Chapter 616: Chapter 616: A Virtue Called Sharing (6)
 

At that time, he replied to her perfunctorily and went straight upstairs to the study on the second floor.

He entered the study, but had no intention of working. Halfway through, he opened the door once and saw her sitting alone at the dining table on the first floor, quietly eating her meal through the crack in the door.

He thought the meal was prepared by Mrs. Taylor, so he didn’t pay much attention. He just stared at her for a while, closed the door, and went back to the study.

Steve took a long time to pull his thoughts back from his memories. He swallowed several times, and asked with a slightly hoarse voice, “Did you cook the meal on the table that night?”

Ruby replied with a simple “Mm,” without saying anything else. But just one single “Mm” was sharper than any other words, making Steve’s heart ache.

So… she didn’t just cook for Edric, she cooked for him as well…

He envied Edric’s luck in tasting her cooking, only to realize how fortunate he had been himself, but he had let that moment slip through his fingers.

The atmosphere at the dining table became a bit tense.

Although Ruby just kept her head down, she could sense the awkwardness surrounding her. She paused, lifted her head, and looked at Steve, whose expression seemed slightly stiff. She felt a pang of sympathy.

She didn’t purposely bring up the past, but upon hearing Steve’s mention of eating her cooking for the first time, she recalled this event and blurted it out, inadvertently creating an awkward atmosphere.

Trying to ease the tension, Ruby twirled her chopsticks and gave Steve a smile, “Actually, it’s a good thing you didn’t eat the meal that time.”

“I finished cooking at seven o’clock that day, but you didn’t come back until after nine. I reheated it several times in the meantime, but by the time I ate, the taste had changed…”

As Ruby spoke, she realized that the atmosphere at the dining table had become even more awkward. Steve’s lips closed tightly.

Ruby’s voice quieted down, “It’s not nearly as good as today’s meal…”

Before Ruby could finish her sentence, Steve, who had been silently looking at her, suddenly spoke up, “Ruby.”

Ruby stopped talking. Inwardly, she cried out in frustration – her attempts to defuse the situation only made matters worse.

Steve didn’t speak for a moment, but his heart swelled with a warm pain. It took him a long time to muster the courage to say, “Ruby… I’m sorry.”

As he uttered those words, Steve felt a stinging sensation in his eyes.

I’m truly sorry… Sorry for not knowing how to love someone earlier; sorry for lacking patience even though I loved deeply; sorry for my bad temper, always wanting to spare you any grievances, but turning out to have caused you so many instead.

I’m truly sorry… for having loved so terribly in the past.

Ruby never expected Steve to apologize to her. Her initial irritation at creating an awkward atmosphere instantly turned into astonishment.