Chapter 111 Despite that, he never took it. Thus, the man still deserved his credit for his honor and kindness, which was why she couldnât lea ve him be. Frustrated, she walked back to Matthewâs side. Due to her anger, her pale face visibly reddened, and because of that, she appeared rather charming.
Having witnessed what happened, Matthew softly quizzed, âWhy help him if youâre that mad?â Few moments ago when the mask ed man appeared, Matthew wanted to eliminate him right away, but Veronicaâs words and gestures reflected that she was an insightful woman. Besides, he shouldnât be meddling in any of her personal affairs, unles s it was an issue she couldnât resolve, that was. That was the basic respect he had for her.
âHmph. He... Forget it. Iâm hungry, and Iâll just be wasting my life away talking to him anyway.â As she was venting, she snatched the meat skewer in Matthewâs hand and impatiently took a bite, only for her lips to be burned by the scorching hot food. âAh, itâs still hot! Damn it all!â With problems stacking on top of each other, she couldnât help but feel irr itated. For some reason, her annoyed look made her seem like the whiny little girl next door, and Matthew was entertained by it.
Thereupon, the man grabbed the meat skewer in her hand and cut it into bites with his dagger before picking a piece up with the tip of the dagger. He then blew the heat off and placed it before her mouth. âHere.â
Famished, Veronica thoughtlessly nommed it down, and instantly, her face froze. She turned to Matthew with a frown. âIt tastes...
so bad...â Without salt, it was supposed to taste bland, but the meat was awful!
âBad?â Baffled, Matthew had a taste for himself, to which he, too, revealed a glower. The meat was dry and carried a strong taste of burntness along with the bloody flesh underneath. The skin was burned but the flesh was thoroughly uncooked. In that instant , awkwardness surged on his handsome face.
âDo you perhaps only know how to cook porridge, Matthew?â She recalled the time when they shared a room, including the second day spent uphill, where Matthew would only prepare porridge for meals and nothing else apart from that. No w that she thought about it, he seemed to have cooked nothing else.
With the truth laid out in the open, Matthew turned away with a sharp gaze. âItâs up to you, then.â His silence, to Veronica, was an implicit acknowledgment of the fact that he knew nothin g of culinary except for preparing porridges. ·
âYou know what... To be fair, itâs already a merit for a busy man like you to know how to cook porridge. Mhm, a merit, indeed.â Aft er throwing out those highly perfunctory words, she noiselessly grabbed the meat in his hand and started chewing. Regardless of the rawness of the meat, she could only bear the burnt odor on top of the fleshy stink in order to fill her stomach. She proceeded to take a few more bites. No matter how hungry she was, she had to admit it. Itâs so f*cking bad! I swear even poison doesnât taste this bad!
âBlargh!â Her forceful attempt to take in the meat only ended up in belches.
With that, Matthewâs face instantly stiffened, though he couldnât help but feel sorry for her. âDonât force yourself if itâs that bad.â H e took the meat away from her hands and handed her his gun. âTake this. Iâll go look for something.â Having said that, he shot th e masked man a warning leer before turning around and leaving.
âHey, where are you going?â Seeing as Matthew was about to leave, Veronica suddenly felt her insecurities arise all over again, but she failed to notice how dependent she was toward Matthew.
However, the man departed without even turning back, to which she mumbled, âYouâre not abandoning me here alone, are you, Matthew?â Heâs not leaving me behind because his pride was hurt after seeing me about to throw up because of the food he ma de, is he?
Hearing that, Matthew stopped walking. Her wordsââYouâre not abandoning me here alone, are you?ââ
echoed in his mind. Simple words that carried so much helplessness fondled the softest spot in the manâs heart that immediately soured. His stunning face revealed a vague beam. âWhat are you talking about, silly?â Utmost warmth and adoration was evident in that smile. Sadly, a hardâheaded woman like Veronica couldnât sense the tenderness underneath his words.
âThatâs better. No matter what, youâre still my bro. If you dare to abandon me, Iâll make sure to tell Grandma about it!â She voiced her threat and pouted her lips.
She must have been a boulder in her past life to be so ignorant and oblivious toward his subtle, loving hints. Upon her words, his smile turned into a frozen grin, and his eyes visibly darkened.
Realizing something was off, she nervously questioned, âHey, Matthew, yâyouâre not actually abandoning me, are you? Tâ
Thatâs not cool at all! Not one bit!â God had just gifted her a path to survival, and now that the path seemed to be closing down, s he would have nothing else to turn to. Bearing that in mind, she was utterly agitated. Swiftly, she stood up and hurriedly limped b efore Matthew. Gripping his arm, she piliably pursed her lips. âI was just joking. Itâs not that bad, really! Itâs just... a liule burned, b ut other than that, itâs all good! Mhm, just like... just like how people like their meat medium rare. It was splendid! But a country girl like me wouldnât know to appreciate it, right? Heh...â In order to please Nonetheless, Matthew was used to her sly trickeries. His instinct was to shove her away, but seeing her so pettyâher dirty cheeks and her unkempt shoulderâ
length hair as well as her soiled garment as if she was a kid that was just done playing in the dirt, he had mixed feelings. Topping Idly, he stared at Veronica. His deep, stony eyes turned sympathetic and solicitous. Thousands of emotions flashed across his eye 1. it.
âDonât be mad, Matthew. I was joking!â To her, Matthew was her savior, and her intense desire to live on wouldnât allow her to upse In the past days, the woman, too, donned innumerable faces in front of himâ
cold, rageous, gratifying, and so on. Although she wasnât exactly easy to grasp, he still managed to figure out her âgame.â Noneth fearing abandonment. After having gone through so much pain and trauma, she could no longer feel safe in the world, and even t Matthew frowned. There was nothing but pain on his appealing face. The next second, he uncontrollably pulled her into his arms, Mysophobia? To hell with it!