Rachel tilted her face upwards to meet him in the eyes, but she simply showed a faint smile without replying to his question.
After all, they were all grown-ups now. She couldn’t just blatantly exhibit her feelings since it would cause certain misunderstandings to take root.
Around the dining table, Robert and Sophie had a sweet smile on their faces, seeing that their children were getting along quite well. On the other hand, Luke seemed uninterested in the sight in front of him. He had a tranquil look on his face.
Erica, Luke’s wife, was especially sensitive about Mason’s antics. Throughout the years, she was well aware of Mason’s lovely disposition towards Rachel, so she couldn’t help reminding him, “Mason, she’s still your sister. You have to watch your actions since you’re all grown-up now.”
Mason turned around to look in the direction of the dining table before holding Rachel’s hand and led her there. He simply replied, “I know, Erica.”
Rachel was being led to sit beside Mason, which was exactly the opposite seat to where Ewan was sitting.
She raised her gaze weakly and saw that Ewan was as oblivious and cold as ever. He was just staring at the cutleries on the table, his eyes full of indifference and disinterest.
Everybody was used to how cold his personality felt, but whenever Rachel saw him being shrouded in such coldness, she couldn’t stop herself from being affected by him. All of a sudden, she would feel excruciatingly painful within.
She continued to look at Ewan, and it seemed like she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t greeted him at that moment after greeting Mason. She ventured lightly, “Ewan, good afternoon.”
Ewan looked up and met Rachel’s eyes and at that moment, Rachel felt that her heart somehow trembled greatly.
She was a really pitiful person since she could be sucked into his gaze at any time and she wouldn’t be able to escape her self-deprecating mind set. There was no warmth in his indifferent gaze at all, but she could still feel her heart tremble ever so slightly upon the sight of his gaze.
“Finally, the whole family is united.” Robert flashed a smile. “It’s been a while since the place is as lively as today. Come, let us have a toast.”
Rachel picked up a glass of red wine next to her while forcing a smile.
Mason was still sporting a brilliant smile when he whispered by Rachel’s ears gently with his gaze locked on her, “Rachel, you haven’t eaten anything yet since waking up, have you? You can just take it easy. Don’t drink the wine, it will hurt your stomach.”
Rachel replied with a smile, “Alright, I’ll just toast.”
“Good girl.”
Everybody had raised their glasses of wine except for Ewan who was motionless. They cast their glances at him.
Sophie asked worriedly, “Ewan, what’s wrong?”
Erica chipped in, “Ewan looks like he has a lot on his mind. Is it because…”
Before Erica could finish her words, Ewan suddenly fetched a glass from the table and gulped down the wine in one go.
Everybody was astounded by his actions.
He placed the empty wine glass on the table after that.
Mason immediately eased the atmosphere by saying, “Ewan has toasted with this. Let’s just go along with him.”
Only then did everyone break out with smiles on their faces as they took a sip of wine.
Rachel gawked at Ewan, her gaze unable to avert from him. In an instant, she was already worrying about him as she thought hard about the reason he was being upset at that moment. She wanted to peer into his brain to know what he was thinking.
She didn’t even drink her glass of wine while she was stuck in a trance.
After downing their wine, everybody started to dig into their food.
Mason sent some food into Rachel’s bowl while sharing to her in a low voice, “The food we had overseas were all so tasteless. All I could think about is whether you’re eating well and I am counting down the days I can taste again the braised pork only you know how to make.”
Rachel was struck by melancholy as she replied faintly, “Mason, if you want to eat that, I’ll cook it for you tomorrow.”
“Do I need to wait until tomorrow? I can’t wait that long, can I have it for dinner today?”
“Alright, what else do you want to eat?”
“I’ll eat anything that you make. Your cooking reminds me of home.” Mason answered as he sent more food into Rachel’s bowl.
Erica who was sitting opposite him raised her eyebrows slightly and she grunted unhappily, “Mason, you’re spoiling Rachel way too much. Don’t affect our appetite.”
Robert said with a smile, “He has been this way since he was a child. Just let him be.”
Sophie chipped in with some protestations, “Now that you guys are all grown-up, you shouldn’t act so casually anymore. Mason, you should only be so sweet and kind towards your future girlfriend.”
Mason retorted blatantly, “If I can’t even make my sister happy, how should I make my girlfriend happy?”
Rachel put on a bitter smile as she continued to eat.
From her perspective, Mason’s brotherly love towards her was something pure and right. Unfortunately, her mother and sister-in-law thought that he had gone over a line.
Were they thinking that she didn’t deserve to be loved like this? Although she hailed from a broken family, why couldn’t she receive love from another person?
Perhaps, she had been craving for such feelings for too long, hence she would always cherish it when someone was being kind to her. She would try to repay that kindness.
Sophie came closer and asked curiously, “Mason, didn’t you get yourself a girlfriend overseas?”
“No.”
“You’re not young anymore. Ewan is going to marry soon, aren’t you worried about your marriage?” Sophie furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to persuade him with a gentle and caring gaze akin of a mother’s.
Mason fixed her loving gaze at Rachel as he answered tenderly, “For someone to be my girlfriend, she has to at least be prettier than my sister. I haven’t met anybody who could surpass my sister yet, so I can’t have a girlfriend at the moment.”
Sophie’s face darkened the moment she heard his words. She turned her gaze on Rachel.
A smirk appeared at Erica’s lips as she said mockingly, “Rachel is indeed pretty, but it’s not that she is the most gorgeous one. There are many girls who are way prettier, for example, my sister Sienna is one of those who are prettier than her.”
Mason replied with a smile, “Erica, you can’t compare handmade things with natural ones. There are not even in the same league.”
When Erica heard that, her face instantly became dark. A storm seemed to be brewing over her face.
“Pfft.” A momentary laugh escaped Luke’s mouth as he struggled not to spit out the food in his mouth. Among everybody present, only he had the guts to even laugh. Erica vehemently stepped on his foot shortly after.
A distorted and painful expression entered Luke’s face. This was what he got for laughing at his sister-in-law.
Mason maintained a brilliant smile on his face. Even though his words had offended Erica, nobody would blame him.
As everybody was somewhat vested in their food with small talks being made here and there, Ewan, who had long been forgotten silently put down his empty bowl while picking up a napkin to wipe his mouth. He announced faintly, “You guys enjoy your meal.”
After that, he stood up, replaced the napkin on the table before turning around to leave.
Everyone else had barely eaten anything at this point, yet he had already taken his leave.
Rachel stared at his indifferent back and felt that all her appetite was gone. She shifted her gaze onto the contents of her bowl, noticing that it was full of various dishes being picked for her by Mason.
Sophie put down her chopsticks as she muttered heavily, “Ewan is troubled about something.”
Robert replied her, “Let’s just eat first. He has been wearing himself out over those work-related matters concerning the nation. It is only natural for him to have that undecipherable look on his face. It’s rare for him to even come back home, so let’s not fuss over the tiny things.”
Erica put down her chopsticks as she looked at Sophie, “Mum, you should talk to Ewan when you’re free. Find out what’s going on in his head.”
Sophie nodded, “I will, Ewan is not someone who would go back on his words. Since he has promised to marry this year, he will definitely carry it out.”
Mason suddenly chipped in, “Ewan indeed promised us to marry someone, but that doesn’t mean that person would be Sienna.”
Rachel froze after hearing his words.
A gloomy atmosphere suddenly seeped into the dining room as everyone had a worried and darkened expression on their faces.
After lunch, Mason dragged a huge box filled with gifts to the living room. He was going to distribute the gifts to everyone.
Mason produced a nicely wrapped present while looking around as he asked, “Where’s Ewan?”