The Substitute Bride Is Reborn and Loves Her Husband No more - Chapter 108

Chapter 108: vacation
Zara continued, “Look at you. It was your leg that was hurt, not your head. You don’t have any bandages or injuries—well, except for the small cut on your cheek.”

Rose nodded, processing Zara’s words. Before she knew it, Zara had adjusted the background on the video call to something more cheerful. She then handed the phone to Rose and started the video call with Tobi.

As the call connected, Rose pressed her lips together, adjusting her posture to appear as normal as possible. When the screen finally lit up with Tobi’s face, her heart nearly skipped a beat. But she quickly composed herself and focused on the call.

On the other side, Tobi was happily licking an ice cream cone, a big teddy bear clutched in his arms. His cheeks were round with a bright smile, clearly enjoying himself. Behind him, Rose spotted her father, holding extra toys.

She greeted her father first, showing respect. “Hello, Dad.” Then, she turned her attention to Tobi. “Son, how are you?” Though she wasn’t smiling, her voice was filled with warmth.

“Mummy, I’m good! Guess what, guess what!” Tobi said excitedly, taking another lick of his ice cream.

“Yes, honey, tell me what happened,” Rose encouraged.

“Grandpa bought me lots of ice cream! And we went to so many places! Mommy, guess what? I played on a Ferris wheel!”

Rose’s heart nearly stopped. A Ferris wheel? That was the last thing she expected to hear.

“Were you scared?” she asked, her concern evident.

“No, I wasn’t scared! But I think Darius was the one who was scared,” Tobi giggled.

Rose laughed along with him, feeling relieved and happy to see him enjoying himself. So, Darius was the scared one, not Tobi.

“Son, do you want to come and see Mommy, or do you still want to stay with Grandpa?” she asked, her eyes softening. She had intended to keep Tobi away for a while to protect him from seeing her like this, but in that moment, she forgot all about it. She missed her son so much.

“No, I want to stay with Grandpa for a while,” Tobi giggled, unaware that his mommy was hurt or that she was trying to keep him away from her for some time.

Rose nodded, accepting his decision. “Okay, dear. Have fun with Grandpa. I’ll see you in the coming days.”

“Okay!” Tobi nodded enthusiastically.

Rose felt the call end. She felt sad in her heart that Tobi was getting so mature. She felt sad to learn that days would come when Tobi would leave without her, without shedding tears, without crying.

One day, he wouldn’t cry for her when she was gone. He was already learning to enjoy his time away, already growing comfortable without her.

…

“Be careful with the wheelchair.”

Rolan Zara sat glaring at Rolan as they opened the door to Rose’s apartment. They entered with her, and Damien followed along, accompanying them. The wheelchair was pushed into the house, and finally, Rose was now in her parlor. She briefly glanced at her empty house. Tobi wasn’t here with her, so she missed him. Her mind wasn’t focused on anyone; she was just distracted.

Rolan placed his hands on her shoulder and said, “Are you hungry? I’ll make something for you.” But before he could finish his sentence, Damien interrupted, “I’m a good cook. I’m a master chef. I’ve won several awards in cooking. Rose, you surely want to taste my food, right?”

Rose paused, thinking for a moment, glancing at Damien who had spoken. Damien probably wouldn’t lie about something like that. He wasn’t someone who just ate cereal like Rolan, and Rolan—she had never seen him cook.

“I don’t know, can either of you cook?” Rose said, keeping her response neutral, not wanting to give hope to either man. Rolan turned to glare at Damien, as if questioning why he had intervened when this was a moment for Rolan to impress Rose, but Damien had spoken. As rivals, Zara shook her head and said, “I can’t cook. I’m not a good cook. Either of you should cook,” she added, and both Damien and Rolan turned their attention to her.

“Rose, do you want to watch a TV series? Let’s watch some melodrama. I’ve been craving something emotional and intense. Maybe something with a rich guy and a poor girl? That always makes for good drama.” Zara suggested, pushing Rose toward the television and taking a seat on the couch, handing her the remote to turn the TV on.

Rolan and Damien were left to look at each other.

“Who’s going to cook?” Damien asked.

Rolan replied, “Let’s cook together then,” though deep down, he would have loved to cook a meal for Rose alone, but sadly, he wasn’t a good cook.

Damien smirked slowly from a position where Rolan couldn’t see and turned toward the kitchen, saying only, “Right, let’s cook. You should prepare the ingredients.” As Damien spoke, Rolan went to the freezer and began searching for ingredients to cook.

In the kitchen, on the counter, there were vegetables, tomatoes, chilies, and long chilies that had not yet been cut, as well as two cups of rice. Rolan stared at the ingredients blankly. Damien glanced at him and said, “I’m going to cut the tomatoes. Have you cut the tomatoes and chilies? I’ll cut the vegetables.” Damien then proceeded to take the vegetables to cut them himself.

Nodding, Rolan immediately began cutting the tomatoes and chilies. Cutting the tomatoes was hard for him; he struggled, but he managed to cut them, though they looked ugly and uneven—not at all like how normal tomatoes should look. After the tomatoes were cut, he moved on to the chilies. The structure of the chili was different from that of the tomatoes, and it was harder for him to cut. While cutting, he suddenly felt his hands burning, as if they were on fire. His eyes also began to burn. The spiciness of the chili seemed to evaporate into the air, and he quickly realized that he needed to wipe his eyes. But then he remembered the chili residue on his hands. Rolan quickly dropped everything he was holding and rushed to the bathroom, leaving Damien with a smile that Rolan couldn’t see.

Fifteen minutes later, Rolan returned to the kitchen, now completely leaving everything to Damien. “I can’t do this,” Rolan said, cleaning his hands with a towel. He couldn’t do it, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. He said the words out loud, even though he was a little embarrassed. Damien just stared at him, a bit surprised, but then calmly took over and began cutting the chili by himself. Finally, he had escaped the kitchen. He hadn’t had time to spend with Ruth.

Rolan walked over to Ruth and sat down next to her. “Ruth, what are you watching? Tell me about it,” he asked with a small smile. She was reading quietly, and the atmosphere immediately became awkward. Zara, glancing back and forth between Rolan and Ruth, couldn’t help but wonder: Why was Ruth ignoring him? What had he done to her? Why didn’t she want to talk to him? Rolan questioned himself, his brow furrowing slightly, though his expression was neutral, as if he wasn’t hurt by it.

“The food is ready,” Damien said, coming out with the meal and placing it on the table. Ruth simply glanced at the food and then thanked Damien before taking a plate. She grabbed it because the aroma coming from the food was so enticing, and she was very hungry. The food wasn’t too hot. Ruth looked at her meal as she sat down to eat, while Rolan smiled at her.

He regretted even more that he hadn’t made the meal himself for her, but sadly, he couldn’t cook. She had once told him she would learn how to cook so that he could cook for her someday.

Rose finished her meal, and Zara now looked at her with sad eyes. “Rose, dear, this environment isn’t healthy. We should change it. You should go on a vacation somewhere—New Zealand, Hawaii—just for your mental health and recovery,” Zara said. Rose paused and stopped to look at her.

the suggestion echoed in her mind. A vacation? Leaving this place again? would it help her legs.

Zara leaned forward, sensing her hesitation. “You need fresh air, a new environment. Somewhere far from all this mess. Somewhere you can breathe.”

Rolan, who had been quietly observing, suddenly interjected, “She’s right. Staying here isn’t helping you, Rose. A change of scenery might do you good.”

Damien smirked, leaning back against the chair. “And if you need recommendations, I know plenty of luxury resorts that could help clear your mind.”

Rose let out a small breath, pressing her fingers against her temple. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to go. If she left, would she feel better, or would she just be running away? But then she thought of Tobi, so carefree and happy. She wanted to be like that again.

She lifted her gaze to Zara. “Alright… I’ll go.”

Zara’s face lit up with relief. “Perfect! We’re booking the tickets tomorrow.”