Alpha's Regret: The Hybrid's Royal Contract
Chapter 261 The Soup That Didn’t Make Her Sick
Elara
When Dominic brought home the eleventh nanny, she made me the simplest bowl of chicken soup.
Just broth, some shredded chicken, and a handful of tiny pasta shells.
Nothing fancy. Nothing heavy.
I sat at the kitchen counter staring at the bowl in front of me.
Clear chicken broth with tiny pasta shells and shreds of carrot. The smell didn’t make me want to throw up, which was a win.
But I still couldn’t bring myself to try it. I had developed a real fear of food at this point. Every time I thought something was safe, my body proved me wrong.
Dominic pulled up a stool next to me. He spoke soft, like he was calming a scared animal. "Just try a little. I already had some myself. It’s not heavy. It’s just basic chicken soup. "
I wanted to say no. But he looked so hopeful. So I picked up the spoon, dipped it in, and touched it to my tongue.
It wasn’t bad. It was actually pretty good.
I took another spoonful. Then another. Before I knew it, the whole bowl was gone. I let out a small burp and leaned back. That was the first time in weeks I actually felt full.
Dominic’s face lit up. "How was it?"
"Not bad." I nodded. "Is this from the new nanny? It tastes like my grandfather’s cooking."
"Yeah." He smiled. "You haven’t eaten much lately. Just plain crackers and ginger ale. So let’s take it slow. Half a bowl tonight. We’ll work our way up tomorrow."
He was worried about my stomach. I couldn’t blame him.
"Okay." I didn’t argue. "But once I’m eating normal again, I want to go back to the office."
Dominic hesitated. "Actually, I wanted to talk about that. What if you worked from home for the next few months? Just while you’re pregnant. I don’t feel good about you going into the office."
I frowned. "Other women work during pregnancy. I’m not that fragile." I didn’t want to be stuck at home all day. My company wasn’t huge, but it was mine. I built it. I wanted to keep showing up.
"And I can still make money. If this nanny works out, I’ll be able to eat again. So what’s the problem?"
Dominic pressed his lips together. He didn’t like it, but he could tell I wasn’t backing down. "You can make money working from home too."
I just stared at him.
"Fine," he finally said. "But if anything feels off, you tell me right away. No exceptions."
I agreed.
The new nanny’s cooking was good. Really good. But the more I ate, the more something bothered me. The flavors were familiar.
They tasted like my grandfather’s food. Not exactly the same, but close. Really close.
I even brought some soup to Grandma .
She took one sip and got this distant look in her eyes. She said it reminded her of grandpa too, just like it did for me.
I started to get suspicious.
One afternoon, I was walking past the kitchen and heard the nanny on the phone. She was asking someone for cooking advice.
"Hey, I think your way might be too plain. Should I add some salt?"
A voice came through the speaker. "No. Don’t add anything. If you put in too much, you’ll mess up the flavor."
I stopped. I knew that voice.
I stepped into the doorway. "Who are you talking to?"
The nanny jumped. She almost dropped the phone. "Oh! Luna Elara
! I was just talking to my relative. She makes really good soup, so I was asking her for advice."
I crossed my arms. My voice went cold. "Really? Because that relative of yours sounds exactly like my mother."
Right then, Dominic walked through the front door. He saw me standing in the kitchen doorway. He saw the nanny’s panicked face. He saw the phone still in her hand.
"What’s going on? Are you hungry? Why are you standing in the kitchen?"
I turned to him. "The nanny you hired? She’s been getting recipes from Nadia."
Dominic’s face went dark. "She sent her?"
"I don’t know." My voice was flat. "But I’m done eating her food."
Dominic didn’t bother with the nanny. He grabbed his keys, took my hand, and drove me straight to the hospital. They ran blood work. An ultrasound. Everything they could think of.
An hour later, the doctor came back. Everything was normal. The baby was fine. I was fine.
Dominic sat down next to my bed and ran his hands over his face. "That day Nadia came to see me at the office. She had a thermos. She said she made soup for you. I said no. I didn’t know she found another way in."
I thought about it for a minute. "If the soup wasn’t bad for me... maybe she just wanted to help. Maybe she actually wanted me to eat something."
"I don’t need her help." My voice came out harder than I meant. "I don’t care if she regrets what she did. I don’t care if she wants to make things right. It’s too late."
"The nanny didn’t hurt me. So you don’t have to punish her. But I’m not eating her food anymore."
Dominic looked worried. "Then what are you going to do about meals?"
I lifted my chin. "I’ll cook for myself."
He blinked. "You?"
"I’m not good at a lot of things. But I can make soup. I’m actually really good at it."
Dominic gave me a look. The kind that said he wasn’t totally convinced. But he also knew better than to argue when I had that look in my eye.
He leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Okay. Whatever you want. As long as you take care of yourself, I’ll follow your lead."