Chapter 90

The drive home would take two hours. Elise spent most of it looking out at the rain, saying very little.

Nora had been thrilled to leave the resort early and had started the trip chattering at her side. Once she noticed Elise's mood, even she fell quiet.

Across the car, Theo held a phone to his ear. “Oh. I forgot you go to Northbridge too.”

“You forgot?” Miles shouted. “Are you people really my brothers? I'm going to grow mold here, and the school won't let me leave!”

Theo moved the phone away from his ear. In the window he caught Elise's reflection, silent and distant. His brows drew together.

“Have Ethan pick you up,” he told Miles, and ended the call.

He turned toward her. “Ellie, what's wrong? Are you feeling down?”

Everyone looked at her. Nora and Claire wore the same worried, puzzled expression, and her brothers were watching her just as closely.

“Huh?” Elise blinked. She had drifted off again. She managed a smile. “Rainy days do that to me.”

Julian's expression softened. “I'll ask the kitchen to make extra desserts you like when we get home.”

Theo kept studying her face, looking less convinced than ever.

Elise turned back to the window. Everything that had happened over the past few days was tangled together in her head. She had finally spoken plainly to Mu, but she didn't feel any better for it. When she heard he'd left, she hadn't felt the relief she'd expected, either.

It was strange.

The others accepted her explanation about the rain, at least at first. But several days passed after the trip, and Elise remained subdued. Whenever her brothers asked what was wrong, she refused to say.

With no idea how to help, they tried whatever they could think of to cheer her up.

That weekend, Elise finished a set of practice problems in her room. When she noticed it was dinnertime, she put her books away and went downstairs.

Usually the household staff would be carrying dishes from the kitchen to the dining room. Tonight she didn't see a single maid.

What she found at the table stopped her in her tracks.

Adrian set down a plate, inspected the other dishes and pulled his own farther away from them. His looked and smelled delicious. The others could hardly compete with it.

Julian and Theo came out of the kitchen carrying plates as well. Theo spotted Elise and calmly untied his apron.

“Finished your homework?”

She nodded, staring at the apron in his hands. “What are you doing?”

Her third brother had been wearing an apron?

Julian sat down, looking a little uncomfortable. “The chef had a family matter and took the day off. So we cooked for ourselves.”

There were four dishes on the table. Apart from Adrian's, none looked especially appetizing.

Elise fought a twitch at the corner of her mouth. “Why didn't you ask one of the maids? There are plenty who can cook.”

Julian cleared his throat. “We wanted to try it.”

They had been helpless in the face of her low spirits. Remembering how often Elise had cooked for them in their previous lives, they had settled on this as a way to make her smile, even if the results hadn't been quite what they'd hoped.

Julian, Theo and Miles knew almost nothing about a kitchen and had stumbled through the work. Adrian, on the other hand, seemed born for it. His first attempt had put the other three to shame, and they looked suitably defeated.

Theo leaned back in his chair. “It's not as if cooking is our usual specialty. As long as Ellie knows we tried.”

“Right,” Miles said with an awkward laugh. “You don't have to finish everything. I don't even want to eat mine.”

“Never mind them, Ellie. Try mine.” Adrian eagerly handed her a fork.

Elise took it, still astonished. She couldn't picture any of her brothers cooking. Julian was busy running a business; how much money could he have made in the time he'd spent at the stove? Theo barely cared what he ate and ordered takeout while he was with his team. Miles would rather go out to a restaurant than cook.

Yet all four had gone into the kitchen for her.

Her feelings were in a muddle, but she had a family who cared this much. Wasn't that reason enough to be happy?

She smiled at them. “Thank you. I'm really happy, all of you.”

The brothers relaxed at once. At last, she was smiling again.

Adrian's dish tasted as good as it looked, seasoned just right. It wasn't the work of a professional chef, but it was more than good enough for a meal at home. Elise praised it honestly, and Adrian looked ready to float out of his chair. He'd known he would beat the others.

She made a point of giving each brother her real opinion. They were family; she didn't need to flatter them.

Julian watched her face as she sampled his dish. “Too salty?”

Elise took a drink of water. “A little less salt next time.”

“All right,” he said, taking the advice very seriously.

Theo lounged in his chair, but when she picked up some of his food, he went a little tense. “How is it?”

“It's okay.” Elise frowned.

“Really?”

“The meat might not be cooked through.”

Theo frowned too. “I'll cook it longer next time.” Cooking was harder than playing in a match.

Miles sat as straight as a student waiting for a grade, watching her without blinking.

Elise looked at his dark dish. “How much soy sauce did you put in?”

“Two spoonfuls?”

“How big was the spoon?”

He held up a fist. “About this big.”

Elise set down her fork. Good thing she'd asked before tasting it. One bite might have given her nightmares.

Miles stared at her. “You're not even going to try mine?” She'd tasted everyone else's!

Adrian snorted. “Are you trying to poison her?”

Theo raised an eyebrow. “Is this revenge because we forgot to pick you up?”

Julian shook his head in disapproval. “You shouldn't hold on to a grudge, Miles. You'll never accomplish anything that way.”

Miles could have cried. He had only wanted to make a dish to cheer up his sister, just like the rest of them. Was it his fault he was a terrible cook? Why did they all have to pick on him?

Elise couldn't help laughing. Being with her family could be so much fun.

Still smiling, she continued eating and checked her phone. She had left notifications on for X, and a headline appeared as soon as the screen lit up.

“Mu Family Heir's Romance Exposed? This Time It's Real!”

Elise stared at it. The last time a photo of her with Mu had appeared online, he had denied the rumor and announced that he was pursuing her. Had someone photographed them together again?

She opened the post. #MuChuanRomanceConfirmed had reached number seven on the trending list and was still climbing.

This time, the woman in the photo wasn't Elise. It was Qi Yaqiu.

The gossip account sounded triumphant, as if it had followed Mu for ages and finally caught the real story. In the picture, he and Qi sat at the same restaurant table. Qi leaned toward him, one hand wrapped around his wrist. They looked very close; the way she held him seemed intimate.

The comments were divided.

I'm jealous for real this time. Last time you said it didn't count because they weren't touching. Close enough for you now?

It's obviously a candid shot. What does holding his wrist prove?

He's not even looking at her, and he's definitely not smiling.

Friends have dinner together. Perfectly normal.

A woman grabs a man's wrist at a friendly dinner? Sure, nothing going on there.

Some people doubted the rumor. Others were openly envious.

Elise bit her lip and read through the comments, then enlarged the photograph and examined every detail. Qi looked eager, as though she had a great deal to tell him. Mu's expression was cold, and he wasn't looking at her.

Elise knew him. If there were anything between him and Qi, surely it would have happened long before now.

But the restaurant looked familiar. It was the one he'd first taken Elise to, and from the angle of the picture, they seemed to be sitting in the very same place.

Hadn't he just confessed to her? How could he turn around and take another woman there, even sit with her at their table?

That was Elise's seat!

Her chest rose and fell, and suddenly she had no appetite. What was wrong with men? Did they all have to be so fickle?

She glared at her phone until it vibrated.

Nora: Have you seen X?

Elise took a breath. There was nothing to be angry about. She typed calmly.

Elise: I saw it.

Nora: Don't worry about it. It's probably fake.

Nora: Besides, you turned him down. You can just ignore him from now on.

Elise: Ha.

Elise: Like I care.

Nora: ...

Nora: Ellie, seriously. Can I ask you something?

Nora: Are you jealous?

Elise bristled. Jealous of Mu Chuan? What kind of ridiculous idea was that?

Elise: No!! Absolutely not!!!

She looked at the string of exclamation marks and decided they made her look guilty. She quickly withdrew the message.

Her brothers exchanged glances. Elise's face had darkened all at once.

She said she was full and went upstairs. Theo watched her leave, thoughtful.

Adrian turned to Miles. “What did you do to upset her?”

“Nothing! What did I do?” Miles was just as baffled.

Julian tapped the table, his expression dark. “Look at X.”

The others pulled out their phones. Adrian saw the trending post and exploded. “What a jerk! He was chasing Ellie one minute, and now he's with another woman?”

“I thought he was serious about her,” Julian said coldly.

“How could he? How could he?” Miles repeated, growing angrier with every word.

Theo enlarged the picture. “It's a candid shot. You can't trust it.”

Miles paused. “Really?”

“Candid or not, if someone got a picture like that, he's guilty,” Adrian said. Mu was going to drive him mad.