Ana slumped onto her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as her thoughts drifted to Jake and John's conversation at the office that day.

She wondered what problem the two of them were talking about. When John banged on the door of Austin's office and yelled, she was in a deep sleep. However, due to the loud noise, she woke up but acted like she was sleeping to not make a fool of herself. Now she couldn't stop thinking about what they were discussing.

~FLASHBACK~

John barged into the office and almost yelled, "Austin, where the hell are-" until Jake warned, "Yah! Lower your voice."

Ignoring her friend's scowl or warning, the ravenette muttered, "Why is he sleeping? And what's wrong with Ana? Did you give them something in their drinks or what?" He let out a chuckle.

Jake asked him to sit beside him. "Be quiet and place your ass next to me. They both are sleeping, so don't shout and act like a human being."

"What's the matter with Austin?" This time, he asked seriously which made Jake sigh. "Same problem. Before we lose our friend, we need to figure this out."

"Let's make a plan. Now I'm concerned as well." John responded with a sigh.

"Let us talk about it later," Jake hurriedly murmured.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

Ana angrily ruffled her hair, mumbling to herself, "What was that? At this rate, I'll go insane. I should turn off my curious mind and rest now. Whatever it is, it shouldn't bother me." She turned off the lights and drifted off to sleep.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

The next morning, Jake walked to John's room and knocked on the door. He entered when he heard a "Come in!" in his friend's sleepy voice.

"Good morning, Kook." Jake wished softly, but he began scratching his nape out of nervousness.

"Since when have you started knocking and not barging in?" John joked; his voice still hoarse.

"We need to talk." Jake spoke seriously, earning a "speak up, buddy" from his friend with a shrug.

"I had a talk with Ana over a call last night." He informed. John raised his brow at the statement. He was clueless about what he was supposed to do with that information. Was he supposed to know about it? Yet he questioned, "And?" to know further.

"And I told her that you are ummm... a picky person!"

Okay, John felt offended by that. He had carefully maintained his image over the years, so when he found out that Ana had a crush on him through friends, he couldn't deny feeling happy.

Although he couldn't reciprocate his feelings, that was a whole different story. But then again, why would his friend go around telling lies about him? John had always been a foodie, and he would eat anything and everything because he loved food. Being tagged as a picky person made no sense to him. Yet he spoke through clenched teeth, "And?"

"And Ummm... nothing. Yes, that's it. I know you're not busy, but I'd like you to stay with Austin while he eats. He might even puke, and you're well aware of this. So please be with him." Jake raised his concern as he pleaded. And now John understood the reason why his friend had to lie.

"Hey, you don't need to request me; just order and I'll handle everything. He's also a friend of mine," John assured his friend in a gentle tone, his anger now gone.

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"What did his doctor say about his condition?" John inquired, both curious and serious.

Jake sighed as he sat on the bed in front of John. "We need to keep a few things in mind. First, we need to start with small portions. We shouldn't provide him with the same food that he has been having all these years. We must push him beyond his comfort zone. It may be difficult, but giving him smaller servings will not affect him. Keep one thing in mind though, don't set unrealistic expectations."

John nodded his head, agreeing with what Jake said.

Jake continued, "Second is that we must commit to what we are about to begin. Exposures are not easy. They can evoke high emotional reactiveness for all of us including Austin. He might throw up from time to time. Also, it might take up to 10 exposures to the same food before he can accept the food with less difficulty."

John was surprised by the new information and didn't realise how serious things were and how it could get out of hand.

Jake nodded as he spoke. "Next, once a new food becomes well-tolerated, keeping that food in the rotation is important. It means we shouldn't make him eat this new food every day, but rather one to two times a week to ensure that the gains we make are maintained. Progress is possible, though it might take time. We need to take baby steps."

"This would be a huge challenge for all of us." John sighed. "Especially for Austin." He couldn't even imagine how tough it would be for their friend, and he was feeling sad. What if his health deteriorates more? The risk was surely worth taking, but they were literally experimenting with their friend's body at this rate.

"I believe this time we will succeed," Jake said enthusiastically. He didn't know why, but he was feeling positive about everything. He somehow trusted this process, maybe because Ana was involved or maybe because of another reason. But he had faith.

"Amen"

"Now get ready. I'll prepare French toast for all of us."

"Yay!!" John exclaimed, clapping his hands like a small kid, making the elder chuckle. He shook his head, stood up, and made his way to the kitchen.

___

Meanwhile, at Ana's place, she finished making steak and was currently packing the lunch boxes.

"Daughter, what are you doing here so early in the morning?" Her father inquired, affectionately patting her head.

Okay, I'm doomed now. If I tell the truth, my father will soon be possessed by the soul of my brother. Ana, come up with an excuse. THINK ANA THINK!!!

"Baby?"

"Y-yes Paa. O-oh you mean this?" She said while pointing to the food she had finished making. "Paa, I hate the food there and also, I feel hungry before the evening. So I thought of making homemade food from now onwards."

Her heart was beating erratically. It was a fact that she was loved and pampered the most in this house. However, it was also true that she enjoyed being in the kitchen, just like her mother. The kitchen was her happy place, and if she ever felt low, cooking anything would bring her happiness. And she was happier if she could make food for her loved ones.

Watching smiles on everyone's faces because of her food satisfied her soul. This was one quality that she received from her mother.

But since she was adored a lot, her brother and father did not like her being in the kitchen. If they were wealthy enough to have a cook, they didn't see a reason for her daughter to face the trouble. And that was exactly why she was nervous. Though she wasn't doing anything wrong, they would still never understand why the kitchen attracted her.

"Baby, we have a cook for that. You could sleep more if you had asked them to prepare."

"But you know how I love making my own food. It satisfies my cravings." Ana responded with a pout. Her father quickly patted her head with a smile. When she noticed the dimples appearing on his face, she let out a chuckle.

"And what will you do with so much food?" He inquired, still patting her head gently with a soft gaze set on his daughter.

"S- yeah Stacy." She sighed, noticing how she stuttered. She hated lying to her father but she had no other option. "Do you remember her? She's my very good friend after Jenny."

Phew! That was close. She thought.

"Yes baby, I remember. Your first friend in the office. She helped you out as she was one of the oldest." Henry spoke, remembering everything that Ana had shared with him.

When Ana joined the office, Stacy became her good friend, and they started hanging out. Ana even introduced Stacy and Jenny and they immediately became friends as well.

"Yes, she joined right after Austin and Jake's fathers handed over the company to them. I feel lucky to have her in the office."

"Okay girl, enough of the talking. Prepare fast and have your breakfast. You'll be late."

"Okay, Paa."

Before turning, he continued when he remembered something. "Oh, right! Eros is going to stay with Thomas as our office is closer to his place. We've been busy with work lately, and you already know how important Thomas is to us. As a result, he'll be staying there for a few days. So you won't be seeing him for some time."

"Okay, Paa. I understand. Work comes first."

"All right, my girl. I'm going to work now. Before you go, you eat your breakfast. You can also call Jenny to come and stay with us for a few days because I'll be home late and your brother won't be here. I don't want to see you alone. I know how you overthink when you have no one around you."

"Don't worry, Paa. I'll call her. I miss her anyways." He gave her a small peck on her forehead. "Take care, girl. I love you."

"I love you too, Paa." Henry smiled at her reply and glanced at her lovingly for a minute before he walked away.

Ana looked at the lunch boxes with an amusing smile, feeling proud of her work. Now all she wanted was for John and Jake to like the food. "Okay, Ana. You handled things well. Now hurry up and get ready. I hope John gets impressed with my culinary skills. I still remember how my mother used to say that the path to a man's heart is through his stomach. If I can't seem to impress him due to my clumsiness, at least my cooking can help."

Little did she know that it would be her boss to eat her food and not her crush.