Dominic tasted a piece of the grilled meat and gave a polite nod, but his expression changed completely when he tried a spoonful of the homemade truffle mac and cheese. He lingered over the roasted red pepper salsa and the warm artisan bread, remaining silent for a very long time before finally speaking up.
“Who actually made this side dish?” Dominic asked while looking around the table with genuine curiosity. Philip let out a dismissive snort and took a swig of his beer before answering.
“Oh, Isabella just threw that together as a side, but the real star of the show is right here on the grill,” Philip said with a condescending grin. Dominic turned his gaze toward the kitchen window and saw Isabella through the glass, her hair messy from the steam and a small flour stain on her cheek as she bent over the sink to wash another heavy pan.
Later that afternoon, after several more rounds of drinks, Philip decided to entertain the group by belittling his wife once again to show off for the new neighbor. “I’m telling you guys, if I didn’t take over on Sundays, we’d probably be eating cereal for dinner because Isabella has zero talent for cooking,” he announced while raising his glass.
The men at the table laughed because it was a habit they had formed over the years, and no one dared to contradict the man hosting the party. Inside the kitchen, Isabella stood perfectly still with a wooden spoon in her hand, staring at the floor while the familiar sting of humiliation washed over her.
Dominic placed his fork down on the plate very carefully and wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin before standing up to look Philip directly in the eye. The afternoon air was still filled with the scent of coal and expensive meat, but the atmosphere had suddenly shifted into something sharp and tense.
PART 2
The silence that followed was heavy, and for Isabella, those few seconds felt like they stretched on for an hour. Dominic didn’t cause a scene in front of the rowdy group, but he waited until Philip stepped away to the bathroom before he quietly walked toward the kitchen door.
Isabella looked up in shock when she saw him enter her workspace because none of Philip’s friends ever bothered to step inside or acknowledge the work she did. “I hope you’ll forgive the intrusion, but I wanted to personally thank you because the best part of this meal didn’t come from the patio,” Dominic said warmly.