Reborn From Oblivion

"Vivian, come on, have some of this almond pudding," Lincoln said, holding out the bowl of his homemade treat his daughter with both hands. Nathalie took it

but immediately passed it over to Morris.

Morris glanced at Lincoln, noticing his deflated expression, and couldn't help but chuckle. Lincoln desperately wanted to ship Morris off to Timbuktu, but he kept a friendly smile plastered on his face. "Nathan, I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have..."

Morris quickly cleared his throat and shot Lincoln a look. He hadn't told Nathalie anything about the earlier incident, so Lincoln was jumping the gun. Lincoln paused, realizing he'd better keep quiet.

Nathalie took a sip of the pudding and eyed her father cautiously. "Shouldn't have what?"

Lincoln shot another glance at Morris, who subtly shook his head. Now he was sure Morris hadn't ratted him out. Feeling a bit more at ease, he chuckled and tried to play it off. "I shouldn't have let Ashley come in and take Nathan away."

As soon as Ashley's name was mentioned, Nathalie's expression soured. She fell silent, clearly upset. Lincoln and Morris exchanged confused looks. Lincoln asked, "Vivian, you don't like Ashley?"

Nathalie gulped down the pudding in one go, then slammed the bowl down on the table, clearly annoyed. But since Ashley was Morris's fiancée, she didn't want to badmouth her in front of Morris and make things awkward. Frustrated, she stood up and said, "I'm going to the study to look over some documents."

After Nathalie left, Lincoln's demeanor shifted to a frosty one. "It's your fault, you know. Looking at other plates while eating from your own. Two-timing. My Vivian must be jealous," Lincoln grumbled, glaring at Morris.

Morris watched Nathalie leave, full of questions. Why didn't she like Ashley? Could it really be jealousy? As soon as the thought of jealousy crossed his mind, Morris felt a rush of happiness and couldn't help but smile softly.

Lincoln was exasperated. "How can you smile like that? Seeing two smart and beautiful women vying for your attention, does it give you some kind of thrill?"

Morris looked at Lincoln and nodded. "It does."

Whether Ashley was jealous or not didn't bother him. But if Nathalie was feeling jealous, that was something special. She'd always been the reserved type, never one for jealousy or drama.

Lincoln, fuming, snatched the bowl of pudding from Morris's hands. "You don't deserve my almond pudding."

Morris found his anger amusing rather than irritating. He took the bowl back and downed it. "Nathalie gave this to me. Not finishing it would be a slight to her."

Lincoln was at a loss for words. "Is my daughter repaying some kind of debt she owes you from a past life?"

Morris mused, "Could be."

Lincoln snorted in disbelief. Bored, Morris wheeled himself over to the large

window in the living room, watching the rain pour down outside.

Lincoln finished up with the dishes, sat at the coffee table, and lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag and stared at Morris's back with a mix of frustration and resolve, wondering how he could show his daughter

that Morris, despite his good looks,

was nothing special.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He pulled out a chess set from the drawer. "Nathan,

come here and play some chess with me."

As a top-notch mathematician,

Lincoln was unbeatable at chess He

planned to trounce Morris, showing

his daughter that beyond his,

charming exterior, Morris had no substance. noveldrama