Chapter 350
Chapter 350
Chapter 350
"Cravings satisfied!" Jane exclaimed in satisfaction while taking off her disposable gloves after she had finished a large pan of grilled cajun garlic butter lobster tails. "I have missed the taste of your grilled cajun garlic butter lobster tails for a long time. I know they are served in restaurants outside, but somehow, I feel like something is missing whenever I have them."
Steve teased when he heard her exclamations, "Jane, I can bet my boots that your taste buds must have been accustomed to Yoseph's cooking. That is why you will feel something is missing every time you have dishes that are not made by Yoseph."
Meanwhile, Matthew said, "I am not saying other people's cooking skills aren't good, but they surely are no match for Yoseph's."
When Jane heard Matthew's statement, she looked at Yoseph with a smile and said, "Yoseph, be sure to ask me for help the next time you have the urge and want to make some grilled cajun garlic butter lobster tails. I will always be available on hand anytime, anywhere."
Immediately after Jane finished speaking, the two brothers, Steve and Matthew, immediately declared their stands as well, "We are also glad to help—to eat."
Yoseph drank the last drop of his wine, placed the empty wine glass, and deliberately said with a snappish tone, "Return to your rooms and rest if you guys have finished eating and drinking to your hearts' content. Are you guys not aware of the time? It is late, and you guys still have to go to work tomorrow."
"I have trouble sleeping every night and can only sleep after dawn."
"Me, too."
As they still wanted to watch Yoseph bickering with Jane, both Steve and Matthew refused to leave the dining room.
Yoseph knew that his brothers were merely making excuses to stay behind, so he asked coldly, "Do you guys want to eat the breakfast I made tomorrow?"
Both Steve and Matthew became silent after they heard Yoseph's question.
Shortly after, Steve immediately yawned. While he faked a huge yawn, he stood up and said, "Yoseph, I'm exhausted, so I shall return to my room to rest first. Remember to make me some steak when you
make breakfast tomorrow."
Then, he turned to Jane and said, "Good night, Jane." After he bid good night to Jane, he swiftly left the dining room.
Matthew glared at Steve as he silently scolded him for surrendering so quickly. However, he smacked his lips when he thought of Yoseph's cooking. Then, he, too, rose to his feet and said, "I remember that I have a meeting tomorrow morning. I have to get up early to prepare for the meeting, so I will return to my room to sleep. Yoseph, make me some steak for breakfast tomorrow too."
After the brothers left, only Yoseph and Jane were left in the room.
"Are you full?" he asked her.
Jane smiled. Then, with a contented expression on her face, she added, "I am almost stuffed. The lobster tails you made tonight taste better than the ones you made in the past."
"Actually, I haven't made them in a long time," Yoseph said while cleaning up the table. "If you like it, I can make it for you and solely for you so that you can enjoy it by yourself another day when I am free."
"Really? If that's the case, thank you in advance."
Afterward, Jane leaned on the couch and watched as Yoseph cleaned up the table and brought the dirty dishes into the kitchen to clean them.
Suddenly, she faced the direction of the kitchen and said aloud, "Yoseph, you are a family man who is good at taking care of the household. Therefore, whoever gets married to you in the future will certainly
be very happy in life."
Moments later, his voice sounded from the kitchen. "I have always been a good family man, and if the wife I am going to marry is the woman I love, I will surely shower her with happiness for the rest of her life."
Yoseph was born into a prestigious family, so he knew that there was a chance that his marriage might end up as an alliance marriage between two families of equal social standings—not a love match. If such a case really does occur in the future, I will only treat my wife with proper respect like a respected guest and will never give her my true feelings. It does not matter to me whether she will be happy or not. But—I know for a fact that I will definitely be unhappy.
"Do you have a woman you like?" Jane asked.
Despite the two being childhood sweethearts, neither had confessed their feelings to each other. Jane knew very well that she loved Yoseph. Alas, she did not know if Yoseph felt the same way about her.
When I returned to the country, I knew Old Madam Coleman had arranged for Yoseph to pick me up, but he refused. Eventually, it was Steve who came to pick me up even though I had just had a layover in Orapolis. Later, I came to Orapolis with Grandma and lived in the Coleman Residence. Under the Coleman Family's arrangement, I moved into Yoseph's residence. Yet, I did not spot him for several consecutive days until I followed Dylan and his wife on vacation at the horse farm. Yoseph is deliberately avoiding me. I just know it! But—I kind of understand why he avoids me. Yoseph and I are not just childhood sweethearts; we are also enemies. Yoseph has always suffered defeat at my hands, so it is normal for him to avoid me.
"Do you think the Orapolis' media will let me off the hook if I had someone I liked? The media would
have highly publicized them about it the moment they found out," replied Yoseph.
Jane thought over his words for a while and agreed with him. That is true. In Orapolis, every affair relating to the Coleman Family will always make headlines. Undoubtedly, the love affairs of all fifteen young masters of the Coleman Family will be the attention of everyone in Orapolis. Scandals and rumors will spread if any of them have a slightly close relationship with the opposite gender. Yoseph has never been rumored to be involved in any love affairs yet.
"Yoseph, let me ask you a question." Jane suddenly remembered the topic of adoption that her grandmother had told her about.
"Sure. I am in a good mood tonight, so feel free to ask me any questions. I will try my best to answer them all."
Truthfully, Yoseph did not want to admit that the reason he would personally make a few delectable dishes tonight was that he noticed Jane's bad mood tonight and tried to cheer her up with delicacies.
"I happened to hear the conversation between our grandmas the other day, and halfway through their conversation, your grandma brought up a certain topic. She said that both you and Steve would have to let Dylan adopt each of your children once you two get married in the future? Is that true? Are you willing to let your own child address your elder brother as father while addressing you as uncle?"
Yoseph stayed silent and did not answer her.
Jane patiently waited for his answer. Unfortunately, she felt rather frustrated when she did not get a direct response from him. Does Yoseph's silence mean he acquiesces to Old Madam Coleman's arrangement?
As soon as she thought of that, she remembered Dylan's status in the Coleman Family. All fourteen of his younger brothers respect him and feel sad about his tragedy. Surely, they are unwilling to see Dylan not have someone to continue his bloodline after knowing he can no longer have his own children. In their eyes, they probably think that it is not a big deal to let Dylan adopt one of their children. After all, even if Dylan has adopted them, they still live in the Coleman Mansion and can see each other daily. In fact, it will not affect the relationship between the children with their biological parents much. At most, there will only be differences in the form of address.
Even so, Jane had a difficult time accepting that she would need to let Dylan adopt the child that she gave birth to if she ever did marry Yoseph in the future.
"Yoseph, do you not think that your grandma's request is a bit too much? Is Dylan really infertile? Did he consult a doctor? Besides, he can always adopt two children from the orphanage if the doctors cannot cure his condition."
As she spoke, Jane thought to herself, Unless my siblings are willing to let me adopt their children, I would rather go to the orphanage and adopt a child than snatch their children from them if I was infertile.
Still, Yoseph remained silent in the face of her questions.
At this point, her patience ran out. She couldn't help herself as she abruptly stood up and walked over to him.
Coincidentally, he also wanted to leave the kitchen. And just like that, the two bumped into each other at the kitchen entrance—face-to-face.
The two looked at each other for a long while when suddenly, Yoseph took out a pack of tissues from his pants pocket, took out two tissues, and helped Jane wipe the grease stains around her mouth.
Jane snatched the tissue from his hand without noticing his care for her. "Yoseph, do you agree with your grandma's arrangement?"
"Are you bothered by it?"
Jane was tongue-tied by his reply.
Nevertheless, Yoseph continued, "You have your own blind date, and it is not me. I will get married and have my own children in the future. By then, it will be my and my spouse's concern whether to let Dylan adopt our child or not. You can remain rest assured that you wouldn't be involved. Even if my grandma's arrangement sounds overboard, it is not your child that will get adopted by Dylan."
Outwardly, Jane stayed silent when she heard what Yoseph had said, but inwardly, she was hurling insults at this oblivious man, This b*stard!
Once she was done scolding him in silence, she parted her lips and snorted, "I feel so sorry for your future wife. She has yet to marry into the Coleman Family, but someone had 'reserved' one of her children first."
"Since my future wife is going to get married into our family, I will definitely make it clear to her before our marriage. If she cannot accept it, she can always marry someone else. Considering my outstanding conditions and my background as a member of the prestigious Coleman Family, I think other ladies will still be willing to accept my grandma's request."
Jane was instantly overwhelmed with frustration at his practiced response.