Still Choosing You
Book 1 Chapter 4 — Scene 2: EAT FIRST
At six seventeen, Emma turned off the stove.
The soup was ready.
The vegetables were done.
Rice sat warm inside the cooker.
The apartment carried the familiar evening smell of dinner and steam.
She picked up two bowls from the cabinet.
Then paused.
Her phone vibrated on the counter.
A message from Daniel.
She opened it immediately.
Sorry.
Still working on the reporting stuff.
Might be late.
Eat first.
Emma stared at the screen.
Just four words.
Eat first.
The same words.
The same message.
The same practical solution.
For a moment, she stood completely still.
The kitchen remained quiet around her.
The fan hummed softly overhead.
Outside the window, evening traffic moved through the streets below.
Eat first.
The words weren't rude.
They weren't careless.
Daniel had probably sent them the moment he realized he would be late.
The message was considerate in its own way.
He didn't want her waiting.
That was the problem.
She looked toward the dining table.
Two bowls.
Two pairs of chopsticks.
Two places prepared.
The arrangement felt familiar.
Too familiar.
The phone remained in her hand.
She typed a reply.
Okay.
A few seconds later, the message showed as delivered.
Nothing else followed.
Emma placed the phone back on the counter.
Then she looked at the table again.
The second bowl remained where she had placed it.
Waiting.
Just like before.
She walked over and sat down.
For a moment, she did not touch the food.
The apartment felt larger when only one chair was occupied.
Not empty.
Just unfinished.
She picked up her chopsticks.
The soup was still hot.
Steam drifted upward before disappearing.
Across from her, Daniel's chair remained pushed neatly beneath the table.
Exactly where it always was.
She remembered when dinner had been the part of the day they looked forward to.
Nothing special.
Just time together.
A story from work.
A complaint about traffic.
A joke.
A conversation about what to buy during the weekend.
Small things.
Ordinary things.
The kind people stopped noticing until they disappeared.
Emma took a bite.
The food tasted fine.
She had cooked it herself.
Nothing was wrong with it.
Yet the table felt quieter than the room itself.
Her phone remained beside her plate.
Silent.
No new messages.
No updates.
Daniel was probably still working.
Still reading reports.
Still filling spreadsheets.
Still sitting beneath office lights while evening settled outside.
She understood that.
The understanding wasn't difficult.
The loneliness was.
Emma finished half her bowl before standing again.
She crossed to the kitchen and opened the rice cooker.
Warm air escaped.
She looked at the remaining food.
Enough for both of them.
Like always.
She closed the lid gently.
Then returned to the table.
Dinner continued.
One bite at a time.
One chair occupied.
One chair empty.
Outside, the sky darkened completely.
Inside, the food slowly cooled.
And somewhere across the city, Daniel remained at his desk.
Working later than usual.
Emma looked once more at the message on her phone.
Eat first.
She locked the screen.
Then continued eating alone.
Scene-by-scene release. Continue only when the next scene is ready.