Chapter 64 Rare Warmth
“Ah! Fish,” she cried out in surprise.
“I’ll leave this to you,” he saw her surprised expression and smiled smugly as he placed the fish on a stone bench.
Jenna stood up happily on one foot. She squatted down to have a look and saw a few big fish. Wow, if they were fried or made into fish soup, they would taste delicious. Thinking of that, she felt even hungrier.
“Did you really get them from the sea just now?” Jenna couldn’t help admiring him and asked with great interest.
“This is just a piece of cake. Grandpa once left me in the special forces for a year. This is nothing compared to back then,” Hansen said casually and nonchalantly.
Jenna was aware of his skills. When they were in university, they went on an island for an internship. She had witnessed his survival skills. When she fell in love with him, she always admired him from the bottom of her heart, but he didn’t know.
“Hansen, can you go to the mountain to get some firewood? I want to make some fish soup,” Jenna’s bright eyes glistened in the dark.
Hearing her request, Hansen felt hungry and obediently walked out of the cave.
Jenna took out a small knife from her luggage. She handled the fish skillfully. When Hansen came in with the firewood, she had already put the fish into a stainless steel cup.
“Please clean this at the beach and bring back some water,” Jenna said with a smile.
Hansen put the firewood in the cave and took the cup from Jenna. Without saying anything, he went out. When he came back, the cave was illuminated by a fire and was much warmer. A simple rack was set up above the crackling firewood.
She took the cup from Hansen. As there were too many fishes, she took some out and put the cup on the rack. She stoked the fire and added firewood from time to time.
“You know this? I didn’t expect that.” The fire was burning in the cave and Hansen felt warm. He looked up and saw that Jenna was stoking the firewood seriously. She had to move the wood occasionally to make sure that it kept burning.
The fire made her face flush red, which was exceptionally charming.
“There are still a lot of things that you don’t know about me,” Jenna did not even look up as she explained, “When I was in America, I worked hard while studying. During the holidays, I would work in a restaurant. I cleaned the plates, washed and cut the vegetables, and even washed people’s clothes. I have done all kinds of work.”
Jenna said it casually. She didn’t feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, but Hansen was dumbfounded.
“Why didn’t you ask me for money? You could have called your parents. You’re their only daughter, I’m sure they can afford to give you money,” Hansen said.
Jenna was stupefied. Would he have cared for her if she had called? Although it sounded nice that she went abroad to study, her wealthy husband did not give her any money. If she had told her parents, how could she hide her failed marriage?
It was easy for him to say!
Jenna was caught in the sad memory. If Hansen did not mention it, she would have been fine. But once he mentioned that sad topic, she felt pain in her heart.
Her eyes were slightly red, and she lowered her head to maintain the flames and did not speak any more.
Hansen noticed her silence and sorrow and stared at her.
Her thin and delicate figure was lonely and sad. She was completely enveloped by loneliness and looked weak. For no reason, he felt his heart aching and had an impulse to embrace her in his arms to comfort her, but he held back and sighed.
In the past few years, both of them had lived miserable lives. However, he felt that she had had a harder time than him.
He recalled his grandmother’s words again and looked at her in silence. If Grandma Richards knew that Jenna had been so unhappy for the past few years, would she regret the decision she made back then?
“Grandma, if I were to do what you want, or if we were to remarry, would she still be happy? Could she be happy?”
“No, it would only hurt her more deeply. After all, there were insurmountable barriers that stood between them. There was no possibility of a relationship between them!”
Hansen silently denied the thoughts in his heart. He had thought about whether they could get back together again, especially when he saw Grandma Richards’ sad and disappointed look, he swayed.
However, after thinking for a long time, he still thought it was impossible!
An unhappy marriage with both parties being tortured and in pain would not end well. It would be more unfortunate to force them to get back together. Even if he had to go against his grandmother’s wishes, he could not be so selfish.
The fish in the cup was boiling and steamy and the aroma of the fish filled the air.
Hansen took a deep breath and his stomach started grumbling. He laughed at himself.
Jenna took a piece of cotton and wrapped it around the cup handle and took out the fish from the cup. She placed it in front of her and started picking out the bones carefully with the light from the fire.
Hansen was not in a hurry either. He was a man. Of course, he would let her eat first.
He sat quietly on the side, ready to make another cup after she had finished eating or perhaps just ate whatever she could not finish. Although he was particular about hygiene, he couldn’t care much given the circumstances they were in.
She carefully picked out the fish bones. She was fully focused and cautious, fearing that she might miss out on a piece of bone.
“Here, eat quickly. It’s almost cold. Although I have picked out the bones already, it’s dark here, so you have to be careful of the bones when you’re eating,” Jenna handed the fish soup to Hansen and reminded him softly.
Hansen was startled. Was she picking the fish bones for him instead of herself? She was being cautious and careful for him?
He really couldn’t believe his eyes; how did she know that he disliked bones when he ate fish?
Hansen liked to eat fish, but he disliked the hassle of removing the bones. Therefore, he usually wouldn’t eat fish. In the past, when he ate in the Richards Manor, the servants would debone the fish for him. As far as he could remember, he had never eaten alone with Jenna in the Richards Manor, except for a few times for breakfast.
He didn’t know how she knew that he didn’t like fish with bones. In fact, he didn’t dislike it. He just felt it was troublesome and time-consuming. When he was busy with work, he didn’t even have time to eat.
“Hurry up, I still have to cook after you’re done,” Jenna saw Hansen staring at her face in a daze. She thought her face was covered with black ash, so she hurriedly touched her face with her hand and urged him with a little embarrassment.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
Hansen took the cup in astonishment. Looking at the fish steaming in the cup, he was still in a daze. He had to admit that at that moment, he was touched. He didn’t expect that after so many hardships, she would treat him without any prejudice. Having just taken the knife from him and picking out the fishbone for him, he couldn’t understand why she did that. Was he really worth it?
She was so careful and focused when picking out the bones. She was doing that to a man who had hurt her before and didn’t love her. Was she a saint?
“Eat up,” Jenna was so anxious that she said, “If it gets cold, it will become fishy. It won’t taste good once it’s cold.”
“You can eat first. I’m not hungry,” Hansen was a little confused. Finally, he came to his senses and handed the fish soup to Jenna.
“What’s the matter? Can you just finish it? Stop messing around,” Jenna’s face was dark and she said unhappily, “I like to eat fish with the bones intact. I will pick out the bones in my mouth. Only then I get to taste the original flavors of the fish. This cup of fish has already been deboned. I don’t like it. Hurry up and finish it.”
In order to ease Hansen’s concerns and get him to eat quickly, Jenna gave a reasonable explanation. Sure enough, Hansen no longer refused after hearing her explanation and began to eat generously.
“Is it alright?” Jenna asked with a smile.
“Yes, it tastes delicious,” Hansen nodded and praised sincerely.
Jenna was happy in her heart and smiled with her eyebrows quirked up.
Hansen looked at her while eating, and his mind was full of thoughts.
He finished the meal soon. Jenna quickly stoked up the fire and started cooking.
When Hansen saw her spitting out the fishbone while eating, it looked like she was really enjoying the favor and he suddenly thought in his heart that he would not be that picky anymore.
He went out of the cave to pick up some dry firewood and added it in. His stomach was filled and he felt better. The cave was warm and no longer chilly.
After finishing the fish soup, Jenna sat by the fire and added more firewood. She felt warm sitting by the fire. After a day of climbing, she was feeling sleepy and her stomach was no longer hungry, so she just wanted to sleep.
“Come here,” Hansen sat against the wall of the cave, which was padded with dried leaves, as well as the ground. He waved at the drowsy Jenna.
“What are you doing?” Jenna opened her eyes wide in bewilderment and looked at him in confusion.
“Come here. Do you think you can sleep well like this?” Hansen’s tone was a little bossy, but it was still warm.
“I… What’s wrong?” Jenna couldn’t figure out what he meant. She just looked at him and said incoherently. Suddenly, her sleepiness wore off quite a bit.
“Hurry up,” Hansen’s expression darkened. His straight eyebrows furrowed and he slightly nodded his head. He ordered her to go over his side as he could not stand up because if he did, the dried leaves on his back would fall and it would feel cold sleeping against the wall. However, Jenna did not understand his meaning, which made him very impatient.
Seeing that he was about to get angry, Jenna had no choice but to move over to him. She was afraid to ruin the peaceful atmosphere they had.
She was so tired that she didn’t want to quarrel with him. She just wanted to have a good rest. They still had to continue with the exploration the next day!
Just as she was about to reach Hansen, she stopped. She didn’t think she had to go any further. If she went any closer, they would be next to each other.
Hansen suddenly stretched out his long arm and wrapped it around her waist. He pulled her close, making her sit on his legs as she fell steadily into his embrace.
“Don’t move. It’s very cold at night. You’ll sleep in my arms tonight,” Hansen’s deep magnetic voice was full of charm.
It was only then Jenna understood what he meant and blushed abruptly.
“That’s not good. Let me down, I can sleep,” she struggled, blushing as she explained.