A wedding dress.
On a mannequin stood a wedding dress.
It was a work in progress, with many parts still unfinished, held together by simple pins.
Nearby, there was a sewing kit and design sketches.
The window was slightly ajar, allowing a gentle breeze to flow in, making the delicate fabric flutter like a young girl's dream—light and ethereal.
Julia's eyes began to well up with tears.
Royce, unaware of what was happening, turned to look at Julia. "Your brother must be in love, putting a mannequin with a..."
He didn't finish his sentence because he saw Julia's eyes brimming with tears.
Even though he didn't understand why a wedding dress would evoke such strong emotions in her.
Julia quickly shut the door and, as she turned around, wiped the corners of her eyes. "Alright, you've seen enough. Go sit in the living room. I'll go make dinner!"
Royce didn't say anything. He obediently went back to the living room and picked up the glass of water Julia had poured for him.
Julia walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind her, and then turned on the exhaust fan.
Their exhaust fan was an old model, very loud, rumbling enough to drown out all other sounds.
Julia sat on the floor, hugging her knees, and began to cry uncontrollably.
Even the first time she saw children's clothes in Grady's room, she hadn't felt this heartbroken.
Grady had prepared many sets of children's clothes for Julia, from newborn sizes to one month, to three months, to six months, and up to one year old...
One set for a boy, one set for a girl.
At the time, she had just felt a bit sad and joked that her brother really wanted to be an uncle.
But when she saw the wedding dress, she could no longer hold back her tears.
Her brother Grady had been given a death sentence by doctors when he was very young; they said he wouldn't live past seventeen.
This year, he was turning seventeen.
He was making all these preparations for his departure, knowing full well that he might not have much time left. That's why he started getting everything ready.
After crying for a while, Julia wiped her tears, sat up, and began to prepare dinner.
Royce's gaze lingered on the room with the closed door. His curiosity got the better of him, so while Julia was in the kitchen, he quietly opened the door to that room once again.
It was a simple room, much like the others, with old but clean and tidy furniture.
The neatness was surprising for a boy's room.
Royce picked up the design sketches next to the wedding dress. It was a thick stack of papers, each featuring different wedding dress designs.
It seemed like many designs had been made before finally choosing this one.
On the bedside table, there was a square storage box. Royce opened it out of curiosity and found tiny clothes inside.
They varied in size, but each size had two pieces: one pink and one blue.
These things made Royce feel a vague sense of unease. Worried that Julia might notice, he quickly exited the room and closed the door behind him.
Julia was indeed quick at cooking. In no time, a delicious aroma wafted through the door crack and reached Royce's nose.
Royce got up and opened the kitchen door, and the loud sizzling sounds immediately hit him. Watching Julia's back as she cooked, he suddenly felt an urge to hug her from behind.
Julia turned around and looked at him. "Close the door! The smoke is getting into the room!"
"Oh." Royce reluctantly stepped out of the kitchen.
In just a short while, Julia had finished several dishes and placed them on the table one by one. There was shredded pork with green peppers, spicy chicken cartilage, stir-fried green beans, and spicy lotus root cubes. The colorful dishes looked absolutely appetizing.
The tantalizing aroma made Royce swallow involuntarily.
"There's still the tomato beef stew, which will take a bit longer, and I'll make a soup too. Then we're all set," Julia said, clearly pleased with today's menu.
Royce sat at the dining table, eager to dig in.
"I never thought you could actually cook!" Royce gave Julia an approving look.
Though he didn't socialize much, he often heard from Lionel that most girls nowadays couldn't even wash a dish, let alone cook.
"Of course! I started cooking when I was ten!" Julia said proudly, raising an eyebrow.
Royce was taken aback. What kind of hardships had forced a girl to start cooking at the age of ten?
He remembered that in the information Dorian had given him, Julia's family ran a vineyard. Surely, they wouldn't let a ten-year-old girl cook, right?
"Didn't anyone cook for you? Why did you start cooking at ten?" Royce asked curiously.
Julia opened her mouth to answer but then smiled nonchalantly. "Well, there was no one to cook for me. Poor kids have to grow up fast. You sit tight, I'll check on the pot."
With that, Julia turned and went back to the kitchen.
Royce realized that this girl had a story, a lot of stories, in fact. Many questions and mysteries surrounded her. He was determined to uncover each one!
Soon, Julia's tomato-braised beef was ready, with just the soup left to finish. She stirred the pot slowly with a spoon.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
Since the kitchen's exhaust fan was off, Julia could hear it from the kitchen.
"Can you get the door for me? It might be the gas bill collector," Julia called out to Royce.
In such an old neighborhood, everything was outdated. They didn't have smart meters installed and still collected gas fees door-to-door.
Royce got up to open the door and found a young boy standing there.
The boy looked about seventeen or eighteen, very slender with no trace of fat on his face. His features were delicate, with fair skin and bright, piercing eyes. His short hair was neat and clean.
He wore a white short-sleeved shirt, dark blue sweatpants, and carried a backpack.
Seeing Royce, the boy was visibly startled.
The two stared at each other, neither saying a word.
Julia, not hearing any noise from outside, quickly turned off the stove and walked out to see the person at the door. She was equally shocked.
"L-little Grady..." Julia stammered as she slowly walked over to Royce's side.
Hearing Julia's affectionate nickname, Royce began to piece together who the person in front of him was.
"Sis... who is this...?"
It was Thursday, and Grady's school was a boarding school. He usually came home on Fridays, so Julia had felt bold enough to bring Royce home today.
But how could she explain Royce?
How could she explain bringing a strange man home?