The Hands That Fed His Genius

The Hands That Fed His Genius

Piper Hayes · Completed · 6.2k Words

1.1k
Hot
1.3k
Views
3
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Landon Rhodes and I grew up together, both dreaming of becoming top chefs. But I knew he was the one with a palate kissed by God.

So when Rowan Stone, this street-rat punk, got her claws into him, I took the drinks, the smoke, the slaps for him. When he wanted to skip the National Young Chefs Competition to stay with her drunk ass, I dragged him back to the culinary lab.

He won the championship, got recruited by a three-star Michelin restaurant, graduated and made millions. I became the most invisible prep cook in his kitchen.

Until Rowan wrapped her car around a pole during one of her episodes, and he lured me into a basement.

"This is all your fault! If you'd minded your own damn business, she'd still be alive!"

His foot came down on my right hand. Bones cracking. My fingers ground to pulp.

All those 5 AM trips to the fish market for him. All those nights watching stock simmer for forty-eight hours straight. All the praise he soaked up at final practicals. My sacrifices, and all I got in return was his hatred.

"These worthless hands that can only cut vegetables deserve to rot in the ground with her."

The pain swallowed me whole.

When I wake up again, I'm back to that afternoon when he said he was going to the bar to find her.

This time, I won't stop him.

Chapter 1

Tessa's POV

Landon Rhodes and I grew up together, both dreaming of becoming top chefs. But I knew he was the one with a palate kissed by God.

So when Rowan Stone, this street-rat punk, got her claws into him, I took the drinks, the smoke, the slaps for him. When he wanted to skip the National Young Chefs Competition to stay with her drunk ass, I dragged him back to the culinary lab.

He won the championship, got recruited by a three-star Michelin restaurant, graduated and made millions. I became the most invisible prep cook in his kitchen.

Until Rowan wrapped her car around a pole during one of her episodes, and he lured me into a basement.

"This is all your fault! If you'd minded your own damn business, she'd still be alive!"

His foot came down on my right hand. Bones cracking. My fingers ground to pulp.

All those 5 AM trips to the fish market for him. All those nights watching stock simmer for forty-eight hours straight. All the praise he soaked up at final practicals. My sacrifices, and all I got in return was his hatred.

"These worthless hands that can only cut vegetables deserve to rot in the ground with her."

The pain swallowed me whole.

When I wake up again, I'm back to that afternoon when he said he was going to the bar to find her.

This time, I won't stop him.


"Tessa! Tessa! What the hell are you spacing out for? Are you even listening to me?"

His sharp voice cuts through my thoughts. I snap back, clutching my chest, gasping for air.

My vision clears. The bright first culinary lab at the Culinary Institute, the spotless stainless steel counters, and Landon standing in front of me in his crisp sophomore whites, brows furrowed.

I look down at my hands. Intact. Pale. Slender. Not mangled beyond recognition.

I'm back. Spring semester, sophomore year. One month before the National Young Chefs Competition campus qualifier.

The starting point of everything that went wrong in my last life.

"Are you listening or not?" Landon snaps when I don't respond. He rips off his chef's scarf and throws it on the cutting board. "Rowan's having a shit day. She's wasted at some dive bar. I can't just leave her there. I'm skipping the French consommé practical today. Tell Chef Williams I've got food poisoning or whatever."

Last time around, when I heard he was ditching class for chain-smoking, perpetually wasted Rowan, I almost cried. I grabbed his arm, begging him not to go. I told him how important Chef Williams's practical was. I told him the secondhand smoke and cheap liquor at the bar would ruin his palate. I even stormed over to the bar myself, tore into Rowan, and physically dragged him back to campus.

He aced that practical. I missed my own prep time helping him with his stock and barely passed. But he never thanked me. He just thought I was being a busybody and screwing things up between him and Rowan.

The memories crawl up my spine like ice-cold snakes. I stare at his young, arrogant, self-righteous face, and the whole thing suddenly feels ridiculous.

God, I was pathetic.

I take a deep breath, forcing down the rage and nausea churning in my chest.

"Okay," I hear myself say, voice flat and toneless.

Landon freezes. He clearly expected me to cry, to argue, to beg like always. He probably had his whole rebuttal ready. But all I gave him was one word.

"You... what did you just say?"

"I said okay." I pick up the rag and wipe down the already spotless counter. "I'll let Chef Williams know. Go on. Rowan probably shouldn't be alone right now anyway."

He's scanning my face, looking for some sign I'm playing games or about to cry. I don't even glance at him.

"You said it, Tessa. Don't go running to Chef Williams later trying to rat me out." He scoffs, turning toward the door like he needs to cover up some weird discomfort.

Right before he leaves, he stops and looks back, voice dripping with that same old condescension. "Oh, and for tomorrow's ribeye practice, prep the puff pastry for me. Butter needs to be at seventy-seven degrees. Don't screw it up."

I stop wiping. I look up and meet his eyes.

"Landon."

"What?"

"Are your hands broken? If you can't make puff pastry, just drop out. Stop embarrassing yourself."

His face flushes red instantly. He stares at me like I've grown a second head, his mouth opening and closing.

I don't give him the chance to recover. I turn and head toward the walk-in storage.

"Tessa, what the hell is wrong with you? You better watch yourself!" His voice cracks with frustration as the door slams behind him.

I lean against the cold wall of the walk-in and let out a bitter laugh.

What's wrong with me? Nothing. I just drained all the stupidity out of my brain from last time.

Let go of your savior complex. Respect other people's choices. Landon Rhodes, if you love the gutter that much, I won't stop you this time. I'll watch you sink, step by step, until you drown.

My youth. My talent. From this moment on, they're mine and mine alone.

The storage door swings shut, cutting off the noise outside.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

Legacy Of Dragons, Royal Dragons Book 2

Legacy Of Dragons, Royal Dragons Book 2

1.5k Views · Ongoing · arianniahrain
Legacy of Dragons
Ria and the Balaur brothers never imagined how far their family would come.
After surviving betrayal, loss, and the lies that nearly destroyed everything they loved, they dedicated themselves to building a future. What began as a training facility for dragons soon grew into something far greater—a place where dragons and other species from around the world could learn, train, and thrive together.
Now the facility is flourishing. Their children have grown, many finding their own mates among dragons, shifters, and other species from distant lands. The family Ria fought so hard to protect has expanded beyond anything she once dreamed possible, bringing new friendships, new adventures, and a growing legacy of grandchildren.
As old secrets continue to surface, long-held beliefs about dragons and mixed-species bloodlines are being challenged. Truths buried for generations are finally coming to light, reshaping everything they thought they knew about their world.
Fated to the Lycan

Fated to the Lycan

3.2k Views · Ongoing · Mhina Zhaq
He wants her only for her body until he fell for her soul.

Ashlyn Ambrosia, the daughter of Khalid Ambrosia is a weak hybrid vampire that doesn't act like one. Unable to draw blood from a living soul and unable to kill. She's been mocked for this by her own family too. Her world comes crashing down when she's taken away by her Clutch most hated adversary.....

Lucifer Saunron is a ruthless lycan male alpha of the Nightwing pack known for his bravery, skills in war and an unquenchable taste for women. In the long feud between the lycans and the vampires and the battle that ensued, to his greatest displeasure he's fated to the daughter of the Vampire king.
He takes her in as his mistress opposing what the moon goddess proposes.....

With a life that is filled with secrets and mysteries that Ashlyn would discover, would she be able to withstand his hell as he battles with his inner demon despite his cruelty?
Tango with the Alpha's Heart

Tango with the Alpha's Heart

32.8k Views · Completed · judels.lalita
“Who is she?” I asked, feeling tears well up in my eyes.
“He met her at the Alpha training camp,” he said. “She is a perfect suitor for him. It snowed last night, indicating that his wolf is happy with his choice.”
My heart sank, and tears made their way down my cheeks.
Alexander took my innocence last night, and now he is taking that thing in his office as his Luna.


Emily became the laughingstock of the pack on her 18th birthday and never expected the Alpha's son to be her mate.
After a night of passionate love, Emily finds out that her mate has taken a chosen mate. Heartbroken and humiliated, she disappears from the pack.
Now, five years later, Emily is a respected high-ranking warrior in King Alpha’s army.
When her best friend invites her to a night of music and laughter, she never expects to run into her mate.
Will her mate figure out it is her?
Will he chase after her, and most of all, will Emily be able to keep her secrets safe?
The Unbreakable Oath

The Unbreakable Oath

7.6k Views · Ongoing · Lin Daniels
When Mafia underboss, Vincent DiCassio, marries Lily—a woman he’s been forced to wed as part of a truce between crime families—he never expected her to challenge his control. But Lily isn’t just the naive bride he thought she’d be. A contract marriage turned battleground for power, Vincent pushes her to her limits, testing not only her resolve but her darkest desires. As their relationship evolves, will Lily submit to him completely, or will she shatter the chains of control he’s worked so hard to bind her with?
Let Them Kneel

Let Them Kneel

240.3k Views · Ongoing · My Fantasy Stories
Kaelani spent her life believing she was wolfless.
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.

But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.

Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.

When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.

For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.

Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.

But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.

And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.

Especially him.

She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.

Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
The first of her kind

The first of her kind

3k Views · Ongoing · Sunday Ukamaka
To the supernatural world, I am just Edlyn—a weak, submissive Omega hiding in the shadows. No one knows my real secret: I am a freak of nature. A hybrid of Wolf, Vampire, Witch, and Fairy. The first of my kind.

And if I don’t unite the warring factions by my twenty-fifth birthday, the prophecy will kill me. I have exactly three months left to live.

Love was never option. Survival was the only plan.

Until they showed up.

Nelson: The brutal, dominant Supreme Alpha who demands my absolute submission, waking a wolf inside me that I’ve suppressed for twelve years.
Jay: The ruthless, lethal Vampire Heir who craves my blood, feeding the dark, feral hunger I never wanted to admit.

They are sworn enemies, born to tear each other apart. But fate has a twisted sense of humor—because they are both my fated mates.

If they find out what I truly am, they’ll destroy me. But as the bond tightens and my time runs out, I’m caught between the Alpha who wants to protect my soul, and the Vampire who wants to rule my darkness.

I was born to bring peace. But loving them might just start the bloodiest war history has ever seen.
Iron And Glamour Just Don't Mix

Iron And Glamour Just Don't Mix

5.6k Views · Ongoing · Kit Bryan
Have you ever seen a screaming toddler and thought, wow, they just can’t be the same good-natured kid who was eating cereal ten minutes ago?
Well… Sometimes you just might turn out to be right.
It turns out, the fae stole my little brother. In his place? A pixie with boundary issues and a talent for home repairs.
I’ve spent my life taking care of everyone else. So when my baby brother is taken, I don’t hesitate. I walk straight into a faerie mansion and make a bargain with its infuriatingly charming master.
Kie is everything you’d expect from a dangerous fae, beautiful, political, and entirely too amused by me. Power wrapped in a smirk. Sensual, mischievous, and far too aware of the effect he has on people. He agrees to help me find my brother.
For a price.
Now I’m bound by a faerie bargain and navigating a world of glamour, manipulation, and ancient rules I definitely should have learned sooner, enchanted forests, political games, magical contracts, and a fae lord who treats seduction like a perfectly reasonable negotiation tactic.
Iron is how I keep people out.
Glamour is how he draws them in.
And apparently, they just don’t mix.
BROKEN TRUST

BROKEN TRUST

11k Views · Completed · O.J Thewriter
She broke their marriage. He walked away.

Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.

Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.

Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
A Queen Among Darkness (Book 4 in the Gods' Saga)

A Queen Among Darkness (Book 4 in the Gods' Saga)

6.6k Views · Ongoing · ADB_Stories
Isolde’s life was full of love and joy. She was set to be High priestess of the makkari, but everything changed in a single night when she lost everything at the hands of someone she thought she could trust.

For centuries, she has been on the run, helping the supernatural community under the cloak of anonymity while she works to clear her name and save the very people after her from destruction.

Enemies are closing in, but an unexpected complication befalls her when she realises she’s been fated to someone who wants her species exterminated. After all, an evil chance seldom comes alone.

A Queen Among Darkness is the 4th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.

Books in the series in order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Generation Coming Soon)
The Spy Who Left

The Spy Who Left

1.9k Views · Completed · Orion Vale
"She's naive. A pretty little socialite who got lucky marrying above her station."
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
The millionaire's ugly secretary

The millionaire's ugly secretary

2k Views · Completed · Naulis Machado
Demetrio Laureti is the most sought-after millionaire in town. An arrogant, domineering and extremely handsome man, he is used to taking all the women he wants into his bed. When his secretary is fired, he immediately sends for a new one. Confident that they have hired the most beautiful of them all, he decides to make a bet with his best friend and conquer Evangelina Anderson, a woman of grotesque appearance, which is not at all to the taste of the Italian, but, however, manages to drive all his senses crazy.

Will Demetrio be able to conquer his ugly secretary? Will Eva be able to forgive Demetrio after this bet?
One Weekend with the Billionaire

One Weekend with the Billionaire

82k Views · Ongoing · Bella Moondragon
“When done properly, this position can be most satisfying for a woman because it allows deep penetration."
I open my mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a staggered breath and a small sigh. He chuckles, a low, rough rumble and then leans down and kisses the middle of my back.
I feel the tip of him again at my entryway. He pushes in slightly, and my body comes to life again. My muscles react to his presence, contracting and loosening, as if my body is trying to suck him deep inside.
He's my husband's boss, so this is supposed to be wrong.
So why does it feel so right?


Braxton Merriweather always gets what he wants. Now, he wants her--Julia Thompson, the wife of one of his workers. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he knew he had to possess her in every way.
When Jeff Thompson takes him up on the bargain he proposes, Braxton is shocked. He's even more surprised when Mrs. Thompson agrees.
But now that he's had a taste of her, he wants more. How can he possess a woman who's already married to someone else?

Julia feels trapped by her marriage to her high school sweetheart. In the two years since they've been married, he's changed, and not for the better. When billionaire Braxton Merriweather shows interest in her, she's flattered. And intrigued. Is it possible that one of the richest men in the world could really want her?
And if so... what does she do about her husband?
One Weekend with the Billionaire is a sexy story for mature readers.