Chapter 17 You Have No Right

Daphne turned around as she said those words. She drained the noodles from the pot, then added seasoning, ignoring Bianca.

Bianca frowned at Daphne. She stood in her spot for a while, then marched away.

Daphne’s eyes flashed as she heard the clicking noises from her high heels growing further and further away. She put the bowl of noodles on a tray and brought it upstairs.

“What took you so long? Did you lose a hand?” Nicholas’s angry scolding greeted her just as she stepped through the door.

All of the lights in the private room were turned on. It was as bright as daytime.

Everyone stared at Daphne as she walked in. She placed the noodles in front of Nicholas and quietly stood aside.

She was forced to put up with this.

‘Maybe Nicholas will leave after finishing the noodles. Maybe he will let me go after eating it. Then I’ll be free.’

Nicholas’s almond-shaped eyes shot Daphne a grim look. He picked up his fork and stirred the noodles around, scooped a mouthful, and put the noodles into his mouth.

Charles’s eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets as he stared at Nicholas in shock.

‘This guy refused to have a single bite of the feast on the table, and now he suddenly wants noodles?’

“Why does it taste different?”

Daphne was quietly waiting for Nicholas to send her away when the man suddenly shot her a question irritably.

The completely silent room heard it all loud and clear.

Daphne was stunned. “It’s probably because I didn’t have any chives, so I couldn’t freshen the taste.”

Nicholas furrowed his handsome brows and stared at Daphne with obvious irritation. He glanced at her, lowered his head, and continued eating his noodles.

This was a very weird scenario.

They were in the best room in the bar, with all of the lights on, brighter than daylight itself. It was so quiet that not a single sound was heard.

A row of well-dressed women sat quietly, watching the respectable man, under the lights, ignoring the liquor bottles worth thousands of bucks in front of him, but choosing to slurp on a bowl of noodles instead.

Time seemed to move very slowly for Daphne. Cassie had already left at some point, so she was the only waitress left.

Once Nicholas finished his noodles, he picked up a serviette and dabbed the corners on his lips elegantly. His handsome face seemed shrouded in an icebox as he commanded in an aloof voice, “Get out!”

Daphne immediately turned around to leave, as if granted amnesty… Until Nicholas’s ice-cold voice suddenly stopped her. “Was I talking to you?”

Daphne’s footsteps came to a halt. Then she heard Nicholas’s roar. “What are you still doing here? Out, all of you!”

This time, everyone, including Bianca, left at once.

Bianca shot Daphne an intentional look before she left.

Of course, Daphne did not see it. She kept her head down and did not even turn around.

“What’s with you? You look eager to stay away from me.”

Nicholas’s cold, grim voice sent shivers down her spine.

“Hey, you’ve chased all of my girls away. What am I supposed to do now that I’m all alone? You’re too stingy, Nick! Do you expect me to hug a pillow to bed tonight?” Charles’s impish voice suddenly sounded.

Nicholas chuckled derisively. He looked at Daphne with a half-smile and offered. “How about I compensate you with one?”

Daphne trembled. She instinctively turned around and stared straight at Nicholas.

‘Good! She’s finally willing to look at me!’

Nicholas’s thin lips curved into an impassioned smile.

“Her? Ah… Forget it. My tastes aren’t as special as yours, locking onto four-eyed girls,” Charles replied.

“Heh…” Nicholas snorted cryptically and picked up the red wine on the table as he leaned indolently against the couch, eyeing Daphne.

‘She has such fair skin.’

The bright lights seemed to set off a white, lustrous sheen, which made her exquisite complexion glow like white jade.

Daphne bit her lips as she lowered her head. She paused, then suddenly lifted her gaze toward Nicholas, and moved her pink, tender lips. “Have you taken a liking to the noodles I’ve made?”

“Mm?” Nicholas, who had been swirling his wine glass, paused.

Daphne bit her lips again and replied, “I can cook for you if you like eating my noodles to compensate for damaging the things in your house!”

“Oh, you owe Nick cash?”

Charles was now interested again. His mischievous eyes stared at Daphne ambiguously.

Daphne bit her lips and kept her eyes on Nicholas. She only wanted Nicholas’s answer.

She knew who the other man was.

She would never have had anything to do with Nicholas if it were not for him.

Nicholas’s gaze darkened. “I have the best chef, he earns 3,000 bucks a month. Based on that price, how many meals would you have to make for me? Besides…”

Nicholas suddenly paused. Daphne felt her heart leap into her throat.

“Shouldn’t you have a good look at the noodles you’ve made and tell me if they’re worth that much?”

Daphne was speechless. Her beautiful face drained of color.

Charles watched Daphne with interest, having no intention of bailing her out.

Nicholas swirled the red wine in his glass around. His almond eyes glanced calmly at Daphne. Then, he spoke in a steady, methodical voice. “Daphne Montgomery, I don’t need a chef. I need a woman that interests me! Do not try haggling with me. You have no right!”

‘Interest… You have no right…’

Goosebumps immediately crawled all over Daphne’s exposed skin. She shivered from a chill.

“You have three more days. You may now continue your attempts to raise money!” Nicholas said.

These were the words that Daphne had been waiting for.

However, when it was time to leave, her legs felt as if they weighed 600kg.

“I understand,” Daphne replied in a soft voice. Then, she gritted her teeth and corrected him, “And my name is Daphne Mae Blythe!”

Daphne left the private room with gritted teeth. Charles waited for her slender yet unyielding figure to disappear through the door before turning toward Nicholas. “Nick, have you fallen for this four-eyed chick?”

Charles would always call Nicholas by his nickname in private ever since they were kids.

Nicholas shot Charles an icy look and ignored him as if he did not hear him at all. Instead, he kept his eyes on the red wine in his glass, with his lips tilted into a smirk.

Charles wasn’t angry at all. “Sigh, was she really a gift from me?” He mumbled, seemingly to himself, “I clearly left instructions to send you a clean, fresh-faced model. How’d you end up with four-eyes?”

…

Daphne came face to face with a large group of people from the moment she stepped out of the private room.

“How was it?” the chubby owner asked. “Was Master Nicholas happy with the noodles you made?”

Daphne was taken aback. “He finished it,” she replied.

Nicholas did not mention if it tasted good or not, but he did finish the bowl of noodles. This was considered an honest reply.

The chubby owner heaved a sigh of relief, and the tensed flesh on his face promptly relaxed. He grinned widely and patted Daphne on the shoulder, then said, “That’s good! You’ve certainly done a good job today. By the way, have you and Master Nicholas met before?”