Dark Revenge Of An Unwanted Wife: The Twins Are Not Yours! - Chapter 453

Chapter 453: Good Food

The dish was tasty. Athena admitted, taking another forkful, her nostrils pleased too with the variety of meals Antonio had made available before her.

Birthday dinner, he had called it.

But surely, there was no way she could finish it. Her stomach capacity was a limited one. She wished though, she could. She was starving—wished the feeling could continue, so she could clear the plates.

“I am happy you love the food,” Antonio spoke, grinning, spoon suspended in the air, watching his fiancée devour the meal like she hadn’t eaten for the day. He had made a good choice for a restaurant this time around.

Maybe, here would be their special spot, even though it wasn’t really the la crème de la crème of the society. He wouldn’t have known it if his executive cum friend hadn’t suggested it.

“Thank you, Antonio, for this. Been so long I tasted food as good as this…” she paused when she remembered that she had another dinner coming up—one with Ewan.

Suddenly, her appetite waned. She needed to save some space for his food, which meant all these here had to be packaged. No way was she letting them go. Her friends would sing her praises too; like her, they loved and appreciated good food.

“All in the spirit of the celebration,” Antonio joked, unaware of Athena’s thoughts. “So, how is it going at the lab? Any luck with the cure?”

As he made the inquiry, he took a sip of the red wine, which Athena thought smelt heavenly. How had she stayed in this city and not known of this restaurant? And why wasn’t it on the popular list?

She took a sip of wine, eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to detect the taste—the brand that came with this. Nothing came up. She looked at the bottle; there was a name there, but it wasn’t familiar.

An obscure brand of wine too?

“Athena…”

Her gaze drifted back to her date.

“Sorry… I was just curious about the wine that tasted like sin… the name isn’t exactly known. Or did you order it specially?”

Antonio shook his head, receiving the compliment like he was the wine presser. “But the server mentioned it was one of the best in their restaurant, and a personal favourite of the owner of this place…”

Maybe the owner had a winepress too? Must be Italian, she mused, catching the name of the wine again.

“That good?”

She nodded without hesitation. “Very good. Surely, you must have noticed that.”

Antonio agreed, taking another sip of the wine. Maybe he could meet the server later and offer a contract to the business owner before they go viral. They might be able to achieve a lot—could even rope in Nathaniel’s expertise of the web.

He smiled faintly, lost in thought, already picturing possibilities. He was already a rich fellow, but having more was never wrong.

“So, back to my question…”

“Yes, the lab…” Athena cut in, returning to her dinner, taking smaller bites now. “Going fine. The cure is coming out fine too. I think I have the matter contained for now.”

“Contained? Like isolation? The news carried today that more people are turning up with the grey variant and that it is communicable…” a pause followed, his brows furrowing. “Even with the nose masks and gloves everyone seemed to have on.”

Even in the restaurant, there was a scarcity of people, as the prevention tactic had also included avoiding gatherings.

He sighed. If Athena didn’t find the cure soon enough, it would lead to declaring a state of emergency—would lead to people locking themselves indoors, and the shutting down of businesses.

Already, the board of directors, including Herbert, was talking about reducing the number of workdays to twice a week, while hoping on the cure. That would grossly affect the country’s overall GDP. Things weren’t really looking fine in the long run.

He had time to think about it after his call with Athena and resolved that he would cut her some slack. She was right when she said that the lives of hundreds and thousands, if not millions, were resting on her shoulders at the moment.

“Yes, more like that. Although they have been showing significant improvement to the vaccine I managed to produce. So, I’m hoping it cures them in the long run. The large droves of patients though…”

Athena would have loved to quit the telling of the partial truth, but she suspected that the reason why Antonio was more understanding now was because he believed that she hadn’t found the cure. If he knew that she had found it days ago, he might have blown more things out of proportion—especially the postponement of the engagement.

She fed her mouth with more food when he sighed with relief.

“At least that’s something.”

He covered her free hand with his, his palm warm and steady. “You are brilliant, you know. Extraordinarily magnificent! The best there is…”

Athena rolled her eyes dramatically, but the compliments had left her cheeks a redder shade.

“My beautiful fiancée. I can’t wait to have you as mine…” He rubbed her hand gently, his eyes boring into hers with all intent and passion.

Athena didn’t look away. She loved looking at Antonio. His familiar face and strength were soothing.

“I can’t wait too,” she found herself saying, right before she looked away and dropped the cutlery on the table, wiping her lips with a serviette.

“Are you done eating?”

Athena nodded. “I think I am full. But you must package this all. The people back home need to taste this deliciousness.”

To that statement, Antonio frowned slightly, leaning back in his chair. “They don’t need to. They didn’t invite me to the birthday surprise… it shows where they place me.”

Athena bit her lower lip, guilt brushing her features. “I think it had been a spur of the moment,” she muttered, defending her family. “I’m sure they didn’t mean to forget you. You know how much they like you, especially Jessica…”

Antonio pouted, setting his spoon down. “Even still, it doesn’t change the fact that they have not accepted me fully, only civil at best. Even the children are not as close to me as before.”