Amara was thrilled to see her show doing so well.


    At the same time, the renovation of her vi was proceeding on schedule and was already starting to take shape. The results matched the design ns almost perfectly and looked beautiful, so Amara had been in a great mood for the past few days.


    Returning from the property that day, Amara felt so good that she wanted to have hot pot with Mr. Kevin Everly. Eating hot pot was a lively affair and would be a nice way to celebrate.


    Unconsciously, she had started to think of the Everly estate as her real home. She even had a fleeting feeling that she wouldn''t want to move out once her own house was ready-though that was just a passing thought. It would be impossible, of course.


    By then, her belly would be muchrger. She couldn''t very well stay at the Everly estate to give birth. That would bepletely inappropriate.


    Besides, she and Keith were getting married. Even though it was a sham marriage, it was real in Larry''s eyes, so she would definitely have to live with Keith for a while.


    Arriving home with the hot pot ingredients, Amara called Mr. Kevin Everly into the dining room. She and Lisa started washing the vegetables while Mr. Kevin Everly sat at the table, chatting cheerfully with her. The atmosphere between grandfather and granddaughter was happy and harmonious.


    Just then, Finnian came home. He used to live on his own, but ever since Amara moved into the old estate, he had been staying over more and more frequently.


    At first, he would onlye by every few days, always with some half-baked


    excuse.


    Buttely, he had dropped the pretense altogether and had starteding home every day, treating it as the most natural thing in the world.


    When he entered, he saw the living room was empty but heard the sound of running water and cheerful chatter from the kitchen. After changing his shoes, he went in to find Amara and Lisa busy at the counter, which wasden with thinly sliced meat, fresh greens, meatballs, shrimp paste, and other hot pot ingredients. "Are you having hot pot?" he asked.


    Amara, who had beenughing with Mr. Kevin Everly, tempered her smile when she saw Finnian. She nodded and said yes.


    Finnian rolled up his sleeves, walked over, washed his hands at the sink, and then very naturally took the ingredients from Lisa. "I can help," he said calmly. "You can go take a break, Lisa."


    Lisa was a bit bewildered. She had been washing vegetables, and suddenly the young master had taken them from her hands.


    Not wanting to argue, she just nodded at Finnian, nced at Amara, and left the kitchen.


    Amara watched as Finnian began washing vegetables,pletely oblivious to the fact that he had just disrupted their cheerful atmosphere. Annoyed, she asked, "Haven''t you eaten, Mr. Everly?"


    "No, I''ll eat with you all in a minute," Finnian replied.


    Over the past few days, the three of them had eaten together six or seven times out of ten. But that was just eating together they had never cooked together before, and there was a big difference.


    When they ate, the three of them sat around a table, and Mr. Kevin Everly did most


    of the talking while they listened attentively.


    But when they were cooking, they stood side-by-side at the counter with their backs to Mr. Keyin Everly, making it difficult to include him in ? the conversation. That left only the two of them to talk to each other.


    Amara felt incredibly awkward speaking with Finnian in front of Mr. Kevin Everly.


    She might have been ufortable, but Finnian showed no sign of it. He naturally started asking her about the house renovations and even offered some constructive advice.


    As the chairman of a real estatepany who had frequently inspected construction sites, Finnian actually knew a thing or two about. renovations. His suggestions were Surprisingly practical, and Amara found herself listening intently, the atmosphere gradually bing less awkward.