---- Chapter 20: He's Back Time flew by like a lightning bolt-another week had already slipped past. That evening, when Clara got home from work, she was stunned to find Matt just chilling in the living room! Since the last move, she hadn't seen him once. As soon as Matt spotted Clara walk in, he jumped up and greeted her like a pro, "Good evening, Ms. Hartley!" Clara slipped off her shoes, nodded with a smile, and said, "It's been a while! What brings you here?" Matt answered, "I just picked up Mr. Devereaux from the airport. He dropped off his bags first, but we're still headed to the law firm shortly." That's when Clara suddenly remembered-Aaron was back in town. "It's dinner time," she offered. "Why don't you just grab a bite here?" Paige had only made her usual three dishes and a soup, but seeing the guests, she quickly asked, "Want me to cook a couple more dishes?" Clara waved her off gently, "No need, you go on home. ---- I'll handle the cooking." "Alright then! There's still food in the fridge if you need anything." With a quick goodbye, Paige left. Matt was about to say, "Really, no need to bother," when a voice called from behind. "Sounds good!" Aaron said, coming down the stairs with Leo in his arms. After living on burgers and fries for over a month, he was definitely craving some hot, home-cooked food. Leo held a Doraemon toy box and grinned. "Mom, look! Daddy got me a Doraemon building set!" Clara smiled warmly. "Go ahead and play with it for a bit. I'll start cooking-it won't take long." Her eyes flicked over to Aaron, who was as stoic as ever-cool, serious, and unbothered, radiating an unspoken "don't mess with me" vibe. She gave him a small nod, a silent hello, then turned and headed to the kitchen. She glanced over the three dishes Paige had prepared on the table, then opened the fridge to check the ingredients. She decided to whip up the fastest dishes she could: steamed egg custard and steamed spare ribs and greens. ---- Clara knew her way around the kitchen. Before Aunt Paige came, she had handled most of the cooking herself. With practiced hands, she soaked peanuts in water, rinsed the veggies, blanched and cleaned the ribs thoroughly, rubbed them with salt, and washed them again. Then she tossed in oil, salt, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and a splash of soy sauce, mixing everything evenly. She grabbed a plate, spread the peanuts on the bottom, then layered the ribs on top and set it all aside in the steamer. Next, she cracked three eggs into a bowl of warm water, added a little oil and salt, and whisked it quickly. She skimmed off the foam on top with a spoon and placed the bowl on the second tier of the steamer, right above the ribs, so everything steamed together. She set a timer for five minutes. When the timer buzzed, Clara carefully pulled out the steamed egg custard. After a lot of trial and error, she'd found five minutes gave it the perfect silky texture. She drizzled a bit of soy sauce and sprinkled chopped scallions on top-Leo's absolute favorite. She reset the timer for seven more minutes to finish ---- the ribs. In under half an hour, Clara called out to the trio in the living room, "Dinner's ready!" At the table, Matt eyed the spread and said, "Ms. Hartley, your cooking skills are seriously impressive!" Clara chuckled, "Nah, it's just simple home cooking. Aunt Paige is the real pro-her beer-braised duck is legendary. You've gotta try it sometime. This one's just reheated, so it's not quite as good as fresh." Aaron grumbled silently in his head: "You're flattering the wrong person." Clara noticed Aaron's usual grim face and thought, Who'd even want to talk to someone looking like that? She scooped two spoonfuls of steamed egg custard into Leo's bowl. The kid dug in happily and said, "Daddy, this steamed egg is so good!" Then he stood up, eager to serve some to Aaron. Aaron's heart softened. His son was the best little guy ever. His voice was low but carried a rare hint of a smile. "I got it. You eat your own." Clara almost teared up inside: My sweet boy... and a box of toy is all it took to win him over? By the time dinner ended, Aaron was satisfied-this ---- meal hit the spot. Besides Leo, this was the second surprise of the night: Clara could cook! Maybe this whole marriage thing wasn't a total disaster after all. After dinner, Aaron and Matt headed back to the law firm. Clara cleaned up the kitchen quickly, then took Leo upstairs. The second floor had become their little sanctuary. They spent about an hour on the terrace, then returned to Leo's room. After a bath, study time began. That's right-now that Leo was in kindergarten, it wasn't just playtime anymore. Clara joined him every night to study. They practiced writing numbers, watched a short story on the tablet, then finished with their favorite part-parent-child reading time. Clara wasn't picky about results. She just wanted to build good study habits early on. Her parents had raised her the same way: always knowing what to do and when. By the time she hit elementary school, her self-discipline made her parents' lives easy. ---- Lights out at nine. Leo was asleep. Clara finally got an hour to herself. She slipped into the bathroom for a shower, a quick skincare routine, read a bit, sometimes scrolled her phone, then went to bed at ten, ending the day on a peaceful note. Aaron didn't get home until midnight. For a moment when he opened the door, the place felt strange. He'd only been here once or twice before. When UrbanHaven Development bought this land, there'd been a property dispute, and his firm had handled the case. Afterward, the company's CEO promised to save him a unit. Not wanting to owe anyone favors, Aaron bought it at cost. It had sat empty ever since. Only when he stepped into the study did it feel familiar. Matt had gone above and beyond-almost perfectly recreating Aaron's old study. It was comfortable, just how he liked it. Aaron had always lived by strict routines-studying, working, and handling every case meticulously. He hated surprises or changes. They drove him crazy. But thinking about Leo, sleeping peacefully upstairs... he found the disruption a little easier to swallow. ---- Still struggling with jet lag, Aaron forced himself to rest. But as dawn light crept in, he gave up, went for a run, showered, changed, and headed straight back to the law firm. When Clara and Leo woke up, Aaron was already gone. She thought he hadn't come home at all. It wasn't until Aunt Paige mentioned seeing Aaron downstairs earlier that Clara realized he'd come home and left again before she even noticed. And that's when she finally understood what Aaron meant when he said, "I won't interfere with your life." He really didn't. Aaron was gone before dawn and didn't come back until she was asleep. Now she understood why a man his age was still unmarried-he wasn't your typical guy looking for a cozy family life. He was a full-on work machine. Which, honestly, worked out pretty well. She lived in his house, took care of daily expenses, and Leo got himself a part-time dad. Yeah... this setup? It was kind of perfect. Leo thought so too. If he left a half-built toy set on the table, by morning, it would be perfectly assembled. If he taped his favorite ---- drawing to the study door, there'd be a small toy waiting on the table the next day. All that? Totally worth bragging about to Elsie for days.