Monica nodded. Between the two of them, one was definitely Cedric. As for the other, didn't matter much.

"So, what exactly did they say?" Monica shifted a bit, arms folded casually. "Come on, Sabrina, we don't keep secrets, do we? Like your first time with Cedric..."

"Pfft-!" Sabrina had just taken a sip of her drink when Monica's blunt words made her nearly choke. She quickly grabbed a tissue, dabbing at her mouth.

Their first time-hers and Cedric's.

Oh God. Just those three words and scenes from that day flashed through her head like a steamy, 3-million-word fic.

Monica looked totally innocent. "Why so dramatic? I meant your first time holding hands with him. Didn't you tell me about that? After class one day-you faked a dizzy spell and grabbed his hand, remember?"

Yep, Sabrina had totally overthought it. She cleared her throat and came clean. "They were talking about life... like, as in human life, I think. Their expressions were... weird. Monica, be real with me, am I in trouble? Did I do something I shouldn't have...?"

Her voice wavered by the end.

This was no joke. When it came to stuff like life and death, it hit different.

Even Monica felt her heart skip. Thinking back on what Lynne had said that night... yeah, this could be way more serious than she'd thought.

Otherwise, why would a mother who always wanted her daughter happy suddenly try to stop her from liking someone she liked so much?

But now wasn't the time to spiral into guesses.

"Sabrina." Monica sighed, slipping into lecture mode.

"Hmm?" Sabrina looked up, confused.

"You always doubt yourself. And me. It's kinda hard to stay close friends like this." Monica shook her head, playing the victim. "You asking me this stuff now makes me feel like you've never really trusted me at all."

"I didn't mean it like that." Sabrina immediately denied it.

She really didn't. It was just that Cedric and Margaret both mentioned it, and it felt off, so she needed to know.

"But if that were true, your first reaction should've been, 'I definitely didn't mess up,' right? Not running to me like I'm hiding something." Monica's wounded tone didn't let up.

She had that natural charming vibe, and with her history of dealing with men, she knew exactly how to pull off that "hurt and betrayed" look.

With guys, that move was lethal. For a softie like Sabrina, it was game over.

Sure enough, seeing Monica all bummed out because of her, Sabrina caved. Guilt surged, and she just apologized. "I'm sorry."

Monica had a point.

"Sabrina," Monica added while she had the open lane, "I know deep down you always think you're seriously sick, but come on-these days, being 100% fine is the real abnormal. Headaches, tummy issues, backache-they all count as something. So why freak out just 'cause your memory's a little worse than others?"

Sabrina lowered her head."I swear to you as a professional doctor, your memory is just a teeny bit worse than average. Like, the size of a third of your pinky nail. So seriously, don't beat yourself up. Besides, based on the evaluations I did for you, you've never forgotten anything major. I mean, you even remember your first time with Cedric perfectly. What could be more important than that, right?"

Monica raised an eyebrow, her tone turning a little cheeky.

Sabrina kept nodding along with what Monica said, but that last part? Nope, she wasn't owning up to that. "It was just holding hands, nothing big."

To her, just about anything else would be more significant.

"Come on, Sabrina," Monica corrected with a smirk, "I was talking about your first night with Cedric. You mentioned that spot on the inside of his thigh..."

"Okay, cut it out!"

Sabrina shouted, her face going bright red like a cooked crab.

Weird thing was, amidst all this ridiculous talk, her gloomy mood had quietly lifted.

Maybe she really needed to learn from Monica-learn how to stop doubting herself all the time. So what if she forgot stuff? It wasn't a personality flaw, just a small glitch in the hardware. And forgetting things didn't mean hurting others was her fault.

She got up and gave Monica a big hug, rubbing her cheek affectionately against her shoulder. "You're my favorite, Monica."

Monica curled her lips into a playful grin. "Ooh, hope Lynne didn't hear that."

*****

So that conversation was officially over. For the next few days, Sabrina stayed holed up at home and didn't step outside. Her mom, Lynne, still had no idea she'd gone off the rails the other day and visited Monica's clinic, which meant Monica had actually kept her word. Sabrina finally felt like she could breathe.

"How long are you planning to crash here?" Lynne asked one afternoon while lounging on the couch with a face mask on and munching cucumber slices.

"I'm not ready to go back yet," Sabrina replied.

"Hey, I'm not asking you to fly back right now. Just think ahead a little, okay? Or did you forget you still have that lab team? You finished 'Twinkle' ages ago and haven't done much since. You're still holding onto the rights, right? You may be fine financially, but those researchers? They've got bills to pay too," Lynne reminded her.

Honestly, her real purpose was to subtly nudge her daughter to pack up and leave. She'd had this vague sense of unease for days now, like something bad might happen, and she didn't like it.

But since Sabrina immediately said she didn't feel like going back, she didn't want to push it.

"Yeah, I know," Sabrina said, eyes downcast.

Cedric clearly wasn't interested in partnering up. She sighed-time was flying, and with winter creeping in, if Cedric didn't come around soon, there'd be no way to get the new product out by spring.

More than that, her patents couldn't just sit there. If Cedric didn't buy them, she'd have no choice but to sell to Pama. It wasn't just about her-everyone in the lab needed to eat.

That's how R&D worked. When you hit something big, you got a payout. The bigger the result, the bigger the check. "Twinkle" was a breakthrough, something you couldn't just replicate. It had taken five months of work-sure, she'd produced a few minor outputs here and there, but those didn't bring in much cash. So sure, maybe she had all these shiny patents, but that didn't mean she was swimming in money.

At least paying her team's salaries was still a real stress point.

But if Cedric passed, could she really go to Pama or someone else? That felt like teaming up with her competitor to crush someone from her own side. Just the thought of it made her feel gross.

Granny Strickland was such a sweetheart-how could she possibly...

Wait a sec, maybe she could go talk to her!

Gracewell belonged to Granny Strickland, right? Since Cedric took her goodwill as an attack, seeing him clearly wasn't gonna help-then why not just go straight to Granny herself?

That thought instantly perked Sabrina up.

Man, how did she not think of this before? She really could be so dense sometimes.

"Mom, have you heard from Granny Strickland lately? Is she still staying at the Strickland estate?" Sabrina turned around and asked Lynne, who was reclining on the sofa.

Lynne, who was mid-bite on a cucumber, got so startled by the question that she bit her tongue. Wincing, she ripped off her face mask and tossed it on the table.

"Mom? You okay? Seriously, you always rush stuff." Sabrina walked over, a little annoyed, watching her mom scrunch her face in pain.

Lynne's heart was racing, enough to ache a bit, but she forced herself to keep it together. "Why are you suddenly asking about Granny Strickland?"

"Just curious," Sabrina replied honestly.

"Look, Sabrina," Lynne said carefully, "From what I heard, Granny Strickland's not doing great. She's in a nursing home resting, so... maybe let's not bother her." Lynne knew her daughter too well-Sabrina wouldn't bring something up out of the blue unless she had plans. And this? This was what she dreaded.

"Where'd you hear that? Mom, do you still have ties with the Stricklands?" Sabrina asked, surprised.

"A housekeeper from their place told me. We still chat here and there. But what matters is-listen to me-don't even think about bothering Granny Strickland. Don't bring it up, okay? It's a touchy subject."

Sabrina could tell her mom's reaction was off. Usually when an elder's sick, isn't it normal for the younger ones to check in on them? But here, she was being told not even to mention it?

"Every family's got its own ways," Lynne added, voice low. "I already reached out before, and let's just say... the vibe from the Stricklands wasn't great. So let's not push things. Got it?" Each word made Lynne's heart thump harder. Lying to her daughter-her pride and joy-was eating her up inside.

Sabrina nodded. "Okay. I won't bring it up."

So that explained Cedric's bad mood lately. It had to be his grandma's health. And she? She just kept showing up in front of him.

With that realization, Sabrina felt like she had a connection now-like Cedric's cold attitude made a bit more sense. People get short-tempered when family's unwell. She could get behind that.

Maybe she should try just one more time.

Twinkle meant so much-to her, to the team. Every drop of effort and every late night spent in the lab, all for this. Only by handing it over to Gracewell would she truly feel at peace.

As she was mentally figuring out how to bring it up with Cedric again, her phone buzzed. Unknown number, but the message itself was pretty detailed-it was from a senior exec at the Pama Conglomerate.

It was an apology.

For what happened-when that guy from one of their subsidiaries kidnapped her.

The message hit all the notes: harsh reprimands for the guy involved, some over-the-top wording begging for her forgiveness, and finally, an invitation to a formal apology dinner. They really hoped she'd come.

Sabrina's first instinct was to avoid. She set her phone down like nothing happened and moved on.

But clearly, the other party wasn't going to let it go that easy. The next day, right on time, without even waiting for her reply-or caring if she sent one-a message popped up like she had agreed.

[Hi Miss Lionhart, I've arrived. The traffic must be a nightmare, no worries if you're running late.]

Sabrina was speechless. She seriously thought the people at Pama had skin thicker than armor. She didn't bother to respond.

About twenty minutes later, another text arrived.

[Not sure how much longer you'll be, so I've gone ahead and ordered. Wouldn't want to waste your time.]

At this point, she was practically choking on her disbelief.

Twenty more minutes, and ding-another one.

This time, there was a photo attached too.

The table was covered with nine different dishes-meat, fish, veggies, shrimp, even a fancy little soup pot. Alongside the image, a new caption:

[You must still be stuck in traffic. I covered the dishes so they don't get cold. I also ordered white truffle consommé for you-it's super dry here this fall, and I figured it must be tough to adjust.]

Sabrina was so annoyed she almost texted back something sarcastic. Like, was this supposed to be a comedy show?

But after her fingers tapped the screen a few times, she stopped herself.

She knew whoever was behind all this was likely just following orders from the company. No point throwing a fit at the messenger.

So she tossed her phone aside and swore not to look at it again.

By 11 p.m., Monica came back from her shift, grabbed Sabrina's phone to kill some time, and saw the whole message thread.

After scrolling through every single text, she gave a thumbs-up with a face full of sarcasm. "Damn, Pama folks... talk about persistence."

She was the only one who knew what really went down during Sabrina's kidnapping, so her words carried weight.

Sabrina sighed. Looking back now, part of her did feel a little bad.

Monica eyed her. "Listen, don't let guilt trip you. Sure, don't lash out at the guy, but anyone working for a company that thinks kidnapping is cool? Clearly messed up. And come on, you never planned to work with them anyway. Why stress?"

She tossed Sabrina's phone on the couch, leaned back hard, and stretched like a cat.

"But I do feel like..."

"Shhh," Monica cut her off without hesitation. "No buts. Go sleep, be good."

Sabrina pouted but quietly headed to bed.

The next day? Yep, another message.

Only thing that changed? The menu. Still nine plates, white truffle consommé still front and center.

It made her feel like someone jabbed a fork into her heart.

She told Monica again, who just gave her the same advice-ignore it.

So another day, Sabrina just powered through feeling torn.

Day three...

Same thing all over again.

She finally had enough.

Wearing casual clothes, Sabrina headed straight to the restaurant. She was there to shut this nonsense down.

Yep, nonsense.

Because the waste made her sick. From the texts, it was obvious-she'd been a no-show every time, but instead of packing up the food, they just let the servers toss it out.

If it kept up, she was convinced the food gods would punish her for letting all that go to waste.

She told Monica her plan and let her know she was already on the way. Monica just replied with a string of ellipses-guess she was speechless.

Sabrina tucked her phone away and rubbed her cheeks, prepping herself to keep a straight face and stay serious later.

But honestly, she felt like a sheep heading into a wolf's den. How could she possibly hold her ground against Pama, who clearly knew how to play social games?

As soon as she arrived, the two smooth-talking, good-looking guys jumped in-she didn't even have time to get a word in.

They were ridiculously tall, like straight out of a model catalog. Sabrina started to suspect Pama had hired professional models just for this.

They poured her drinks, served her food, practically spoon-fed her. It was painfully obvious what tactic Pama was using-flirt their way into forgiveness.

"Miss Lionhart, hope the dishes are to your taste?" the guy with the half-Western features blinked at her, trying the whole puppy vibe.

"If not, we'll order something else for you right away," the man with the more traditional Sinoa vibe added quickly, sounding mature and polished.

Compared to Cedric, though, these two felt like kids putting on a show.

"Okay, hold on. You guys really don't-" Sabrina tried to interrupt them.

But the traditional-looking guy jumped right in, "Miss Lionhart, we're sincerely sorry about what happened. The man who kidnapped you has already turned himself in and faces legal punishment. He worked in sales, and honestly, the recent online rumors have really hurt Pama's image... We're victims too."

"Yeah, Pama truly wants to make amends," the half-Western guy cut in, reaching for his phone. "If you'd like, I can call the top exec to come apologize personally."

"No thanks," Sabrina blurted out before she could stop herself.

Her head was already spinning from these two buzzing like bees-she couldn't deal with a third.

"So... does that mean you understand where we're coming from?" The half-Western guy looked at her with hopeful eyes.

Understand.

Now that was tricky wording.

If he'd said "forgive," she'd have said no, hands down. But "understand"? That was... complicated. She did get it. Everyone has their struggles. When flagship products start tanking, sales gets the axe first.

She did understand.

But if she admitted to that, they'd twist it into her saying she forgave them.

Sabrina felt torn. She'd always been the energetic type-so why the heck had she chosen a career in R&D? Days and nights in the lab didn't suit her.

But standing here now, she got it: compared to the chaos of real life, she'd rather be back in the lab with her beakers and vials. At least those wouldn't stab her in the back.

"I've got stuff to do. Let's just end it here for tonight. Don't ask me out again. This kind of thing just makes me more uncomfortable," she said, grabbing her bag and getting up.

They didn't insist. They stood and followed her out.

Once at the restaurant entrance, the half-Western guy offered to call a car and stepped outside, leaving her waiting inside. The other guy-Sinoa-style-pulled a car key from his pocket.

Sabrina's gaze instantly locked onto the logo: Bentley.

Her expression tensed, wariness flashing in her eyes.

Sure enough, the next second the man spoke, "Miss Lionhart, Pama sincerely regrets what happened. We also owe you an apology. We heard you just returned to Sinoa and haven't gotten a car yet. Please accept this gift."

"I can't drive," Sabrina shot back without hesitation.

"Miss Lionhart, that's not quite true," the man replied smoothly. "Two days ago near Center Road, there was a minor accident. A car drove into a flowerbed. If our intel's right, you were the one behind the wheel."

Sabrina felt her soul leave her body.

She really wished he hadn't brought that up. Just hearing it again made her want to cry.

That car wasn't even hers-it was Monica's. She'd borrowed it on a whim to go shopping, and bam, crash.

She hadn't sold her Twinkle yet and now owed Monica a pretty penny.

"Whatever the case, I'm not accepting it. Take it back. Does Pama always force things onto people like this?" Sabrina's eyes darkened now, her whole vibe screaming annoyance.

A Bentley, seriously? And given how eager Pama was to make peace, it clearly wasn't a cheap model.

"Miss Lionhart, please-this is just a gesture. Pama only wants to make amends," the man insisted, stepping forward, trying to press the keys into her hands.

Sabrina just stepped back again and again.

Honestly, if she were to accept it, no one could say she didn't deserve it. Being kidnapped isn't exactly a walk in the park-she was owed some mental compensation, at least.

But she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

She was one of those types: once she took something from you, she'd feel obligated, like you had a rope around her neck.

Just like back then-everything changed after she accepted a cup of milk tea from Cedric.

Back, back, back-until her heel stepped on someone.

She whipped around. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Then she saw those polished shoes. Perfectly pressed slacks. That all-too-familiar aura looming behind her.

It's weird how sometimes, just a tiny detail is enough to recognize someone instantly.

She froze for a beat, then slowly looked up.

Of course-it was the one person she hadn't spoken to since their awkward falling-out at Auburn Dining.

Cedric stood there, expression as blank as ever. Black and white suit, sharp edges and all-he looked less like a guy and more like a high-level boss in a spy drama. His features were knife-sharp, thick brows, and narrow eyes. Just standing there silently was enough to give people chills.

Especially now, with his eyes zeroed in on the guy with the old-school suit, radiating pure impatience. The kind that made him seem like he walked straight out of a martial arts drama.

Safe bet he'd seen the whole thing.

After all, if there's one thing Cedric can't stand, it's people beating around the bush.

Now that she ran into someone she actually knew, Sabrina figured he wouldn't just stand by and let this mess happen without doing anything. So she quickly stepped around him, parking herself right behind him like he was her personal bodyguard.

"Who are you?" asked the man with the traditional look.

It should've sounded aggressive. But one glance at Cedric's face turned it into just a regular question.

Sabrina could only sigh. These so-called "elite negotiators" weren't exactly doing their homework. You work for Pama and don't even recognize one of their biggest competitors?

Anyway, there was no way Cedric would lower himself to answer such a dumb question. That cool façade was hiding a mountain of pride.

It reminded her of back in college when Cedric had just started. Some new students, mostly girls, would keep whispering about him-"Who is he? He's so good-looking."

When someone finally said his name-"That's Cedric"-someone still asked, "So who's that?"

She'd shared the story with Cedric once, thinking it would amuse him, maybe even flatter him.

He'd just scoffed and said, deadpan, "If they don't even know who I am, I'm more interested in knowing what backwater place they crawled out of."

Looking back now, Sabrina had to admit-that wasn't pride. That was some A-grade dramatic nerd energy.

Just as Sabrina expected, Cedric didn't say a word-he simply grabbed her by the arm, over her coat, and started walking her out of the restaurant.

He didn't even really hold her hand. It was distant. Cold.

The traditional-looking man, seeing Cedric walk away with her like that, reached out in a panic and caught Sabrina by the palm instead. "Sabrina!"

It clearly slipped out of him out of urgency. Calling her "Miss Lionhart" felt too formal-using her name might have softened her stance a bit. Maybe if he played it right, she wouldn't take the keys back.

After all, he was just following orders.

Cedric came to a halt. So did Sabrina, who was also trying to yank her hand back from the man's grip.

Ugh, what a mess. If she'd known dealing with people would be this exhausting, she would've just let her lab team keep selling the patents for her.

Cedric turned around, eyes landing right on the hand intertwined with hers. That grip looked tight-almost like they were holding hands on purpose. His expression darkened with irritation.

He reached out, grabbed the man's wrist, and flatly demanded, "Who the hell are you?"

That line hit harder than it should have. Sabrina blinked up at Cedric, stunned like she just misheard him.

Was this seriously the same man who was always being asked who he was-not the one doing the asking?

Cedric's hold didn't look forceful on the surface, but the traditional guy was already breaking into a sweat. The pain must've kicked in early. "This has nothing to do with you-it's between me and Sabrina!"

Sabrina glanced between the two, raising an eyebrow. Wait, was there... something weird about what he just said? A little too personal, wasn't it? Where was the 'I'm just the messenger' vibe she expected?

"That so?" Cedric fired back.

Sabrina could practically hear the teeth-grinding underneath those words.

"Okay, okay, dude, ease up!" the man winced loudly. Dignity all gone, he surrendered immediately.

Cedric's voice dropped low, every word soaked in warning: "Take your damn keys and disappear. If I see you messing with her again, you won't walk away next time."

"Got it. Loud and clear." The man was already calculating whether this counted as a workplace injury and if Pama would give him a danger bonus.

Cedric finally let go.

The guy took off like a shot, dragging along the mixed-race man bumped into on his way out-they fled together, like they'd rehearsed it.

Cedric arched an eyebrow slightly.

Wow. Modern dating really had leveled up. What was it now-show up two at a time to increase your chances?

He casually dusted his hands off and glanced down, catching Sabrina still staring toward the door. He misread it as fear. "Next time someone pulls this crap, just report them for sexual harassment."

Sexual what, now?

Okay, yeah, it was uncomfortable, but... sexual?

Sabrina scrambled to recall... oh, maybe the hand-holding?

So, wait-Cedric considered that that serious?

Looked like he actually cared. Quite a bit.

Realizing this, she pressed her lips together, holding back a smile.

"And what about you?" she asked, switching gears. "What were you doing here?"

"Dinner." Cedric rubbed his temple, looking drained.

Business dinners-he was over them. Just people drinking, telling gross jokes, and dragging in escorts to "liven up" the vibe. Draining as hell.

"Oh. So, you're done?" she asked again. Otherwise there's no way he could've shown up just in time.

"Yeah." Cedric nodded and casually started walking toward the restaurant's exit.

Sabrina was scared he'd leave her behind, so she quickly sped up to catch up and said deliberately, "I wonder if they've gone yet."

Cedric obviously saw through her words, but still played along even though he knew it was a trap. "I'll take you home."

He was worried those two guys might still be around.

"Okay!" Sabrina nodded, a smile sneaking its way into her big, bright eyes.

Just those three words "I'll take you" were enough to wipe out all the earlier awkwardness.

His sweetness could really fix anything.

No matter how miserable she'd felt before, hearing one line from him could light her back up.

Following behind him out of the restaurant, she heard him telling someone to get her a cab. That's when she realized-there was someone else with them.

A stunning woman, probably his assistant.

She glanced her way, just in time to catch the woman looking at her too. Sabrina quickly shifted her gaze, then saw the assistant cross the street to hail a taxi.

The clicking of her heels against the pavement echoed a rhythm, her slim waist cinched tight by a professional pencil skirt-basically the textbook definition of a knockout. And she was being sent off by herself? That didn't sit right.

"Your assistant's gorgeous," Sabrina commented, laced with something more.

Of course, men are all the same. Always drawn to pretty faces. Ugh. Thinking about how busy Cedric usually was, didn't that mean he probably spent, like, sixteen hours a day with this bombshell?

How could something not happen under circumstances like that?

Sabrina felt a wave of unease.

Cedric shot her a sideways glance without saying a word.

Who said that woman was his assistant?

Actually, his male assistant was down with food poisoning tonight, so he pulled someone from sales who could hold her liquor to fill in. That's it.

But for some reason, seeing Sabrina misunderstanding the situation didn't make him want to clear it up.

The dry autumn breeze drifted between them. They stood there, each tangled in their own thoughts.

After a few quiet days, Cedric had calmed down.

He'd thought a lot about it-Sabrina was probably pretending nothing happened because she felt too guilty over what happened with his grandma.

When people face tough stuff, it's human nature to avoid it-like a snail tucking itself into its shell.

Especially someone like Sabrina. She might seem bubbly, but deep down she was as softhearted as they come.

If pretending to forget was her way of coping, then so be it. But what happened with his grandma? That wasn't something he could just brush off.

Instead of lashing out at her, maybe it was better to...

Just keep things normal.

No more avoiding, no more being affected every time she reached out.

While they waited, one of the restaurant staff pulled up with Cedric's car. The driver got out, respectfully inviting them in. Sabrina climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up.

The car hummed to life and cruised smoothly along a quiet road, pulling away from the restaurant.

Streetlights streaked past one by one, and a big neon sign slipped by above the car. Noticing they were headed the route toward her place, Sabrina had a sudden realization. "Wait, how do you know where I live?"

She hadn't told him since coming back.

Cedric, hands steady on the wheel, didn't even glance her way. The light cutting through the window danced across his face as he stated simply, "I've been to your place plenty of times."

Sabrina wanted to chew her own tongue.

Right. He really had. Many times, actually.

She used to come here when Lynne was around, but came way more often when she wasn't.

Thinking back to all the reckless things she'd done during those years, Sabrina's fingers unconsciously curled into a fist on the door handle.

Man, those years really hit her like a thunderbolt-wiping out all the sweetness from before, only leaving behind this cold awkwardness now.

Realizing they were getting close to her place, and not wanting this rare opportunity to end just yet, she opened her mouth: "I'm hungry. Can we stop to get something?"

Cedric glanced at how close they were to her apartment, originally planning to tell her to eat after going home. But then remembering how fragile her body was-basically made of glass-he figured maybe she really couldn't hold out much longer. So instead, he said, "Yeah."

He switched lanes, exited the overpass, and slowly cruised down the service road until parking near the side.

There was only a bubble tea shop and a 24-hour convenience store around.

"Parking here's kinda tricky, just grab something simple for now and eat properly when you're home," Cedric said, unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out with her.

"Alright," Sabrina followed along.

First, he led her to the bubble tea place and got her a hot pearl milk tea, then headed to the convenience store. He pointed at the cooked food section and ordered a bowl of udon with fish balls for her. Every move was so natural-like muscle memory-without even asking, like she was still that girl who loved pairing udon with milk tea.

Seeing the staff dropping thick white noodles into the pot, Sabrina swallowed hard, but just didn't feel like eating at all.

Anything but udon.

Cedric must've noticed her reluctance, his brows slightly furrowing, "Weren't you into this stuff before?"

She used to eat this instead of proper meals. Maybe that's exactly why her body was wrecked now.

"...Yeah." Sabrina didn't want to brush off his kind gesture. It was touching that he still remembered what she liked.

But honestly, back in the lab, it was all about convenience. Udon was pretty much their daily meal. In the beginning, it was because they were broke and had no choice-the lab was in the middle of nowhere, and below it sat a lonely convenience store. So udon became their default.

They even tried to spice it up: salty, spicy, sour, sweet-every version possible.

Eventually, when they had more funding and moved to a better location, they all collectively agreed to never touch udon again.

While she was zoning out, the noodles had finished cooking. She took the bowl and sauce packet from the staff, placed them on the counter, opened the sauce, mixed it in, grabbed a pair of fork-just about to dig in...

And the bowl was swiped from under her.

She caught nothing with her fork.

Cedric took it.

"What's going on?" she asked, confused.

He stared at her-couldn't read even a flicker of joy on her face. It wasn't like before, when she'd be jumping with excitement just at the sight of udon.

Yep. People change. He realized he'd totally misjudged-assuming she'd still love the same things.

"There's a bug in it," Cedric said casually, lying without flinching.

"Really? Where?" Sabrina leaned in, trying to see.

"Let's head home first," he said, pressing a hand on her head and gently redirecting her toward the door.

Milk tea had enough sugar to fill her up for a while anyway.

Sabrina gripped her hot bubble tea with both hands, not putting up a fight. She really didn't want to eat udon anymore.

Still, she noticed something-that Cedric seemed... kinda off?

Was he upset because there was a bug in the food? Like, did he feel bad about it or what?