Viona didn't have to go to work that day. After the curtain fell on their long, early-morning drama, Ethan quietly announced that he would handle breakfast.
This time, Viona resisted the urge to tell him to sit down and rest. She was fiercely worried that pushing the issue would make him retreat back into his shell or, worse, make him think he was being useless.
Ethan drifted into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, his movements noticeably lighter. He actually seemed to be in a wonderful mood. And why wouldn't he be? He had spent the dawn hours listening to a powerful Alpha babble absolute nonsense just to see him smile. It was a completely absurd, beautiful experience.
Viona, on the other hand, was enduring a delayed wave of acute embarrassment. She knew she had been completely shameless, but she didn't care.
Leaning casually against the doorframe, she stealthily spied on her cute, intensely serious husband as he began to navigate the kitchen. It was the very first morning of their married life. She watched as he retrieved a carton of eggs, cracking them into a glass bowl with practiced, effortless skill. He seasoned them with a pinch of salt, a crack of black pepper, and a vibrant handful of finely chopped green onions and carrots before whisking the mixture together.
He placed the bowl into the steamer, then glided over to the rice cooker. He measured out the grains, rinsed them thoroughly under the tap, and set the machine to cook before opening the fridge once more to check on side dishes.
Viona watched him in absolute awe. She was completely, utterly useless when it came to culinary skills. Truth be told, she had never even bothered to learn; she had always assumed that, as an Alpha, she would marry an Omega who would gladly handle the domestic sphere. In their world, Alphas occupied the absolute apex of the hierarchy; everyone else naturally conformed to their needs. Viona's life strategy had always been delightfully simple: find a partner who could cook, or just buy takeout.
After all, she had money. Problem solved.
And yet, her own Alpha mother knew how to navigate a kitchen, even though her Beta father was the one who handled the lion's share of the household chores and cooking. She had vivid memories of her formidable mother standing at the stove, playfully "helping" her father prep meals.
Suddenly, the strategic value of that knowledge hit Viona like a lightning bolt.
Ah... so that's why. If she actually knew how to fry an egg, she could use it as a foolproof excuse to invade Ethan's personal space under the guise of being a helpful spouse. Her mother truly was a terrifyingly intelligent woman.
For the first time in her life, Viona genuinely regretted her lack of domestic talent. But she also had enough self-awareness to know that if she stepped foot near that stove right now, she would likely burn the kitchen down. Accepting her status as a useless Alpha in the culinary arts, she looked for another way to contribute.
While Ethan was focused on the heat, Viona set to work preparing the dining table. She smoothed down a clean tablecloth, filled two glasses with crisp water, and waited for the food to be ready. When Ethan began plating the dishes, she immediately stepped in to help him carry them over.
To her relief, he didn't push her away this time. He quietly allowed her to share the load.
Within a few minutes, a beautiful, steaming breakfast spread dominated the table.
Viona slid into her seat, waiting eagerly for Ethan to join her. She waited one minute. Then two. The kitchen remained quiet. Her stomach let out an impatient growl, and unable to restrain her curiosity any longer, she stood up and marched back into the kitchen to see what was taking him so long.
When she rounded the corner, her jaw nearly dropped. This guy...
He was standing at the sink, vigorously scrubbing the prep bowls. The fresh, hot food was literally waiting on the table, and instead of sitting down to enjoy the fruits of his labor, he was prioritizing dirty dishes.
A sharp spike of irritation flared in Viona's chest, though she strictly controlled her tone. "Ethan... I'm hungry," she announced, making her presence known.
Ethan glanced over his shoulder, his expression entirely neutral. "Why don't you go ahead and eat then? Everything is served. Please have it while it's still hot."
He turned back to the running water, completely casual. Viona stared at his back in utter disbelief. What on earth was wrong with his brain?
Does he seriously not understand that married couples eat together?
"You need to come sit down," Viona said, her voice dropping an octave. But Ethan was already focused on a stubborn spot on the mixing bowl.
This time, she was genuinely angry. He was actively ignoring her. Was he doing this on purpose? Had they not just shared a beautiful, laughing breakthrough a few hours ago?
"Ethan... I want to eat with you," she stated firmly.
The weight of her Alpha authority finally made him freeze. He stopped scrubbing and turned around, looking at her with a blend of confusion and mild alarm. "Huh? Why? You should just enjoy your meal, Alpha. If I sit there, I'll only ruin the mood."
The words hit Viona like a splash of freezing water. She searched her memory frantically, wondering if she had somehow dropped a cruel comment like that to him during the wedding chaos. No! Never!
What kind of toxic nonsense had his family fed him to make him say something so heartbreakingly casual?
"Ethan, the pots can wait until we're done. We'll wash everything together later. For now, you are coming to the table."
Refusing to give him room to negotiate, Viona stepped forward, caught his wrist in a firm but gentle grip, and physically escorted him out of the kitchen. She guided him into the chair across from hers, took his plate, and piled it high with a generous portion of the beautiful steamed eggs and fluffy rice he had worked so hard to create.
"Eat," she commanded softly.
Ethan sat perfectly still, his hands resting on his lap, completely ignoring his spoon. Viona's frustration began to mutate into a profound, aching realization.
"Were you... treated like this at your old home?" she asked, her voice tight.
Ethan blinked, genuinely puzzled. "Like what?"
"Eating the scraps," Viona said bluntly, the truth tasting bitter on her tongue. "That's what you were trying to do just now, wasn't it? You wanted me to finish so you could eat whatever was left over in privacy."
"No... that's not it," Ethan lied automatically, his eyes darting away. "I just... I wanted you to have the best of it first. I'm really not that hungry."
"Ethan, look at me," Viona insisted, her heart fracturing slightly at his defensiveness. "We eat together. From now on, we are a family. That means we share the table."
"I am sorry..." Ethan whispered, finally picking up his utensils, though he still hesitated to break the surface of the food. "Please, dig in first."
Realizing that pushing him any harder right now would only trigger another panic attack, Viona relented. She picked up her own spoon and took a bite. Seeing his Alpha finally eating, Ethan subtly relaxed and began taking small, meticulously clean bites of his own portion.
Viona stole quiet glances at him throughout the meal. He ate with perfect, elegant manners, but he chewed slowly, as if his stomach wasn't used to processing large amounts of food. Viona's eyes traced the sharp angles of his jaw and the fragile line of his collarbones. He was entirely too skinny. Right then and there, she made a silent, ferocious vow to fatten him up.
'No wonder he's so petite,' she thought, a suffocating wave of sadness washing over her. 'They didn't even feed him properly.'
The more she connected the dots of his behavior, the more her blood ran cold. Ethan was a fortress of dark, agonizing secrets, all carved into his psyche by a family that had systematically stripped him of his humanity.
'I will fix this,' she promised herself. 'I will change his entire world.'
The moment his plate was empty, Viona immediately scooped another massive helping of rice and eggs onto it. "Finish it," she ordered, adopting a strict, unyielding tone. "Every single bite."
She watched him blink in surprise before obediently digging back in, clearing the plate like a well-behaved child. Viona couldn't help but feel a bit ridiculous; she sounded less like a romantic partner and more like an overbearing mother forcing her toddler to eat his vegetables.
Once he finally laid his spoon down, completely full, Viona leaned across the table, locking her gaze with his.
"Ethan, listen to me very carefully. From this day forward—whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just a random midnight snack—you eat with me. We are a team. You will never, under any circumstances, wait for my leftovers. Do you understand me?"
Ethan's chest rose and fell in a soft breath. "Mmh..." he murmured, offering a compliant nod.
Viona's stern expression instantly melted into a triumphant, radiant grin as she watched a beautiful, dark pink flush creep across his cheeks.
'Why is my husband so incredibly adorable?' she thought, her inner Alpha preening with absolute delight. 'Ah, obviously because he belongs to me.'
And so, the Alpha who couldn't even properly fry an egg sat at her dining table, bursting with immense, irrational pride over how cute her husband was—completely oblivious to the irony of her own domestic uselessness.
Sigh... They really had a long way to go, but as Viona watched the color finally returning to Ethan's face, she knew every single step would be worth it.