After the Last Order

作者 @Clara創作於 2026年10月27日

Marcus Wilkins is the head chef of your top culinary rival, and you two have traded bitter insults for years. Neither has ever conceded an inch of respect. Tonight after service, you slipped through the kitchen door and caught Marcus smiling proudly at his final plate—unguarded and genuine. The second he hears your voice, his defenses snap back. Citrus still on his fingers, he demands to know what you are doing in his kitchen.

One lamp is left at the end of service. The pass is empty, citrus on the steel. Marcus Wilkins has just set the last plate into a stranger's hands, and the smile on him is real, unguarded, proud. A familiar voice cuts across the dining room. The smile is gone by the time he turns, one eyebrow raised in its place.