The Unwanted Perfect Husband

Chapter 8

Aunt Clara stared at him. Her expression was a mixture of shock, irritation, and something she still could not bring herself to admit.

“You... have dark magic, and you're a shaman?” she asked quietly.

Thaddeus shook his head. “No, Aunt. This isn't dark magic. It's just a healing dish, an ancient medicinal recipe I learned from my mentor."

“Oh, Thad. You actually believe in things like that? Man, it's 2026,” Shein said.

The others immediately agreed with him.

Shein tried to laugh, but it sounded forced. “It could still be a coincidence. Maybe it just happened to be the right time for it to subside.”

“Yeah,” Noura quickly agreed. “Don't immediately assume it's because of his cooking. We're not the kind of people who easily believe in ancient practices like that.”

“Exactly. It's 2026. Everything should be modern by now. We shouldn't believe in superstitious nonsense like that.”

“And remember, Thaddeus isn't exactly well-educated, so of course he'd believe in shamans,” another relative added.

Several relatives nodded, more because they wanted to save face than because they were actually convinced.

“I'm not a shaman at all—”

Yilna cut her husband off. “Thad... enough. Don't make this any longer. People are already looking at you strangely!”

Yilna sighed, then turned around and walked upstairs without saying anything else.

Several relatives began saying their awkward goodbyes. Some said goodbye to Noura, while others didn’t say anything to Thaddeus.

Aunt Clara remained seated. She looked at her arm one more time before standing up. Just before leaving, she stopped beside Thaddeus.

“I don't want to say thank you,” she said flatly. “Because... this is strange.”

Thaddeus simply nodded. “It's okay.”

After the front door closed and the house began to quiet down, the only people left were Noura, Shein, Yilna, who had already gone upstairs, Eden, who had not left yet, and Thaddeus.

Noura stared at her son-in-law for a long moment. “You ruined tonight! Gerald is in the hospital, the party is ruined, and now everyone is talking about your strange cooking. Tomorrow, I don't want to hear any more gossip about you because you trust black magic!"

Thaddeus lowered his head slightly. “I understand."

Noura still wanted to say something, but in the end, she only shook her head and went upstairs to her room.

Eden walked over and patted Thaddeus on the shoulder. “My poor best friend.”

He was about to say something to Thaddeus, but his phone rang, and he answered the call.

Thaddeus returned to the kitchen, carrying the dirty dishes one by one.

He turned on the faucet and started cleaning everything by himself. Warm water flowed over his hands when suddenly, his chest began to feel hot. It was a strange heat, like a small fire crawling beneath his skin.

Thaddeus gritted his teeth. “These symptoms... again.”

About a month ago, the same symptoms had appeared. That night, the skin on his arm had peeled and transformed into thin, dark-colored scales. The next morning, the scales had disappeared as if they had never existed.

Since then, he had dreamed almost every night of being surrounded by dragons flying across a dark sky.

The only person he had ever told about it was Eden.

But Eden always dismissed him, assuming Thaddeus was probably just stressed or suffering from some mental issue he had yet to realize. He even suggested that Thaddeus see a doctor.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Eden entered the kitchen with both hands in his pockets. He quietly closed the kitchen door, as if he didn't want anyone outside to hear them.

“What's with your red face? Are the symptoms acting up again?” he asked flatly, without the slightest hint of concern.

“Yes,” Thaddeus answered as he scrubbed a plate.

Eden walked closer and leaned against the counter. “I think you've developed another illness. Try getting checked out at a different hospital.”

Thaddeus finally turned to him. “You didn't come over here to talk about that, did you?”

Eden gave him a faint smile. “Hehehe. I want to borrow a thousand dollars. Hurry.”

Thaddeus was silent for a moment. “Did you gamble and lose again?"

“Yeah.” Eden answered without a hint of guilt. “I've been unlucky this month.”

Thaddeus sighed.

This wasn't the first time. For years, Eden had always borrowed money from him and never paid him back.

Everyone else thought Eden was a successful, financially stable manager, but only Thaddeus knew that his best friend could never manage his own money.

“I've had a lot of expenses this month,” Thaddeus said quietly. “I have to pay the mortgage, and I already bought some jewelry for Yilna. I was planning to give it to her tonight.”

Eden raised an eyebrow. “So you don't want to lend me the money?”

“It's not that I don't want to. But—”

“If you don't transfer the money right now,” Eden interrupted, his voice dropping to a quiet tone, “I'll tell Yilna's entire family about your strange allergy. About your skin turning into scales. What do you think they'll say? A crazy son-in-law? A mentally ill husband?”

“And... your wife's family will avoid you even more. Your wife will be disgusted by you and send you to a mental hospital. Then you'll end up separated from her and your children.”

Thaddeus froze.

He loved his wife and children dearly. He couldn't let what Eden had said come true.

Besides, today was his wife's birthday. He didn't want to ruin the moment by making her panic after learning about his strange condition. He also didn't want his dignity to be trampled on any further in front of the Kincaid family.

Several seconds of silence passed.

Finally, Thaddeus slowly nodded. He took his phone from his pocket, opened the transfer app, and sent the rest of his savings to Eden's account.

Eden smiled with satisfaction when the notification came through.

“Good boy.”

He patted Thaddeus on the shoulder once, then walked out of the kitchen as if nothing had happened.

After Eden left the kitchen, Thaddeus stood alone in front of the sink for a long time. Warm water still ran over his hands, but he no longer felt it. The heat in his chest had subsided, leaving only a dull ache beneath the skin.

He dried his hands slowly. This could no longer be ignored. Something inside him was awakening, and he needed answers.

So, he made a quiet decision.

Tomorrow, after work, he would go to the northern mountains. He would meet his mentor.

Before marrying Yilna, Thaddeus had been an orphan.

He had grown up in a martial arts academy hidden deep in the mountains.

He had never been a gifted student.

While the other boys practiced techniques and fought until their knuckles bled, Thaddeus spent most of his time in the kitchen, helping prepare food.

The mentor never scolded him for it. Instead, he taught him how to cook with precision, how to balance flavors, and how to use heat and ingredients in ways that went far beyond ordinary cooking.

In time, that training turned Thaddeus into a chef.

When he finally left the academy, the mentor gave him one clear order for work at a mid-level restaurant in the city, and do not change jobs without permission.

Thaddeus obeyed for years.

His salary was only four thousand dollars a month—enough to cover the house payments and daily kitchen needs—but he never complained.

He never asked to move to a better restaurant.

He simply followed what his mentor had told him.

Now he needed his mentor again, to ask for answers about the strange things happening to him.