Chapter 0183


    Abby


    It’s been a few days since Anton first stepped into my restaurant, and already Anton is fitting in


    perfectly with the team.


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    That morning when I walked into the restaurant, not knowing whether I had been taken for a fool or not,


    now seems so distant. Anton and John are running like a well-oiled machine, and the customers have


    never been happier. I’ve decided that today, at the end of the day, I’m going to offer Anton a full-time


    position here.


    “Abby, table six wants to know if we can make the duck confit gluten-free?” Daisy asks me.


    “We can do that. Just make sure to mention it might take a bit longer,” I reply, jotting down an order for


    the kitchen staff.


    Daisy pauses, and I sense she’s gearing up for something more than a simple question about dietary


    restrictions. “Hey, um, I just wanted to say, Anton’s pretty awesome, isn’t he?”


    I nce toward the kitchen, where Anton is in full chef-mode, effortlessly instructing John on how to


    sear a filet to perfection. His transformation still surprises me—a clean-shaven man in crisp chef


    whites, as if the person who first walked into my restaurant was a distant rtive and not the same


    man.


    I smile. “Yeah, he is. How’s he fitting in with everyone?”


    Daisy grins. “I know it’s only been a few days, but we all really like him. He’s so friendly, and such a


    gentleman, too. I’m d that he’s a part of our little family now.”


    Daisy’s words make me grin. “That’s fantastic to hear, Daisy. I’m really d you feel that way.”


    As if on cue, Karl walks out of the stockroom, his armsden with bags of flour that seem like they


    weigh nothing to him. At first, Karl and Anton were like oil and water.


    I was surprised that Karl was even willing to entertain the idea of letting Anton work here, let alone


    going so far as to pay for Anton’s lodging. But these past few days, I think that has changed.


    “Karl, can you put those down for a sec?” I catch his eye, and he obliges, dropping the bags onto a


    nearby table with a quizzical look on his face.


    “What’s up?”


    “There’s something I think you should do,” I say, ncing back at Anton, who is at the moment


    engrossed in a yful argument with Daisy over the correct pronunciation of ‘croissant’.


    Karl arches an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”


    I nod my head toward Anton. “An apology, maybe?”


    Karl looks confused for a second, then his eyes soften with realization. “Ah, right. The whole ‘chasing


    him away like a stray dog’ incident.”


    I nod. “Exactly.”


    Karl blinks at me for a few moments as though he’s about to refuse my request, maybe even tell me


    that he’s done enough by paying for Anton’s lodging. But he doesn’t.


    Instead, he takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly, and walks up to Anton with purpose.


    “Hey, Anton,” Karl says, his voice softer than I had imagined. “Can we talk for a second?”


    Anton turns around, cing his knife down with a flourish. “Ah, Karl! What can I do you for, friend?”


    There’s a pause. Watching Karl like this, for reasons I won’t even admit to myself, sends my heart


    racing. Seeing him so understanding, so open… It’s like a different Karl altogether. Or maybe not


    different, but… an older version. Before he became a strict and emotionless Alpha, before things went


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    It makes me smile, to see him so mature and grown now, but also back to some of his old ways at the


    same time.