Mistakenly Eaten

10. The Test

Althea was huffing in sheer anxiety. Her heart was pumping loudly inside her chest and she tried her best to control her fretfulness and apprehension but how could she.

The door to her dreams was closed right over her face, as Salva cried her prepared dish of pasta in his hands and walked out of kitchen, slamming the door behind her.

She didn’t know when the door was going to open next and what was going to happen when the door would open. It could either make her enter her paradise of dreams or make her go back and live the nightmare that her life was before she came to the island.

As Althea remained anxious inside the kitchen, right outside the main foyer, Serena and Salva both looked down at the plate in the latter’s hands.

“This is the pasta!” Salva pointed out.

“This is the pasta?” Serena inquired, more of a daunting tone. “Well, it does look good! Let me taste it.”

She grabbed the fork on the tray and took a bite of the penne, that melted and burst at the very same time in her mouth.

She groaned in excited and moaned in sheer pleasure, not daring to open up her mouth as the wonderful flavors mixed with the glutenous monstrosity that damned pasta was.

“What the hell! It is delicious.” Serena pointed out, “I would totally propose you after having this pasta.” She confessed making Salva smirk.

“I know right? It is delicious and when I had this pasta, for a moment, I did understand, why Nicholas proposed to Cheryl.”

“This girl has magic in her hands. Why don’t we hire her as a chef here?” She suggested and Salva nodded.

“I plan on doing just that! But first let’s test it on Nick and see if she is worth the trouble or not.”

Serena nodded and the two carried the tray towards Nicholas’s office.

After the second knock, Nicholas approved the entrance of whoever it was on the other side of the door.

Nicholas was engrossed deep in the iPad that was flipped on the solid cover in front of him and was attending a video conference. He was listening to his assistant in New York brief him about their new venture that was going quite successful.

Nicholas lifted his eyes from the iPad’s screen and looked at Salva and Serena standing by the door and grinning, holding out a tray of what Nick could tell was food in their hands.

He groaned in agitation and rolled his eyes at the pair.

“Fred! Email me the rest of the details.” He told his assistant and abruptly cut the call, leaving the man flabbergasted who had prepared an entire presentation but he didn’t bother much because Nick was a little agitating but sincerely a bit less irritating ever since he had been working remotely.

Nick shut down the iPad and looked up at Salva and Serena, standing right across the table from him.

“For the last time, I am not in the mood to eat…”

Nick was about to be smart enough and give the two a shut up call when Salva placed the tray down on the table in front of him, making Nick shut up.

The reason why he wasn’t eating anything ever since he had arrived in Europe was because the rocky and mountainous structure of the island coupled with the green shrouding trees and the wavy oceans, reminded him of Gragnano, the place where he had proposed Cheryl after having a stupid pasta.

The shape, presentation, smell and plating of the pasta in front of him, was exactly of the one he had with Cheryl in Gragnano.

The picture of that damned pasta was printed deep within Nicholas’s mind. It was like an imprinted memory that his brain refused to move on from.

He had burned down the entire hotel where his reception was supposed to be. He burned down the entire garden where the gazebo for his wedding was set up. He bought the fashion houses that designed his and Cheryl’s wedding clothes and plummeted its stocks. Everything he was doing, he was doing it out of revenge and hatred for his condition and for being left at the altar.

He indulged in heavy drinking and buried himself in his work, thinking that all of that might help him find closure somehow.

But no matter how much he tried to move on and forget about Cheryl, two things were embedded deep within his minds.

The note that Cheryl left for him in her dressing room.

It was handed to him at the altar by one of the cleaning ladies, who came in shocked and horrified, first having passed the note to Rachel, who had nothing but tears in her eyes as she fell down on the floor dropping the note along with her.

Everyone rushed to see the mother of groom, who was deeply hurt knowing quite exactly the impact, Cheryl’s reckless movement was going to have on her son.

Nicholas rushed towards her but he was pushed back by his brother and sister and he also didn’t fight them because his movements slowed down and his body felt helpless, paralyzed and frozen as he read the note that was fallen down on the ground, written on it with a thick black permanent marker were the words, ‘I am sorry Nick! I can not do this!’.

That was it. Nothing more said or done.

Of course, Nick was confused, wondering what went wrong. Because if someone gave Nick options to choose from what could go wrong at his wedding and his options would be; an alien invasion or the bride getting cold feet; he would’ve chosen the former.

It was not even in his wildest dreams, that he would ever imagine that Cheryl would leave him.

Because he was certain about marrying her.

He knew that the decision that he was making was firm and he was doing it out of pure love.

Which immediately made him wonder what assured him at the first place that he was mentally completely ready to marry Cheryl and his eyes went back to the moment when he left a delicious plate of pasta and let Cheryl have that.

In that moment, standing at the altar, being stood up by his bride, his heart somehow regretted not having something so delicious and leaving it for someone who left him without giving him an explanation.

Perhaps, that’s why his mind wanted to have that pasta so badly that his body and system refused to eat anything at all.

When he first arrived at the island, somehow the essence and the environment kept on reminding him of Gragnano and even though, he tried his best to not to think of it, but Gragnano was pasted somewhere in the back of his mind.

That’s why when he had his first meal on the island, he puked it right away and after that his body refused to eat anything at all.

He decided to not to share about his eating disorder with anyone, because he knew that his depression had hit a new toll and if he told anyone about it, they would force him to go back to therapy and he was already gotten out of therapy by paying a good sum to his therapist. He was not willing to go back and sit and talk to another person, who would discuss Cheryl with him. the only reason he liked staying at the island because no one mentioned Cheryl to him and her mere mention triggered his vomits and just the thought of her made her puke bile, even on empty stomach.

But seeing the colorful pasta placed in front of him, looking so attractive and just like the one he had in Gragnano, his brain felt triggered.

His hands moved on their own, in a peripheral motion. It was like a reflex action.

He didn’t command or ask his hands to move.

But they did so on their own.

It was like his mind had taken complete control over his thoughts.

Like his body yearned for something so bad that it didn’t even wait or think and just like an impulse, his hands grabbed the fork and dug in to the plate.

Serena and Salva watched in sheer horror as Nick reached out for the pasta and prepared himself a bite, taking one and putting it right in to his mouth.

Salva’s mouth opened in sheer surprise and Serena also watched in complete bewilderment.

They couldn’t believe that it was the same Nick, who sternly said a big no to eat anything at all.

Bringing the fork closer to his mouth, Nicholas shoved the pasta in his mouth.

Nicholas’s eyes widened as the taste of the pasta hit his mouth.

He didn’t bother to say another word and took another bite of the pasta.

Serena and Salva smirked, watching as for the first time in weeks Nicholas was munching on something other than a plain old turkey sandwich.

Serena was tired watching Nicholas grow thin and survive on a simple bread and thin slices of turkey meat cuts. She was someone who had loved the Santiago children as her own. So for her, to watch Nicholas suffer was heart wrenching but the moment Nicholas had something in his mouth other than his regular turkey sandwich, Serena felt hopeful that Nicholas’s health might revert back.

On the other hand, watching Nicholas eat, Salva’s heart filled with hope that Nicholas can recover from depression and then he can get off from the island as well.

Salva and Serena both looked at each other and smirked victoriously that Salva’s plan had worked.

One thing that Nicholas was ready to compromise on was to eat food and particularly the one that he had with Cheryl in Gragnano.

Maybe it was regret in Nicholas’s heart that he let Cheryl have the entire plate, but he didn’t just stop there. He took the entire plate, by picking it up from the tray and shoved the pasta one by one in to his mouth, finishing up the entire plate within seconds.

Nicholas placed the empty plate in front of Serena and Salva and looked up at them.

Slight stains of white sauce was smeared around the corner of his mouth as he looked up at Serena and nodded at her.

“It was good. Which chef it is? Ask them to make more of this pasta.” Nicholas told her and got up from his seat.

“I think I’ve ate too much. I’ll just take a stroll by the beach.” With that he got out of his office, through the back door, which was more of a ceiling to floor double window and opened up towards the other side of the house.

“I’ll ask the chef to make more of the pasta.”

Serena snickered as both her and Salva snuck out of the office and gave each other a high five.

“Wow! Your plan actually worked.” Serena chimed, as she and Salva walked down the entire hallway and finally reached the main foyer.

Salva was jumping up in excitement.

“See! I knew it! That girl is my last hope to get out of this island.”

“Should we talk to her? should we offer her a good sum of money? No one ever resists a good pay.”

Salva nodded and both she and Serena entered the kitchen to find Althea pacing the entire place back and forth, fretting and sweating in total anxiety.

The pits of her dress, including front and back had turned darker than they was, signifying that they were wet and the poor girl was sweating profusely.

“Oh my!”

Serena immediately grabbed a bunch of paper towels and passed it to Althea.

Althea looked at the paper towels in Serena’s hands and then followed her gaze that was directed towards her arm pits.

Althea took them, slightly embarrassed but tried to shrug it off by flailing an excuse.

“Sorry! I sweat a lot when I am nervous.” She told her and Serena simply took a step back from the girl.

Salva looked at Althea’s condition and if he wasn’t already remotely attracted towards her, the little show of her, cleaning her sweat off her body, made him even forget the fact that she was a woman and never in his wildest dreams would he ever feel attracted towards her.

Once Althea was done, she stood up straight in front of Serena and Salva, ready to listen to the decision that they had made, that would decide her fate.

“Well, what did the judges say?” she asked, as they sensed that both Salva and Serena were quiet and were not giving her any answer about how her pasta was rated by the judges.

Serena looked at Salva and he urged her to speak up, since she was in charge and responsible for hiring all the staff around the place.

Of course they had to run a background check for Althea but all those things were secondary and also they were going to be Gigi’s responsibility.

For now, all they cared about was hiring Althea and they were going to do just that.

“Well, of course your pasta is delicious and we would like to make you an offer.” Serena began.

“Offer?”

Althea felt confused by Serena’s words.

“How would you feel if we told you that you weren’t selected for any cooking competition but instead picked to cook for one of the richest guy on planet earth and since he also liked your food, we would like to offer you a pay of a half a million euro, for the time being for which you would be present on this island and…”

“Stop right there!” Althea held her hand up in the air, making Serena halt in the middle of her explanation.

“Huh?”

Althea’s expressions were not of anxiety or curiosity anymore.

Instead, she was angered, flared and livid.

And Salva was smart to quickly recognize her expressions and her gestures.

“You are telling me that I am not here for the Secret Chef Hunters’ Society’s annual cooking competition? I was just randomly picked up to be some rich guy’s entertainment prop?”

Althea could feel her heart ripped in to two, as she realized that not only her hopes that she was finally going to achieve her dreams was fake but also she was a complete fool for letting someone take advantage of her vulnerability and use her determination against her.

“Well, if you put it that way, it sounds more degrading but there is a condition to things. You see the guy that we are talking about is sick and he needs help and he hasn’t eaten anything in weeks and your pasta is the first and the only thing that he has eaten in days. He likes what you cook. And we are willing to even raise the offer and…”

“And on top of everything you lied to me?” she asked, her heart racing inside her chest as her head began spinning and tears welled up in her eyes.

She had come to the island with big hopes and everything so far, seemed just the way the previous contestants had described it to be. She had really thought that she was living the dream that she had been pinning for, for the past three years but so far, she had earned nothing but disappointment and heart break.

“We will pay you a million euro.” Salva immediately rose the offer and listening to money being thrown at her face, Althea felt even more agitated.

“How dare you!” she yelled out loud, making both Serena and Salva shake up. “Do you really think it is about money? Do rich people really think that anything or anyone can be bought for a price?” her voice broke down as she continued lashing out at Salva.

Salva and Serena went in a state of complete shock as Althea continued crying her heart out.

“It was never about the money for me. I don’t know how you guys even found out that I am aspirant of SCHS…”

As Althea spoke out the acronym, Serena and Salva both looked at each other in surprise, sensing that the topic was actually quite sensitive and something of high value to the girl and they had ended up pressing the wrong buttons.

“Listen, we can tell that you are in complete shock. Why don’t you get some rest and think over our offer. A million euro is not a small deal! You can get whatever you want and you used to work as a waitress at that restaurant and cook in secret. You will get to cook however you like and we have other chefs here who are also aspirants of that stupid ring just like you. You guys can work together and apply together as well. Besides, working here can help you form a big and better profile and…”

“Do you think I have never had offers like this before? Many people have offered to hire me as a chef but it was never about the money for me. I am not afraid of working hard! It is about the title, the fact that I was going to be part of something big yet so pure and not only did you made fun of me by making a complete fool of me and dragging me out here but you made me hope and believe that I was finally going to achieve my dreams. Gosh! I became so stupid that I literally quit by entire life and came with you guys, I didn’t even bother to pack anything and left a small note to my family. How can I be so stupid. I need to go home right away! I need to go home right now.”

Althea huffed in aggression, realizing that her mother must be in a state of complete delirium and she must be going crazy with her disappearance, especially when it wasn’t even linked to the Secret Chef Hunter’s Society.

“Listen you need to calm down, okay? We will raise the offer as well and besides you need to understand that this is also a big opportunity for you.” Serena tried to control the situation but Althea had reached the point where she didn’t want to listen to any further arguments from Serena or Salva.

“I want to go back.”

“But we are making you an offer and you should at least consider it!”

“I told you, I want to go back!” Althea state sternly.

It wasn’t about the money or the offer or the opportunity anymore.

Maybe, perhaps she might regret not taking the big offer later on in her life but in that moment she was definitely frustrated and pumped with anger over the fact that they used her biggest vulnerability against her and that made her loath the people that they were.

“You should at least know who we are and what offer we are making. I am sure it will change your mind.” Serena tried her level best to make Althea understand things.

While Serena was trying to work something out with Althea, Salva remained quiet. He stood back and simply watched Althea, noticing her gestures and her expressions.

She was running her hand through her hair and was not sweating anymore. Which showed to him that she wasn’t anxious and simply determined.

The girl didn’t like uncertainty. It was the uncertainty that made her sweat but instead when she was certain and sure of something, she radiated a different kind of confidence that she was radiating in that moment.

“I don’t give a s**t about who you are and what you are offering. I told you I want to leave. You guys brought me here by playing some stupid game with me. Now, it is your responsibility to get me out of here as well. I have told you my decision already, I don’t want to stay here, you guys are dangerous and I don’t want this job.”

She made herself stern clear and Serena was about to say something in her defense but Salva stopped her by grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly.

Serena halted in her words for a moment and looked up at Salva, who didn’t budge and instead immediately let go off Serena’s hands and take a step towards Althea.

Althea was ignited on the inside, ready to jump and attack whoever it would be to come anywhere near her, to force her to stay back but the moment Salva came towards her, he lifted his hands up and held her shoulders, squeezing them gently.

She stopped spinning and pacing for a moment and looked up at Salva with confusion.

Serena also stood back, watching in sheer delusion and muddle, wondering what Salva was up to.

Sher expected him to threaten the girl but instead he simply smiled as he held her shoulder and looked down at her with a soft look covering his eyes.

“Congratulations you passed the test!”

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