My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse novel Chapter 680

But Duke didn't spare Melody a single glance. Instead, he looked directly at Eliot and said, "Can you prepare a seafood platter for me and my family?"

"It wouldn't be a problem to cook, but the issue is whether we still have any frozen seafood in stock," Eliot said, looking directly at Duke. His gaze flickered briefly toward Kisha's table, but he hesitated.

A part of him wanted to approach her, yet he knew it would be odd to suddenly act familiar when, to her, they were still strangers.

Even though his mother had told him about their blood relation, Kisha remained unaware, and only their family knew the truth. If he suddenly approached her now, it might look suspicious or even be misinterpreted by others.

Thinking about this, Eliot pressed his lips together in thought. Just then, Duke's voice pulled him back.

"No need to check the warehouse..." Duke said calmly.

With a simple wave of his hand, boxes upon boxes of fresh seafood appeared out of nowhere.

The ingredients glistened under the light, looking incredibly fresh and plump—far larger than any seafood they had ever seen in the market or had served on their tables before. Lobsters, octopus, scallops, clams, grouper—every kind of premium seafood lay before them in abundance.

Even Eliot's eyes flashed with amazement. He could tell at a glance that these were top-quality ingredients, far superior to anything they had in storage.

But as the initial excitement passed, a question surfaced in his mind—Where did all of this come from?

His gaze shifted to Duke, who remained entirely unbothered, as if conjuring luxury ingredients out of thin air was an everyday occurrence. Before Eliot could voice his thoughts, Duke simply gave him a few words of instruction and moved on.

"Please cook all this seafood. You can decide on the dishes—as long as they're delicious, my family will love them," Duke said, deliberately emphasizing the word 'family'.

As people followed his gaze toward the table where his parents and grandfather sat—right beside Kisha and her family—it became crystal clear what he was implying. Duke wasn't just making a casual statement; he was sending a message to everyone in the cafeteria.

He and Kisha were indeed married, and their families had already discussed and agreed on their union. That meant any lingering thoughts, hopes, or schemes involving him were pointless.

The weight of his words fell heavily on Melody. The room seemed to hold its breath as all eyes subtly shifted to her. Her face turned pale before rapidly alternating between red and white, a clear sign of her embarrassment, shame, and humiliation.

Duke hadn't even bothered to spare her any dignity—he had shut down any speculation about his relationship status in front of everyone, without hesitation.

After making his point clear, Duke walked back to their table. He didn't need Melody to say anything outright—he wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what she was trying to pull.

But he had no interest in entertaining unwanted attention, especially if it might cause Kisha to misunderstand his intentions.

Even if Kisha didn't pay any mind to Melody's petty schemes, Duke did. He wasn't about to let anyone become a stumbling block in his relationship with her.

But just as Duke took a few steps, he suddenly remembered something. Seeing him pause, Melody's face lit up with hope—only for it to be crushed the next second.

Duke casually pulled out a jar of pickles from seemingly nowhere and handed it to the man at the counter. "Could you plate some and bring them to our table? I want my in-laws to taste these homemade pickles," he said, deliberately emphasizing 'in-laws'.

At that moment, Melody broke down in tears, the weight of his words finally shattering whatever illusions she had left.