Chapter 167

Ethan Roscente slid the menu toward Sophia Lowell with his slender fingers, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Ladies first, Miss Lowell."

Sophia's fingertips trembled slightly as she glanced at the menu before quickly looking away. "You can decide."

"So indifferent?"

His deep voice sent a jolt through her chest.

She clenched the fabric of her skirt. "I'm not picky."

Ethan chuckled, his gaze loaded with meaning. "How accommodating."

The tips of her ears burned, but she pretended not to catch the sarcasm in his tone.

A server approached. "Any recommendations, sir?"

Ethan flipped through the menu idly. "What are your specialties?"

The server listed a few mild Cantonese dishes.

"We'll take them all." He closed the menu abruptly. "And add some Sichuan dishes for the lady—the spicier, the better."

Sophia's head snapped up.

Since her pregnancy, she'd avoided anything spicy. Even the smell of chili turned her stomach.

"My stomach hasn't been well lately..." she murmured.

Ethan smirked. "But you used to love spicy food, didn't you?"

Each word struck like a knife, precisely where it hurt most.

Every dish he ordered had once been her favorite.

Felix Roland gave Ethan a puzzled look. "Since when did you change your taste?"

Ethan's eyes flickered toward Sophia. "Someone corrupted me."

Water sloshed from Sophia's glass onto her hand.

She looked up in panic, meeting his dark gaze before hastily turning away.

He remembered.

Remembered how she used to pester him into eating spicy food with her. Remembered her triumphant smile every time she got her way.

Felix let out a knowing hum. "Didn't expect you to change your habits for a woman."

Sophia stared fixedly at the napkin's embroidery.

It wasn't change.

It was compromise, bought with night after night of intimacy. Every time she forced him to eat spicy food, he'd exact his revenge in bed.

Looking back now, real love shouldn't require transactions.