Male Lead, Please Dump Me Three Times - Chapter 39

“My goodness……”

I barely swallowed my drool as I looked at the food densely packed on the very large and wide dining table.

“No way! What is all this?”

“How is it?”

“Did the kitchen staff get exempt from vacation? Or did a visiting chef come by…?”

I rubbed my eyes and looked again, wondering if I was seeing things.

It was real.

“How is it? Is it okay?”

“No, it’s not just okay. It feels like I should kneel down to eat this… Or maybe even pray…”

“I’m not sure if it suits your taste. It was prepared in a hurry.”

“Prepared in a hurry… you say?”

Ray nodded with a languid smile at my words.

That proud smile… could it be?

“Don’t tell me, Ray, you prepared all this yourself?”

“Yes. I did.”

“No way, you know how to cook? And you’re even good at cooking?”

Ray chuckled at my words.

“Not really. I just wanted to do it myself, so I learned a bit ago.”

“That’s really cool… I’m bad at cooking. Honestly, I’ve never even tried.”

“I can cook for you.”

I picked up a fork with my hands trembling with excitement.

I couldn’t decide which food to start with and ended up just sucking on the fork.

Ray sat next to me and said,

“I prepared a variety of things, but try to eat the softer ones first. It’s not good to strain your empty stomach.”

How… How can someone be so perfect… So considerate.

I leaned on the table and propped my chin up, then looked up at Ray and said,

“I just had a great idea. How about we eat all this and then take some digestive medicine?”

“Daisy.”

“I’m joking.”

I took a deep breath and reached for the steak right in front of me.

“I’ll cut it for you. Have this soup first.”

The plate in front of me suddenly disappeared, and another plate was placed in front of me.

It was a bowl of cream soup.

My hand, not knowing where to go, hovered in the air.

“…I’m not a baby! I can cut and eat a steak.”

I growled at Ray, who treated me like a baby.

“I know. But still, have the soup first since you’re on an empty stomach.”

Unlike my excitement, Ray spoke calmly and started cutting the steak he had taken from me into bite-sized pieces.

I took a sip of the steamy soup. The soft and warm soup whirled in my mouth, stimulating my appetite.

Holding the soup in my mouth, I looked at Ray with satisfaction and said,

“You’re good with a knife.”

Then, I scanned Ray’s profile from his forehead down to his chin.

“Is well done okay?”

“Of course. It’s perfect. I like rare too, but I prefer well-done.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Ray pushed the plate with the neatly cut steak towards me and added one more thing,

“It’s proper to cut it little by little, but this seemed more convenient.”

I clasped my hands together and exclaimed,

“Eeey. It looks delicious……!”

I looked like a predator that had found delicious prey. My eyes sparkled as I stuffed two pieces of steak into my mouth in succession.

The juices flowed out. The accompanying sauce blended so well that it melted gently in my mouth.

“…How is it?”

Ray asked me, my cheeks puffed up with two pieces of steak.

I gave Ray a thumbs-up.

“It’s delicious!”

“That’s relieving.”

Ray let out a light sigh of relief and told me.

For a while, Ray silently watched me eating eagerly. His eyes were narrowly smiling.

“Ray, you eat too. It’s embarrassing to eat alone.”

Thus, we began to clear the dishes filled with food while exchanging trivial, forgettable conversations.

There were even three types of spaghetti. It felt like being at a buffet, enjoying the fun of choosing what to eat.

The five different types of salads prepared also added freshness when eaten with meat, making them exquisite.

“Which one tastes the best?”

“I like everything… but I think the bacon cream pasta is the best!”

I slightly tilted my head and looked at Ray sitting next to me.

“Um… here.”

Ray’s gaze turned towards my lips. Then he touched just below his own lips.

“Huh? Is something on me?”

Following Ray’s gesture, I rubbed somewhere on my lips.

“Not there.”

Suddenly, Ray leaned in closer to me, our eyes meeting.

“Here.”

Ray’s thick thumb gently brushed my lower lip. Then he brought it to his lips and licked it with a pop sound.

At that moment, Ray’s gaze felt provocatively sultry.

“It’s dirty… Wait a moment, I need a tissue…”

Embarrassed, I made an excuse about needing a tissue and fumbled around.

“It’s not dirty. Eat quickly.”

If I keep looking at Ray any longer…

I feared I might lose my senses and do something to him.

Suddenly, an intense awkwardness overwhelmed me. I worried that this awkwardness might lead to silence.

I felt like I needed to say something right away.

“Ray. But why did you send all the staff away?”

“Um. I wanted us to be comfortable together, and I thought you might feel uncomfortable, Daisy .”

“Oh, I see.”

As expected.

He did it considering my feelings…

If the staff knew that an unmarried man and woman spent the night together, they would surely think it strange.

“Isn’t it too lonely? It’s too big to stay alone.”

“With Daisy here, what’s there to be lonely about? Anyway, everyone will be back in three days. Shall I prepare dessert right away?”

“No. Really, I want to eat more? But my stomach is too full now. Can’t fit anymore.”

I lightly tapped my bloated belly and groaned.

Watching me, Ray lazily smiled and said,

“Shall we go digest then?”

* * *

“Are you really going to walk around like this?”

“Yes. It seems too early for anything else.”

Once again, I fluttered around Ray like a paper doll hanging onto him.

It was quite frustrating not being able to freely walk around despite having perfectly good legs.

“What is this? We’re not newlyweds… No wait. Honestly, even newlyweds wouldn’t walk around like this.”

“If it were newlyweds, maybe, but not for a patient.”

Ray spoke very firmly. He seemed not at all inclined to let go.

“When can I graduate from being a patient?”

“When you’re completely healed without a single scar showing.”

Killian goddamn it.

It’s all that bastard’s fault.

Annoyed by the thought, my expression involuntarily scrunched up.

“Feeling very frustrated?”

“Yes. I want to walk. It helps with digestion.”

Ray let out a soft breath and gently set me down.

“If you feel any pain, please tell me. We can’t have your wounds getting worse.”

“Of course!”

We started to explore the vast mansion.

As midday approached, sunlight filled every corner of the mansion. The warm sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling glass, illuminating the interior.

“Yaaawn…”

I guess I’m full, and basking in the sunlight.

A yawn escaped through my drowsy lips.

“Feeling sleepy?”

“Yeah. A little. Maybe because I’m full, I feel sleepy.”

“Do you want to lie down for a bit?”

I smiled and nodded at him. Ray then led me to his bedroom.

It was a space filled with a familiar scent.

I closed my eyes tightly as a cringe-worthy memory flashed through my mind.

That time… because of the sedative, I was blurting out nonsense to Ray.

Recalling that incident was but a fleeting moment.

Back then, I was out of it and didn’t notice.

But now, seeing it, Ray’s room seemed too large for just one person.

It felt somewhat lonely…

Suddenly, I pictured Ray living alone in this place.

Silently, I started to look around the bedroom, from one corner to the next, taking everything in.

“Feel free to look around. There’s not much to see though.”

In response to Ray’s words, I began to flutter around the room.

“Oh…, that’s…”

There was a large frame on the wall next to the bed.

I naturally walked towards it.

A photo contained a handsome man with black hair and blue eyes, a beautiful woman with blonde hair and red eyes.

And a very cute little boy.

The boy’s eyes were red, and his hair was as dark as the night sky.

‘I didn’t see it last time… there was a family photo…’

“That’s my parents. The boy being held by my mother is me.”

The little boy had a sunny smile.

Ray’s mother was holding young Ray on her lap.

Ray’s father was holding her shoulders with both hands, embracing her as if she was precious.

“He’s cute. Young Ray.”

I couldn’t say anything else.

Pretending not to know, I couldn’t ask where they were, nor could I say they looked happy without possibly stirring Ray’s sense of loss.

I thought to myself without saying anything.

‘He must miss them every night looking at this photo…’

Standing in front of the bed, facing the wall-mounted frame, I was lost in thought.

The family in the photo seemed happier than anyone else in the world.

“They passed away when I was young.”

Ray’s soft and low voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

He sat on the bed in front of me and spoke.

His tone was calm, but something inside me twinged.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

I said as I looked down at Ray.

“Why are you sorry? It’s not something you should apologize for.”

Ray suddenly widened his stance and pulled me between his legs.

Our bodies came closer together.

Ray was gazing up at me intently.

It’s not polite to pity someone carelessly.

Yet, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.

Our eyes met in the air, tangling softly.

“Ray.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like a hug?”