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Home / Romance / Tastes Like Damn Chocolate / Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

All Chapters of Tastes Like Damn Chocolate : Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

167 Chapters

Chapter 151

CHAPTER 151 The kitchen in Tiana's new Tudor house was a chef's dream. Ryan had rolled up his sleeves and tied on an apron he'd found in one of the drawers, looking surprisingly domestic as he pulled ingredients from the bags he'd brought. "Okay, sous chef," he said to Pascal, who had immediately volunteered to help. "Your job is very important. I need you to be the official taste tester." Pascal's eyes lit up. "Really? I get to taste everything?" "Well, maybe not everything. Raw eggs are off limits. But the sauce? The noodles? Absolutely. A good cook always needs a second opinion." From her position on the living room couch, Tiana could hear their voices drifting through the open doorway. "Okay, Pascal, we're going to make the best spaghetti you've ever had," Ryan announced. "But first, we need music. Every great chef needs a good soundtrack." "Can we sing?" Pascal asked eagerly. "Mummy and I used to sing while we cooked at the old house." "Singing is mandatory," Ryan confirm

Chapter 152

CHAPTER 152 Nikolai drove through Velmore's darkening streets, his mind still reeling from watching his mother being taken away in handcuffs. The recording device was gone, handed over to Detective Bryan. Eva's confession was now evidence in a murder investigation. Everything he'd worked toward for the past weeks had culminated in that moment, and yet he felt no satisfaction, only a bone-deep exhaustion that made his hands heavy on the steering wheel. But the night wasn't over. One more confrontation remained. He pulled over at a red light and dialed Locke McNeil. The investigator answered on the second ring. "Toriaga. I was beginning to wonder if you were backing out." "I'm not backing out," Nikolai said, his voice flat. "Is everything in place?" "Our friend is with me now. We've been watching the penthouse for the past hour. Indy returned around seven-thirty, alone. She's been up there ever since." McNeil's tone was dry. "You sure you want to do this tonight? You sound like he

Chapter 153

CHAPTER 153 Nikolai drove to the one place he needed to be. 847 Willowbrook Lane. He knew she didn't want to see him. She had made that abundantly clear earlier with her anger and Ryan's protective interference. But he had to try one more time. Had to make her understand what had happened, why he'd failed her, how everything was different now. Eva was in custody. Indy was exposed. The lies were finally over. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance to rebuild what he'd destroyed. Behind him, far enough back to avoid immediate detection but close enough to track his movements, another car followed through the darkness. Indy sat behind the wheel, mascara streaked down her face, her hands trembling on the steering wheel but her eyes fixed with desperate determination on Nikolai's taillights. She'd watched him leave the penthouse without a backward glance. Had seen the finality in his posture, the absolute dismissal in his voice. And she'd known with terrible certainty where he was go

Chapter 154

CHAPTER 154 The sirens grew louder, splitting the night with their urgent wail. Red and blue lights strobed through the Tudor house's leaded glass windows, painting the walls in emergency colors that made the blood on the floor look even more vivid, even more real. Sandy kept pressure on Nikolai's chest wound, her hands slick with her brother's blood, her voice a continuous stream of desperate encouragement. "Stay with me, Nik. You hear me? Stay awake. Help is coming. Just stay awake." Nikolai's eyes had drifted closed, his breathing shallow and rattling in a way that made Tiana's stomach clench with fear. His face had gone gray-white, lips tinged blue, and the blood kept coming despite Sandy's best efforts to stanch it. "Nikolai!" Tiana's voice cracked. She'd maneuvered her wheelchair as close as she could, one hand reaching out to touch his face, his hair, anything to maintain contact. "Don't you dare leave. Don't you dare die on me now. Not after…not after everything." Ryan st

Chapter 155

CHAPTER 155 The surgical room was bright, cold, and strangely quiet. Sandy sat in one corner, still wearing her blood-stained clothes, staring at the wall with unfocused eyes. She'd scrubbed her hands raw in the bathroom, but traces of Nikolai's blood still darkened the creases of her palms, under her fingernails, impossible to completely erase. Tiana had positioned her wheelchair near the window that looked out over the parking lot, Pascal curled in her lap despite being far too big for it. He'd fallen into an exhausted sleep, his face pressed against her shoulder, one small hand fisting in her shirt like he was afraid she'd disappear if he let go. Ryan had gone to get coffee. Neither Tiana nor Sandy wanted any, but he needed something to do, some task to keep his hands busy and his mind from circling around thoughts he didn't want to examine too closely. The surgery had been going for two hours and seventeen minutes. No updates. No news. Just the endless waiting. "I can't lose

Chapter 156

CHAPTER 156 Dawn broke over Velmore General Hospital illuminating the exhausted occupants within. Tiana had refused to leave despite the nursing staff's gentle insistence that she needed rest, that her own injuries required care, that staying in a hospital waiting room indefinitely wasn't good for her. She'd simply wheeled herself into a corner, positioned her casted leg on a second chair someone had brought, and declared she wasn't going anywhere until Nikolai woke up. Pascal had finally been persuaded to go home with Maryann, who'd arrived at dawn with fresh clothes for everyone and breakfast nobody had the appetite to eat. He'd clung to Tiana for a full ten minutes before she'd convinced him that Daddy needed her to stay here, to be close by when he woke up, and Pascal could help best by being a good boy at home. "I'll come see you later," Tiana had promised, kissing his forehead. "And I'll call if anything changes with Daddy, okay?" Pascal had nodded bravely and left, looking

Chapter 157

CHAPTER 157 Day Three - 2:47 AM The ICU was quiet at this hour, the overnight shift moving through their rounds with practiced efficiency. Tiana had finally surrendered to exhaustion around midnight, dozing fitfully in the reclining chair someone had brought to Nikolai's bedside. The nurses had stopped trying to make her leave. She'd been there for seventy-two hours straight, only leaving for brief bathroom breaks and the mandatory gaps when medical procedures required privacy. Sandy had gone home to shower and check on Pascal, promising to return by morning. Ryan had stopped by twice a day, bringing food Tiana barely touched and offering quiet support that hurt more than it helped because she could see the resignation building behind his eyes. But right now, at nearly 3 AM, Tiana was alone with her unconscious husband and the sound of machines keeping him alive. Dr. Patel had reduced the sedation eighteen hours ago. "We should start seeing signs of consciousness within twenty-f

Chapter 158

CHAPTER 158 7:34 AM Tiana woke to voices, Nikolai's, rough but gaining strength, and Sandy's, bright with relief and joy. "…can't believe you're actually awake," Sandy was saying. "Do you have any idea how terrifying it was watching you code? When your heart stopped…" "My heart stopped?" Nikolai interrupted, sounding alarmed. "Pulmonary embolism on day one," Sandy explained. "Blood clot in your lung. They had to shock you back. It was…" Her voice broke. "It was the worst moment of my life, Nik. I thought I'd lost you." Tiana sat up slowly, her neck protesting from the awkward sleeping position. Both siblings looked over at her movement. "You're awake," Sandy said, smiling. "Good timing. I brought coffee and actual food from the hospital cafeteria, so don't get too excited, but it's better than whatever you've been surviving on." "What time is it?" Tiana asked, disoriented. "Almost eight. I texted you that I was coming, but you didn't answer, so I figured you were either aslee

Chapter 159

CHAPTER 159 Three Weeks Later - Toriaga Residence Tiana had moved back in two weeks ago, officially, to help care for Nikolai during his recovery, but both of them knew it meant more than that. It was a tentative step toward reconciliation, toward rebuilding what they'd destroyed. Now she navigated the familiar hallways in her wheelchair, her casted leg still preventing full mobility but healing steadily. The doctors had said another two weeks before the cast could come off, another month of physical therapy after that before she'd walk normally again. Nikolai's recovery was slower and more complicated. She found him in the sunroom overlooking the gardens, sitting in the oversized armchair that had become his preferred spot. His right arm was still in a sling, the nerve damage from the shoulder wound proving more extensive than the doctors had initially hoped. He'd regained some function, could move his fingers, could grip lightly, but full recovery remained uncertain. "Physical

Chapter 160

Tiana followed him to the master bedroom, watching as he struggled one-handed with his closet. After a moment of witnessing his frustration, she intervened. "Here." She pulled out a pair of black slacks and a soft button-down shirt. "Let me help." They'd developed this routine over the past two weeks — Tiana assisting with tasks his injured arm couldn't manage, Nikolai helping her with things her casted leg made difficult. It should have been awkward, this forced intimacy born of mutual incapacity, but instead, it had become something tender. They were learning each other again, remembering how to be partners instead of adversaries. Tiana helped him into the pants, buttoned his shirt, adjusted his sling. Nikolai watched her face the entire time, and when she looked up, their eyes met. "Thank you," he said softly. "For being here. For coming back. For giving me this chance when I don't deserve it." "You're earning it," Tiana replied. "Every day, you're earning it." He leaned dow

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