A Farewell After Being Reborn

"Sage Joyner, did you just call me stupid?" lan couldn't help but lose his temper because of her constant nitpicking.

"Are you sure you're not stupid? After all, you can't even handle such a simple task," Sage said.

It seemed like the old her had thought of lan as overly perfect and capable. If she had discovered his clumsiness earlier, she might not have liked him as much.

He snatched the rolling pin back from her when he noticed her shaking her head and sighing again. He ordered, "Stay out of it! I'll do it!"

Sage rolled her eyes. lan was still as competitive as ever. lan was the kind of person who couldn't handle minor setbacks.

removed her apron. "Do you need me to tie it for you

him that since Wanda wasn't home, if he soiled his clothes he'd have to wash them himself.

and prove himself, but it was much more difficult than he had imagined. Eventually, he managed to press the dough into a disc, but it was uneven and even tore in some places. Sage burst into laughter. She lifted the flattened dough, held it in front of her, and asked lan, "Mr. Holcomb,

was being sarcastic. His expression hardened as he reached out to snatch the flattened dough back and re-knead it into

set the dough down before he could, and he ended up grabbing her wrist and pulling her into his embrace. He instinctively

about to snap when she noticed a dusting of white flour on the tip of his

but laugh out loud as she imagined lan's face on a puppy. She laughed so

resist any longer. He hoisted her onto the countertop and leaned in to claim her with a fiery

was caught off guard, tried to back away, but lan didn't give her a