Chapter 367: Good Reasons

It was probably the awkwardest lunch I've ever had. Had this been the typical family reunion running its typical course, sharing a hearty meal with my sister once more after many months apart should have been the highlight of the day.

Well, I suppose it still was that… if only for all the wrong reasons. 

Her favorite food before her, cooked to a degree that even the most hardened of chefs could only dare hope to achieve, and instead of wolfing it all down the way she does when Mom was around, she was taking small pint-sized bites as if taking any more than the tiniest slice would somehow poison her or something.

"Lady Samantha," Ash was hovering close by, taking quick peeks, darting fast glances, her hands gripping tight at her apron, forming creasing mounds. "I hope dearly it is to your liking. If… if for some reason, I did not satisfy, then please do not bother yourself to - "