After the True Heiress Returned

: The Seafood Feast

4

Ronan Sterling dropped me off at the company entrance. As I was getting out of the car, he gave me a meaningful look and mouthed a single phrase.

Save me...

It was because earlier, when Charlotte Sterling had asked if she needed to go back too, Ronan Sterling had blurted out a reply.

"After all, they raised her for over a decade, so of course there are feelings there. We've always treated Aria like one of the family."

The atmosphere in the car instantly grew awkward. I saw tears already welling up in Charlotte Sterling's eyes.

During my lunch break, I saw Ronan Sterling had posted on his social media.

"Help me. I'm just now realizing how hard it is to keep everyone happy."

A bunch of people in the comments were teasing Ronan Sterling, asking if the "player" had finally crashed and burned.

Just then, my dad sent a message in the group chat, telling me to come home for dinner tonight.

Originally, the chat only had the four of us in the family. Last night, Charlotte Sterling was added.

Right after the message was sent, Charlotte Sterling immediately replied in the group.

"Let me go help Auntie tonight. It'll be a good chance for Mom and Dad to try my cooking."

The family chatted happily, discussing tonight's dinner.

But when I got home that evening, I was dumbfounded.

The table was laden with a massive seafood feast—it could have been the cast of Finding Nemo.

The problem was... I'm allergic to seafood.

"Aria, why aren't you eating?"

Faced with Charlotte Sterling's question, I looked uneasily at the dishes in front of me before finally picking up a piece of a vegetable dish with my chopsticks.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, my mom asked me to drop some things off for you."

Zane Donovan walked in, carrying several bags, and was greeted warmly by my mom.

"You haven't eaten, have you? Hurry up and sit down. Eat with us."

Zane Donovan nodded immediately and, without a moment's hesitation, pulled up a chair and sat down next to me.

"Mom, who is he?"

"I'm Aria Sterling's best friend. We grew up together."

The words had barely left his mouth when Ronan Sterling shot him a glare.

"So I guess you didn't grow up with *me*? In a friendship of three, I don't even deserve to be named?"

Zane Donovan met his gaze, and the two exchanged a smile.

But when he saw the food on the table, Zane Donovan's expression suddenly changed.

"Auntie Webb didn't cook today?"

"Auntie Webb and Charlotte cooked together today. Charlotte said she wanted us to try her cooking."

Zane Donovan smiled and nodded at my mom, then casually picked up a shrimp and placed it in his bowl as he spoke nonchalantly.

"Did Auntie Webb forget, then? Isn't Aria not supposed to eat seafood? Why does this look like a party for the Dragon King?"

By this time, Auntie Webb had already gone to her room to rest. As the main chef for the evening, Charlotte Sterling's eyes turned red.

"Mom, Dad, did Charlotte do something wrong again? I just wanted to make you happy. I really didn't know she doesn't eat these things."

"It's not that she *doesn't* eat it, it's that she *can't*. Besides, you had good intentions, why would Uncle and Auntie blame you? I was just saying Auntie Webb's memory must be getting bad. How could she forget to remind you about this? After all, it's not like Auntie Webb told you and you deliberately ignored her, right?"

At his words, everyone's expression changed.

'How could Auntie Webb possibly forget? When I was little, Auntie Webb gave me a piece of dried squid, and less than half an hour after eating it, I was short of breath and covered in a rash. If Zane Donovan hadn't been a glutton and snatched half of it from me, I probably would've been a goner. Ever since then, Auntie Webb has remembered it perfectly. She'd even wash a pot three times after making fish soup before using it to cook another soup for me.'

My dad looked around the table, then finally put down his chopsticks.

"Charlotte, did you know that your sister is allergic to seafood?"

Charlotte Sterling clutched her sleeves, tears rolling down her cheeks one by one. After a long moment, she slowly shook her head.

"I didn't know!"