Kryptonite

Chaos

James chuckled. "Yes, that means we're almost done," he informed.

"Sobra mo akong na-stress dahil dito, was there not anything easier?" Nadine asked.

"It's kind of a lot to add ingredient wise, but the process itself isn't bad," he said, placing an arm around her shoulder as he looked down at the dish he had directed her to make. "Just quickly fry some eggs and it's finished. The plantations and rice are also ready," James informed.

"I can't wait to try this," Nadine said as she turned off the heat. James grabbed a new pan before going back to the refrigerator and grabbing Nadine a few eggs to fry.

"You did good, I'm proud," he complimented.

"I kept forgetting when to add what, though," Nadine pointed out with a sigh as she broke the eggs over the pan. "Pero wow, ang galing mo pala. You didn't even need to google."

"I've been cooking this since I was 8," James revealed. "Well, technically I would help my mom, but I pretty much memorized all the steps..."he said, his voice growing quieter as he recalled the many times he and his mom would bond over her teaching him basics of cooking.

"Did she always make you help with cooking? Kaya mo natuto magluto?" Nadine asked.

"Yeah, and cleaning. Even sewing I learned some basics," James revealed. "I used to get bullied for that, but I'm glad she let me learn everything. She always would tell me that the expectation women do all the cooking and clean was wrong."

"What? Na-bully ka dahil diyan?" Nadine asked as she flipped over one of the eggs.

"Yeah, kasi pangbabae daw ang gingagawa ko," James replied.

Nadine rolled her eyes. "Of course. Well, hopefully whoever bullied you matured since then. Though wow, hanga ako sa mom mo. Dapat ganon ang tinuturo sa mga lalaki hindi yung boys will be boys."

"She would correct me if I said something wrong," James revealed. "Though she always did it in a way so I learned, not to make me scared or punish me."

Nadine pressed her hands over James' shoulders. "Alam mo, kung nasaan siya ngayon, I'm sure proud na proud siya sayo. Halata naman sakin that you retained all she taught you, not just cooking, but with life."

James shrugged. "I don't know if she would be, actually," he murmured.

Nadine raised her brow as her grip on his hands tightened. "Anong ibig mong sabihin?" asked Nadine.

"She had...I guess a different idea of what the future looked for me, I don't think her vision is close to reality," James elaborated. "But it's what had to happen, I couldn't just do everything she wanted for me."

For as much as he wanted to get revenge on Ron for killing his parents, deep down, he knew that wasn't the life they had wanted for him.

And regardless of the circumstances of their death, he didn't think it would change. Knowing his parents, they would've wanted him to have been at peace and continue on like nothing had happened. They would've wanted him to finish school and settle down and live a normal life.

Being an assassin was the last thing they would've wanted. And though he always knew that, it wasn't until Nadine had said his mom would be proud of him that he began to admit the truth to himself.

She wouldn't have been about everything he had done.

I wasn't the perfect son, either, James thought to himself. But I couldn't have just lived life as if I didn't have my entire family get murdered. It broke me so much that this made the most sense.