A/N: THE LONG AWAITED CHAPTER. Exactly what I've been dying to write for ages, ages, ages, oh my god you have no idea how long I've waited to write this hehe. It's at 5.3k words, so please take your time to read this and only do so when you're all cozied up and ready for the ride. This chapter also has two perspective switches so it's always good to take your time and read this at your own pace.
Also, if you're curious about how Leroy's dish looks and its components, please head over to Instagram where I'll be putting up a sketch of his dish (it's extremely rough, like a 5-minute thing ugh so please excuse me if it doesn't look like my usual standard of art LOL) and how I came up with it ^^ one of my most complex creations to date.
Enjoy. And a very happy valentine's to everyone.
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[Vanilla]
"You're making a grave mistake, Annie."
It was half-past-two in the afternoon when I first spoke to Leroy's mother, standing in the middle of the hallway with the intern's phone held up to my ear while the latter paced up and down, glancing over every now and then.
The girl had, prior to the trip, put in a request for family members of every contestant on behalf of the production team to write a letter addressed to their loved one participating in the challenge. They were also instructed to select a maximum of ten ingredients for their use in the cook. This was four weeks ago.
At present, a day before Bali's main challenge, I'd chanced upon the intern frantically searching for Siegfried Cox at the catered lunch table and extended a word of concern. It did not take very long for her to spill the beans.
Leroy's mother had very unexpectedly turned down the invitation to pick his ingredients and write an accompanying, heartfelt prose and the intern had therefore been tasked, last-minute, to either find a replacement or a way to persuade Annie. Naturally, she thought Siegfried was the way to go. After a moment's consideration, I asked to have a word with her instead.
Alas, I should have known.
"Finally, you called. I've been waiting for weeks little fawn," mused Annie over the phone as soon as she picked up and heard my nervous greeting. "I miss you. I hope you know that."
I could hear the faint beeping of a heart monitor on the other end of the line and all of a sudden felt like the worst person on earth to be calling about work of all things. She deserved nothing less than undisturbed moments of peace during her recovery. "Annie... I'm sorry I... well, I know it's a poor excuse but my schedule has been an absolute nightmare. I... called to ask how you were doing."
"Terrific. Wonderful, really, with Leroy out of the way and in your care. Rexi and I have been going at it like rabbits—is what I would have liked to say but I'm stuck in a damned care center for three days a week and it's been so boring. I'm glad you called. And you know what, I daresay I know what this is all about." She let that stew.
It did not come as a surprise; I was as familiar with the disarming nature of her words as much as I was with Leroy's. They cut right through the fog like a sparkler in the night, fiery and warm as ever.
And then, she said there was no better person to write the letter.
"You're making a grave mistake, Annie." I managed after a moment's disbelief, unable to process the meaning and significance behind her weighted ask.
YOU ARE READING
Wax
Romance[Sequel to Vanilla] Seven years later, childhood sweethearts Vanilla Julian White and Leroy Cox reunite in the City of London for an unlikely reason. The latter-once a burning flame unfazed by the wind-had, since a couple of years ago, left the heat...
