Chapter 1362:
Deandre glanced down at the unicorn-print cover. It still carried the scent of laundry detergent mingled with a faint, milky warmth — the particular softness of a child’s things. His fingers tightened around its edge until his knuckles paled.
“Thank you, Evelina,” he said gently. Then, after a pause: “Your mom’s cooking smells wonderful. Has she always been this good?”
Evelina nodded with obvious pride. “My mommy makes the best food ever!”
“Then the food at my home must be terrible,” Deandre said with a helpless shake of his head. “I wish I could taste something that smells this good.”
“So nobody at your place can cook? No wonder it’s so bad,” Evelina said with a sympathetic expression. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat here with us?”
Deandre didn’t answer right away. His gaze drifted toward the kitchen, where the half-open door revealed Melany moving about inside. He looked away and lowered his eyes to Evelina, a trace of hesitation in his voice. “I’d like to stay, but your mom probably won’t agree. She doesn’t seem to like me.”
“You’re my hero — and Mommy’s too! You saved us once. There’s no way she doesn’t like you,” Evelina insisted, frowning slightly as she planted her hands on her hips with surprising confidence. “I’ll go talk to her!”
Deandre managed a faint, tired smile. “You’re a good girl, Evelina. I’ll leave it to you.”
With her mission assigned, the little girl dashed into the kitchen. She wrapped her arms around Melany’s leg and tilted her face upward. “Mommy! Deandre looks so lonely and sad. Can we let him stay and have dinner with us, please?”
Melany paused mid-stir, the spatula suspended above the sizzling pan. “No. He already has a place to live and people who cook for him. He doesn’t need to eat here.”
𝘞𝘦𝘦k𝗅𝘆 𝗋еlе𝘢ѕe𝘀 𝗼𝘯 𝗴𝖺𝘭𝘯𝗼ve𝗹𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝘮
“Mommy!” Evelina begged, tugging softly at her mother’s leg. “He’s unwell! He can’t eat unhealthy food or he’ll feel worse! Your cooking is amazing — if he eats it, he’ll recover so much faster!”
Melany pressed her lips together and looked down at her daughter’s earnest face. Evelina seemed utterly convinced she was rescuing some helpless, starving man. Melany suspected Deandre had somehow shaped that impression, but she kept the thought to herself.
She was on the verge of refusing outright, but one look at Evelina’s hopeful expression made her relent. “Fine. Just this once.”
Evelina cheered and darted back to the living room, bouncing onto the sofa. “Mommy agreed — you can stay for dinner!”
A faint warmth crossed Deandre’s face. He reached out and lightly touched her hair. “Thanks, Evelina.”
“You’re welcome!” Evelina grinned brightly, waving her small hands with delight, thoroughly convinced she had accomplished something important.
Melany watched her kind-hearted daughter with conflicted feelings. After a quiet breath, she plated the food and brought it to the table.
The three of them sat together beneath the soft yellow glow of the dining light.
Melany kept her eyes lowered, focusing on her food and avoiding his gaze. Even so, from the corner of her eye, she noticed him lift his cutlery and place a piece of rib onto Evelina’s plate.
“Eat more, Evelina.”
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