his eyes. "And you, Jay, I know you’d love her cakes. Soft, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth. She used to make them for me all the time. It’s like eating clouds."

Kai and Jay unconsciously shifted in their seats, their mouths watering at the vivid descriptions. Even Jay, who wasn’t fond of sweets, felt a twinge of curiosity—and something deeper, something that made his stomach clench uncomfortably.

Aron’s eyes lit up as he noticed their reactions. He smirked, feeling the power shift in his favor, and continued, his voice dropping conspiratorially. "You guys have to try this dish she makes—pani puri. It’s this round, crispy bread, and she fills it with this incredible mix of chickpeas, onions, chilies, and all sorts of spices. She pours in this spicy, tangy water made with coriander, black salt, ginger—oh, man, the flavor’s out of this world."

The brothers were silent, tension building in the air like a storm cloud ready to burst. Aron, still oblivious, was having the time of his life.

"And don’t even get me started on her sev puri," he said, leaning in as if sharing a treasured secret. "It’s got this creamy curd, sweet chutney, spicy green sauce, and crunchy bits of namkeen—every bite is an explosion of flavor. You know, she used to make this stuff for me when we were kids. We’d sit there, eating like kings. I mean, she never failed to surprise me with her cooking."

As Aron went on, his voice a mixture of nostalgia and pride, the brothers’ expressions darkened. Esme had never cooked for them, never shared these intimate parts of herself. Yet here Aron was, casually claiming all these moments with her, moments they hadn’t been part of.

Why? Why had she shared this with him and not them? The question settled heavily between them, the unspoken weight growing heavier with each passing second.

Jay finally broke the silence, his voice low and edged with something darker. "Esme never cooked for us."

Aron’s smirk faded, his eyes widening in surprise. He glanced between the brothers, finally catching on to the undercurrent of tension. "Wait... really?" His voice wavered, unsure for the first time. "I just assumed... I mean, she always said she’d cook for her husband. I thought... I didn’t know..."

Ray’s polite mask cracked, his smile vanishing. "Well, she didn’t."

The room fell into an uncomfortable quiet. Aron shifted in his seat, his bravado shrinking under the weight of the brothers’ stares. For the first time, he seemed to realize that his words had crossed a line, a line he didn’t even know existed, but... who cares?

Looking at Aron’s brothers’ faces, he knew that he had gotten what he wanted.

’Hehehe! Esme, you’ve unleashed the kraken of my anger! Better run for the hills!’.

Esme, deep in thought while leading the meeting, felt an odd tickle in her ears. She absentmindedly rubbed at them, a frown creasing her brow as her gaze wandered to the window. The sunlight streamed in, but it brought no comfort. Is someone cursing me? she wondered, a strange chill creeping up her spine.

Little did she know that Aron had already scripted her life like a soap opera! When Esme finally rolled up to the house, she thought she had accidentally walked onto a movie set – her eyes were wider than a deer caught in headlights!