Emma offered Amelia a small smile but didn't respond to her question. Just then, a delivery truck pulled up, and she hurried off to handle the shipment.
That evening, Emma and Liam returned to Sunrise Manor for dinner together. Amelia had personally prepared an elaborate meal.
"You must be exhausted after this afternoon. I told you, you can leave the decorating to the workers. There's no need for you to go yourself."
Benjamin picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and placed it in Amelia's bowl, his voice gentle.
He didn't want his little Amelia to tire herself out. He wanted her to live like a happy princess. Unfortunately, his princess had other ideas—she insisted on going out and pushing herself.
Amelia didn't look at Benjamin right away. Instead, she noticed Liam picking up a piece of braised pork for Emma. Emma lifted her head and gave Liam a soft smile. Her older brother's usually cold expression softened into a warm grin. They didn't say a word, but a faint warmth flowed between them, making everything around them seem like an unnecessary backdrop.
When had her brother's eyes started holding almost nothing but Emma?
Amelia was stunned for a moment, then a sweet smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she turned to Benjamin.
"I'm not tired at all. I feel happy every single day. Besides, my sister-in-law comes to see me every day. I get to spend so much time with her—she keeps me company and chats with me."
As Amelia's words faded, the old master, Henry Williams, looked at Emma with satisfaction. He thought this daughter-in-law was excellent—she truly resembled a proper eldest daughter-in-law.
He wondered when he would finally be able to let go of his worries. Compared to his unreliable second son, Amelia was the one who concerned him the most.
She was the only orphan left behind by his comrade-in-arms. Thinking back to the past, he had personally made a promise to that comrade. Now, with Amelia having lost her memory, he felt he had failed to honor his dying friend's last wish. He was deeply worried that after he was gone, his two sons wouldn't care for Amelia—a sister with no blood ties.
But now, it seemed he could finally rest easy.
"Oh, and when my sister-in-law and I were at the shop today, we ran into her cousin's fiancé. What a coincidence! Her cousin's fiancé said he was eating nearby and spotted my sister-in-law through the glass. Only someone who knows her well could recognize her like that. That man was really interesting—he talked to me for a long time. That's how I found out he and my sister-in-law were college classmates. I'm afraid if it weren't for her, her cousin wouldn't have been able to get engaged to that man."
Amelia chattered on like an excited little magpie, telling the three men at the table about what had happened at noon. She didn't seem to notice that as she mentioned Noah Taylor, everyone at the table's expressions shifted.
The warm, harmonious atmosphere at the dinner table had changed.
As for Noah Taylor, both Henry Williams and Benjamin knew about him. After all, the scandal had been huge back then—it was the very reason the old master had disapproved of Emma in the first place.
He had thought he'd put the matter behind him, but now, hearing Amelia's unintentional reminder, even as he told himself not to dwell on the past, he couldn't help feeling a little displeased. Benjamin's face remained expressionless, but he couldn't stop himself from glancing at Emma with a hint of sarcasm.
Emma hadn't expected Amelia to bring up that story at the dinner table. Although Amelia was just making casual conversation, Emma felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. After all, except for Amelia, everyone at this table knew who Noah Taylor was. Even though her relationship with Noah was in the past, she had been called a homewrecker back then. And even though Liam had once explained things to the old master, she had been involved in more than one scandal because of it. She was afraid this matter had always lingered in Henry Williams's mind. Just one look at his face confirmed it.
Slap. Henry Williams set his chopsticks down on the table. Then he stood up, left the table without a word, and went back to his room to rest.
"Is Father full? Why did he eat so little today? I feel like he doesn't seem very happy."
Amelia's face showed a blank expression as she looked at Liam and Benjamin.
"Mr. White, have the kitchen reheat the food. When the old master gets hungry later, take it to his room."
Liam's face was calm and composed, but his instructions were meticulous. Mr. White nodded, then turned and headed to the kitchen to inform the cook.
"I'm full too. You two go ahead and eat."
Emma had completely lost her appetite. She just wanted to put down her chopsticks and leave. But since the old master had already left the table, if she left right after him, she was afraid it would make the old man even more displeased.
"Sister-in-law, why aren't you eating? You barely touched your food either?"
Amelia's face showed a puzzled expression, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes looking at Emma with concern.
"I think I drank too much milk tea this afternoon. I'm not very hungry right now. You go ahead and eat." Emma forced a smile in response. Although she was also quite upset, she felt that Amelia had spoken without thinking. But then again, she didn't know anything. Those words were perfectly normal for her. It was just that, for Emma, as one of the parties involved, it felt uncomfortable.
So she comforted herself, telling herself not to take it out on innocent Amelia. She wasn't the Amelia of the past, who was always trying to target her. Emma was someone who knew how to separate love from hate—she wouldn't blame Amelia based on past impressions.
When Emma left, Amelia's face was filled with confusion. It seemed she didn't understand why, in such a short time, there was no one left at the table. Benjamin looked at Amelia with some concern. Although he knew the reason, Amelia didn't know anything about it. How could she know that such a topic was actually taboo in their family?
In the end, it was all that woman's fault. If she hadn't behaved so badly, how could she have been embarrassed at the dinner table today?
He picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks and placed it in Amelia's bowl.
"Eat more. I think you've lost some weight these past few days."
"Okay, second brother. You eat more too."
Amelia casually picked up a piece of food for Benjamin and said to him with a smile. Although the dish Amelia gave him wasn't his favorite, he was still very happy. After all, Amelia rarely served him food herself—it always made him feel flattered.