Chapter 347
"Try this, little sister."
Alexander Roland picked up a slice of onion with serving chopsticks and placed it steadily into Evelyn's bowl. His peach-blossom eyes gleamed with triumph as he shot Sebastian Valdemar a challenging glance.
"Third brother..."
Evelyn stared at the small mountain of onions in her bowl, her fingertips trembling slightly. She wasn't a picky eater, but the pungent aroma always reminded her of the bitter medicinal soups forced down her throat during childhood illnesses.
Alexander's eyes sparkled. "Why aren't you eating?"
Before Sophia Roland could speak, a pair of slender, well-defined hands reached over. Without a word, Sebastian swapped the onion-filled bowl for one containing milky-white fish soup.
"While it's hot."
Fragrant steam rose from the soup, dotted with emerald-green scallions.
As Evelyn accepted the porcelain bowl, her fingers accidentally brushed against Sebastian's knuckles. She recoiled as if shocked, the tips of her ears turning pink. "Thank you."
Alexander's chopsticks froze mid-air.
He watched helplessly as his sister took small, careful sips of the soup, his Adam's apple bobbing twice. If looks could kill, Sebastian would have been flayed alive by now.
"Valdemar!" he ground out between clenched teeth.
Bianca Savigny stuffed a piece of braised pork into her mouth and mumbled, "Third Young Master, you didn't even know your own sister dislikes onions?"
The words struck Alexander like a dagger to the heart.
He erupted into violent coughs, his eyes reddening. For the first time in twenty years, he realized he didn't know his sister's most basic preferences. When had the little girl who used to trail after him begging for candy grown into this young woman who hesitated to speak her mind around him?
"Drink some soup." Bianca pushed her own bowl toward him.
The surface reflected Alexander's distorted expression. Watching Sebastian's composed movements across the table, he suddenly tasted bitterness on his tongue.
Sebastian was placing a serving of stir-fried seasonal vegetables into Evelyn's bowl.
"Your favorite."
His voice was soft, yet it cut through the silent dining room with crystalline clarity. Evelyn's lashes fluttered, but she didn't look up.
Sophia suddenly laughed. "Third brother, Evelyn has never touched onions since she was seven. Don't you remember that time—"
"I remember!" Alexander shot to his feet, his chair screeching against the floor. His fists clenched bone-white, but when he saw the alarm in his sister's eyes, he slumped back down.
An eerie silence descended over the table.
Evelyn stared at the greens in her bowl, suddenly recalling that rainy night. Sebastian had stood waiting outside the apothecary with an umbrella, holding steaming osmanthus cakes. Back then, he'd said, "I heard you dislike medicine. Sweets can mask bitterness."
So someone had remembered all along.