Royce didn't think much of it. Since it was Julia's younger brother, a simple greeting would suffice.
Just as he extended his hand and opened his mouth to speak, Julia blocked him with her arm. "Grady, this is your brother-in-law!"
Pfft—
Royce turned his head in surprise to look at Julia, who stepped on his foot. "Haven't you always wanted to meet your brother-in-law?"
Grady was also a bit confused, but hearing Julia's words, he immediately beamed with a bright smile. "Hello, brother-in-law!"
"Uh... hello."
Though Royce knew he was indeed Grady's brother-in-law, Julia's sudden introduction was a bit...
"Grady, why are you back today? Isn't today Thursday?" Julia asked curiously.
"Oh, we just finished our second mock exams. The school decided to give us an extra day off to relax since we've been studying so hard," Grady explained.
"Oh..."
"So why are you and brother-in-law here today?"
Since they didn't know he was coming back, what were they doing here today?
"Well... your brother-in-law just returned from a business trip, and my film crew is on break. I thought I'd come over to tidy up your room. Since your brother-in-law was free, he came along. We were planning to pick you up from school tomorrow."
Julia began her spree of lies.
"Well, come on in, don't just stand there, brother-in-law. Have a seat," Grady said politely as he changed his shoes and put his backpack back in his room.
Since Julia didn't know Grady was coming back, she had cooked dishes according to her own taste. Grady, having been sick since childhood, always preferred lighter flavors.
"Grady, I didn't know you were coming back. I didn't make anything you like. Let me whip up a couple more dishes," Julia said, preparing to head back to the kitchen.
"No need, sis. Don't keep brother-in-law waiting. Let's eat together. I don't eat much anyway," Grady insisted, pulling Julia back from the kitchen.
The three of them sat at the dining table, each feeling awkward.
They glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.
"Let's eat," Julia quickly handed chopsticks to Grady and Royce.
"Hey, sis, you never told me my brother-in-law is mixed-race," Grady said, looking at Royce's light blue eyes with curiosity. Anyone would think he was mixed-race.
"Uh... he's nearsighted and wears colored contacts," Julia hurriedly explained. "Why'd you get blue ones? Trying to look exotic?"
Julia kept giving Royce meaningful looks.
"Oh... just for fun," Royce chuckled awkwardly.
After just a couple of bites, Royce started coughing violently, his handsome face turning bright red.
Julia quickly poured him a glass of water.
Today, most of the dishes Julia cooked were quite spicy. If they didn't have chili peppers, they had green peppers. Royce had never eaten such heavily flavored food before.
Grady sighed, "Sis, you've been married to my brother-in-law for over a year now. Don't you know he can't handle spicy food?"
In Grady's eyes, Julia was someone who was meticulous about her own affairs but careless about everything else.
Royce coughed twice and quickly gulped down some water. "I can handle it, I can handle it. I just choked a bit, that's all."
Julia finally felt relieved. Thankfully, Royce played along, or else their cover would have been blown.
Royce carefully picked at his food, focusing mainly on the tomato beef stew, the only dish without any spice. For the rest of the meal, he mostly ate just that.
After dinner, Julia went to the kitchen to clean up, while Grady and Royce sat on the couch.
Royce felt awkward, even though he knew the person sitting next to him was his real brother-in-law.
"Brother-in-law, my sister said you two are planning to have a baby now, right?"
Even though Julia had given him a clear answer before, Grady still had some doubts.
Royce nodded. "Yes, we are."
Since Julia had mentioned it before, he wouldn't contradict her.
"That's great!" Grady let out a deep breath. "I've already prepared some clothes for the baby. I hope you won't mind."
"Of course not."
While Julia was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, she kept glancing outside, worried that Royce might accidentally spill the beans.
Fortunately, Grady had never met her husband, and she rarely mentioned him, so Grady knew very little about him.
But didn't she also know very little about her own husband?
"Brother-in-law, my sister is usually quite careless and has a bad temper. Please be patient with her and don't take her seriously," Grady said cautiously with a smile.
Royce could only nod, not knowing what else to say.
Julia heard everything. It was the first time she had seen her "brother-in-law," and it seemed like Grady wanted to say everything he hadn't said before.
But Julia didn't like it. She didn't like how he spoke as if he were saying his last words.
Julia quickly cleaned up the dishes and came out of the kitchen, and only then did Grady stop his chatter.
"Sis, you and brother-in-law should head back early. He just got back from a business trip, so he needs some rest."
"No, let your brother-in-law go back by himself. I'll stay here with you tonight."
"No need, sis. Brother-in-law just got back, and you're busy with filming. It's rare for you two to have time together. Go home," Grady urged.
Julia didn't want to make Grady anxious, so she reluctantly agreed.
Royce drove the car while Julia sat silently in the passenger seat.
The entire car was filled with her sorrowful emotions.
Suddenly, he pulled the car over to the side of the road. Julia turned to look out the window, wiping away the tears on her face.
"Why did we stop?" Julia sniffled, turning to look at Royce.
"Is it about your brother...?"
Julia took a deep breath. "Buy me a drink, and I'll tell you."
Royce quickly drove to a nearby restaurant. Going to a bar at this hour didn't seem appropriate, but a restaurant would still offer drinks and a quiet place to talk.
Inside the restaurant, Julia grabbed a bottle of whiskey and took several gulps before Royce managed to take it away from her.
"You've had too much. Aren't you afraid I'll take advantage of you?" Royce joked, trying to lighten the somber mood, which he found quite uncomfortable.
Julia drank too quickly and started coughing, tears welling up in her eyes again.
"My brother has a congenital heart disease. The doctors said he wouldn't live past seventeen. Do you know how old he is now?"
"…"
"Seventeen"
Seventeen was the number Julia hated the most. Ever since she was little, she had dreaded this day, and now it was almost here.