She picked up her spoon, scooped up a chunk of meat, and took a bite. She instantly choked on the spice.


    She tossed the spoon and hastily poured herself a ss of water.


    "Why is this so spicy? Did I put in too much pepper?" she mumbled to herself.


    The stew smelled perfect, but it was far too spicy for La''s liking.


    She was used to the lighter vors of meals at home, and though she would asionally dine out with her friends, she could only tolerate food that was mildly spicy.


    After finishing her water, she sat back down in her chair and thought of ways to get rid of the spice. Finally, she ced a bowl of water next to her and submerged the meat in the water to wash off some of the spices, so that she would not choke again, before taking another bite.


    Just then, her phone started ringing.


    It was a video call from Avery, and La immediately answered it.


    "Darling, I saw the photos you posted. Are you having stew tonight?" Avery asked.


    "Yeah, Mom! Let me show it to you." La adjusted the camera and showed Avery the steaming pot of stew. "I made this myself. It tastes great!"


    La did not tell Avery that she had identally added too much spice to it as she was too embarrassed to admit that she had made a mistake in her first attempt at cooking.


    "Looks good... It looks a little red. It must be quite spicy, right?" Avery asked.


    La sniffled and stubbornly said, "It''s fine! Just slightly spicier than what I''m used to, but I can always have it with bread. Mom, have you eaten?"


    "We''ve just finished dinner, and there''re plenty of leftovers! The house feels so empty without you."


    A lump formed in La''s throat. "Mom, I''m just a forty-minute drive away from you. If you say things like that, I''m going to want toe home. Don''t try to shake my resolve!" La pouted.


    "I just miss you. If you are happy on your own, I will try and get used to it. I just want you to be happy." Avery smiled at La.N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    La turned the camera around to face herself. "Where is Dad?"


    "Right next to me! He followed me into the room when he found out that I''m video calling you." Avery immediately directed the camera at Elliot.


    Elliot walked over. He felt an explosion of feeling when he saw La.


    "La, you could have bought some meat stew from a restaurant if that''s what you wanted to eat. It''s so troublesome to cook it yourself. saw the photo and it looks so spicy. Are you sure you can eat it? You might get a stomach acheter."


    Eliot was so worried that he had lost


    his appetite.


    Not at all annoyed by his lecture, Elliot''s words only fostered a longing for home in La. It was her first day away from home, and she could already feel herself wavering. "Dad, it just looks spicy. It''s more sanitary to cook for myself!" La smiled.


    "Are you going to wash the dishes yourself, too? Don''t do it. I will send a servant over." Elliot did not want his daughter to suffer at all.


    "Dad, there''s only one pot to wash. You don''t need to get someone else to wash it for me. Don''t worry about me. I''m doing great. The weekend ising up, and I wille home Friday night," La promised. "I will cook for you on Friday."


    Seeing how cheerful La seemed, Elliot said, "Alright. I look forward to it."


    After the call, La set her phone down and proceeded with her dinner.


    For some reason, the food no longer tasted as good after the call. She had overestimated her appetite and had cooked too much. She could not finish it. After eating a slice of bread, she began to eat just the stew. She had put far too much effort into cooking for her to discard the stew without finishing it.


    She ate while scrolling through her phone. An hourter, she finished two-thirds of the stew and could not eat anymore, so she threw the rest away.


    Afterward, she spent half an hour


    cleaning and was forced to admit that her enthusiasm for cooking had mostly faded in the mere three


    hours it took for her to cook, eat, and clean.


    Once she was done, she copsed onto the couch and sent a message to Ivy. [Ivy, cooking is so tiring! I cooked too much! I couldn''t finish everything and had to throw it away.]