Sandra was drying her hair with a scowl on her face as Lukas kept ranting, covering his ears. Even though they shared a room, they slept separately. Sandra took the bed, while Lukas had slept on the sofa all night long.
They'd argued endlessly—even over who would sleep on the couch, they had pushed and wrestled each other until late at night. That might be why Lukas was cranky and sleepy, even though the sun was already shining brightly.
"Couldn't you sleep in longer? Why so early? Don't you know it's the weekend? If you're thinking of making breakfast, don't bother! I'll just throw it away like usual. Don't act like you care!" he barked irritably.
"What did you say?!"
Sandra walked up to him and began hitting him ruthlessly. She hadn't even read that part of the diary yet, and Lukas had already told her himself!
What kind of man was he? Throwing away food his wife made? Unappreciative!
"You're evil! Evil!" Sandra climbed onto Lukas's stomach and pummeled him with a pillow. "You think I'd still want to cook for you again? Never! I'd rather cook for that handsome doctor, Thomas!"
"You think Thomas would want you?" Lukas laughed mockingly. "You really think that sleazy flirt would take you seriously? Most likely, you'd be his bed buddy for a month, then he'd toss you away!"
"No way! You're the one like that!"
"Try it and see!"
"Just admit it—you're trying to scare me! You're jealous and don't want me to go near Thomas!"
Thump. Lukas paused for a moment. How did Sandra know? Okay, fine, he was just trying to scare the village girl so she wouldn't flirt with other men.
Until he had his father's full trust and the inheritance was firmly his, Lukas didn't want Sandra to belong to anyone else. If she did, it would feel like an insult. Like being rejected.
"Jealous? Don't be ridiculous!" Lukas flipped the situation, pinning Sandra down and grinning wickedly. "You think you're strong?"
"Lukas!"
"You really think you can fight me with that tiny body of yours?" Lukas restrained her movements and loomed over her with a teasing smile.
"What do you want?"
"We've been married for a while, but we've never…" Lukas kissed Sandra's ear, making her eyes widen. "Never had our first night together," he whispered in a husky voice.
Lukas now realized—why should he feel scared or awkward after kissing her? That was cowardly! Sandra should be the one who felt intimidated!
Sandra shivered as her husband began trailing kisses down her neck. His hand roamed across her body sensually, igniting her desire mercilessly.
"Let me go, Lukas!"
"Why? Aren't you enjoying it?" Lukas leaned in closer, making Sandra squirm like a trapped animal.
"Don't steal my first kiss again!"
"That wasn't your first. Don't you remember that morning?" he teased.
"You jerk! Let me go!"
"Quit yelling. I want to sleep! If you keep fussing, I'll get you pregnant—this morning!" he threatened with a wicked grin.
"Why are you such a pervert!!!" she screamed in frustration.
"You challenging me?"
"FINE!!!" Sandra finally gave in. She didn't want Lukas doing anything reckless. She wasn't ready to be intimate with him—and probably never would be.
*****
"You have a husband but sleep until noon? What's he going to eat? Come help Grandma cook!" Maria yanked Sandra's ear just as she was about to sit down for breakfast.
Sandra had expected this. Of course the old lady would forbid the maids from preparing breakfast and instead make her do all sorts of chores. Sandra had seen plenty of this in soap operas—poor girl marries rich guy, cue evil grandma.
"Don't blame me, Grandma!" Sandra pouted. "Blame your grandson who never appreciates my cooking!"
"What did Lukas do?"
"He throws it away, every time! Even when I try hard!"
"My grandson would never!"
"Ask him yourself!"
"Stop talking and prove you can cook!" Maria dragged Sandra into the kitchen and handed her a bunch of ingredients.
"I want beef rendang and oxtail soup! For sides, make spicy jengkol sambal. Cook them all!" Maria smiled wickedly. She intentionally asked for dishes that were difficult and required lots of spices. She was sure Sandra wouldn't be able to cook them properly.
"If they're not good, you'll redo them until they are!"
"If they are good, Lukas has to eat everything, including the jengkol! You have to convince him. Deal?" Sandra countered.
"But remember, if it's not good, you do it over and over!"
Sandra tied on an apron and started working with the meat and other ingredients Maria requested. Cooking was her hobby. Maria's challenge wasn't hard—especially if it was just traditional Indonesian dishes!
Maria watched Sandra prepare the ingredients carefully. She handled the spices in order and showed no signs of confusion. Could she really cook? The dishes Maria had picked had complex seasoning.
"Remember, it has to taste good!" Maria kept glaring at her. But she was shocked at how skillfully Sandra chopped the meat and prepared everything. Maybe challenging her to cook was a bad idea.
"Yes, Grandma!" Sandra replied cheerfully. Her dishes had to be perfect—no mistakes. She couldn't wait to see Lukas suffer through eating the jengkol his grandma requested. He'd be miserable!
"Aren't you tired of standing? Come sit down!" Sandra brought over a chair from the dining table. "Here you go, Grandma!" she said sweetly.
"Don't act like you care!"
"Aww, you're shy!" Sandra teased playfully.
"You always talk back to your elders!" Maria slapped her backside. But instead of being upset, Sandra just laughed.
"You really like this kind of food, Grandma? I thought you lived in Singapore?"
"So I should eat Laksa every day? These are my favorites!"
"Really?"
"I used to be a farmer's daughter. The village belle—prettiest girl around and a great cook!" she said proudly. "Even Lukas's grandfather was madly in love with me. Our love story was like Prince and Cinderella!"
"Wooooow, really?" Sandra kept cooking while listening enthusiastically. Maria looked genuinely happy. She seemed to really miss her late husband.
"He chased me endlessly! Proposed and gave me this beautiful ring!" Maria showed the diamond ring still on her finger.
"So romantic! Did Grandpa like these dishes too?"
"He loved my cooking!" Maria smiled warmly. She was a different person from the strict, cranky woman earlier. She enjoyed someone finally listening to her stories. Usually, her kids and grandkids said they were bored when she reminisced.
"Did he give you flowers on Valentine's Day?"
"Of course! He'd bring me a bouquet of roses. He'd take me on dates in his old car!"
"Ahh, that's adorable! If only Lukas were like that! But nope, he's so mean! My dream of a romantic husband like Grandpa is gone. What do you think, Grandma? Should I just marry Thomas instead? He's handsome, right?"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Maria smacked Sandra's back hard. "My grandson is more handsome. How could you even think of dumping him!"
"He dumped me. He's always with Kayla—you know that. It breaks my heart every time he yells at me or throws away my food!" Sandra played the sad card. Would the old woman fall for it?
Don't underestimate Sandra—she was great at charming the elderly. She was confident this tactic would work.
"Every woman wants a husband like Grandpa. A sweet love story to remember, like yours. Maybe I should just divorce Lukas?" she asked sadly, baiting sympathy.
Maria, who had just been wishing for that exact thing, now suddenly felt sorry. Why was she the one losing here? What kind of spell had Sandra cast on her to make her feel this way?
"Stop talking and keep cooking!" Maria barked, storming out of the kitchen. If she stayed too long, Sandra's spell would take over her. She couldn't let herself go soft!