"Kai told me 'I love you' today,
I was too happy to sleep,
Then I thought about you,
And realized I was even more awake."
I kept all these notes in a drawer. Every time I read them, I couldn't stop smiling.
Who would've thought? Kayden Blackwood could demolish opponents in business negotiations, quote precedents in Elder Council meetings, but his love poetry... read like a kindergartener's work.
On the fifth morning, there was a bouquet beside the note. I picked it up—
Wild chrysanthemums, foxtail grass, dandelions, and several weeds I couldn't identify, roughly bundled together with twine. Some were already wilting.
The note read:
"First time picking flowers.
Didn't know what to choose.
Everything reminded me of you.
So I picked them all.
Do you like it?"
I covered my mouth, laughing until I couldn't hold it in anymore, the sound spilling out of the room. I laughed until I collapsed on the bed.
Silver Moon Forest had plenty of rare, exotic flowers. How did he manage to—with laser precision—select these... aggressively wild specimens from among all those gorgeous blooms? Foxtail grass? Reminded him of me?
Like hell it was pretty!
I wiped tears from my eyes, still chuckling, but got up anyway to find a delicate vase. I arranged the "bouquet" carefully and placed it on my desk.
That afternoon, Kayden came by. When he saw the flowers in the vase, his eyes lit up.
"You... you like them?"
"Love them." I swallowed my laughter. "Very creative."
"I'll pick more next time!" Kayden said eagerly. "The forest has so many..."
"No!" I quickly stopped him. "These are plenty."
Any more and I'd run out of vases.
On day six, Kayden announced he was making dinner.
I refused. Our maid Elsa refused. Even Kai refused.
"Daddy, your cooking... isn't good."
"I can learn!" Kayden insisted. Why was his competitive streak kicking in now?!
We finally let him into the kitchen. The result—
He mistook sugar for salt, vinegar for soy sauce, and cranked the oven to maximum heat, nearly incinerating a chicken into charcoal.
