Chapter 0256
Abby
The door to the restaurant swings open with a familiar creak, and the scent of fresh coffee and bread
reaches my nostrils.
It’s been two days since Karl left town. Things are finally back in full swing after thepetition, but I
took the weekend off to recover—not just from the cook-off, but from everything else, too. Now, though,
I feel a little more prepared to take on my work.
“Morning, Abby,” Ethan greets, his eyes meeting mine over the bar. He’s neck-deep in paperwork;
we’re all ying catch-up, considering how everyone was sick with food poisoning. I still wonder where
that came from in my impably clean kitchen, but I suppose that idents happen.
But then again, after the fire, the ingredient sabotage on the cookingpetition, and the food
poisoning, I’m beginning to wonder whether anything really was an ident.
I muster a smile. “Morning. Feeling better?”
Ethan nods. “Much. Although, Karl isn’t here yet. Have you heard from him?”
That’s when my facade starts to crack. Of course I knew that everyone would have to find out
eventually, but I guess I just wasn’t expecting to have to talk about it right now. But there’s no time like
the present, right?
“He’s…” I pause, clearing my throat, as though that will somehow hide the tremor in my voice. “Karl is
gone. He’s no longer working with us.”
Ethan raises an eyebrow. Chloe, who just walked into the room with a cup of coffee in her hand,
freezes on the spot.
“Karl’s gone?” she asks.
I nod. “Yep. The n was for him to head back home once the cookingpetition was over. Well, it’s
over.”
Ethan and Chloe exchange nces. I know what they’re thinking, or at least what Chloe’s thinking: that
something else happened. And in a way, I guess it did. But Karl was going home regardless; he has
Alpha duties to attend to, and despite everything, I’m wholly grateful for the time he spent here these
past few months just to help me.
“Well, that’s a shame,” Ethan says, flipping to another page in his notebook. “I kind of liked Karl. He
was a huge help, too.”
“Yeah,” I say, starting to move again toward my office, where I know I can hide at least for a few
minutes. “I’m sure we’ll all miss his help.”
But as I walk past Chloe, her eyes meet mine, and I know she knows. Something happened between
Karl and me, something that I’m not telling her. And I know, without a doubt, that she’ll pry it out of me
sooner orter.
It seems as though she chooses sooner, because she follows me to my office without a word. When I
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reach the door, she grabs my shoulder, turning me to face her.
“Abby, can we talk?” she asks, her voice hardly more than a whisper.
I nod, bracing myself for whatever lecture I’m about to receive. We slip into my office and shut the door
behind us. A momentter, I flick on themp on my desk, casting the room in a warm orange glow.
Chloe takes a deep breath, her eyes searching mine. “You can fool them, but not me. I saw how you
were with Karl. You have feelings for him, don’t you?”
I can feel the blood drain from my face as my brain scrambles toe up with a solid answer. “Chloe, I
—”
“No, don’t try to deny it,” she interrupts, her gaze steady. “I know you, Abby. I saw the way you looked
at him. The way you two were around each other. It wasn’t just because of thepetition.”
Chloe narrows her eyes, her grip tightening around her mug of coffee. She closes the distance
between us and sets her coffee down, then leans her palms on my desk, leaning closer to me as she
speaks.
“Abby, don’t you dare lie to me. You promised.”
The air is still for what feels like an eternity. I feel like I’m locked in a silent battle with my best friend,
who always seems to read my every expression like I’m an open book. Finally, I sigh, passing my hand
over my face. Updated at Dr?manovеls.cоm
“Okay, fine,” I finally admit. “I miss Karl. I miss what we had. I always have and I probably always will.
Happy?”