Chapter 256 A Taste of Something New

    Chapter 256 A Taste of Something New

    Lucas froze mid-motion, staring down at the half-eaten grilled shrimp in his hand. After a long pause, he finally said, “She’s still young. She hasn’t figured things out yet.”

    Samson rolled his eyes. “Young? She’ll be twenty after the New Year. If you just tell her, maybe she’ll figure it out.”

    Lucas frowned slightly, a trace of hesitation in his voice. “What if it scares her off?”

    Samson stared at him in disbelief. He never imagined someone as decisive as Lucas could be so uncertain and cautious.

    Turns out, love made everyone vulnerable-even Lucas, who was always calm and in control.

    Snap!

    A faint sound came from behind them. Lucas and Samson turned at the same time. “Who’s there?”

    Jill stepped out with a cheeky grin, tossing a ball in her hand. “Just me. Came to find the ball.”

    Sloane emerged from the other side. “Jill, did you find it?”

    “Got it right here.” Jill held the ball up in victory.

    Sloane walked over and saw Lucas and Samson sitting together. She waved them over. “Come on! Let’s y!”

    Lucas stood up and strolled toward her. “How about a match, Sloane?”

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    “Sure!” Her eyes lit up with excitement. She agreed without a second thought.

    Samson nced at the path Sloane had just taken. She probably didn’t hear anything… right?

    “Hey-wait for me!” he called, jumping up to catch up with them.

    In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve. Madam Tessa had the entire vi decorated just for the asion. With Sloane around this year, the house felt livelier than it had in years.

    Molly had started prepping festive treats long in advance.

    Sloane had never really celebrated New Year’s. With her adoptive parents, she barely had enough to eat, let alone enjoy anything. Later, when her master took her in and trained her in medicine up in the mountains, holidays were quiet and cold.

    After she returned to the Rivers family, life was materially better-but emotionally empty. Everyone there doted on Samantha. No one ever cared about her. One year, when Samantha cried on New Year’s Eve, Sloane was punished by Marshall and locked in her room for three days to “reflect.”

    So this was the first time she’d ever experienced such a lively New Year’s Eve.

    Molly went all out, frying up five or six types of snacks andying them out across the kitchen.

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    Chapter 256 A Taste of Something New

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    Sloane wandered in and spotted a te of crispy fried sesame leaves. She sneaked a piece and took a bite -crispy, ky, and delicious.

    “Sloane, what are you doing?” Lucas’s voice came from right behind her.

    Startled, she turned around and quickly pped a hand over his mouth. “Shhh!”

    “You-” Lucas started to speak, but she stuffed something into his mouth before he could finish.

    Her bright eyes sparkled as she looked at him. “Well? Good?”

    Lucas crunched a few bites, then chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. Really good.”

    He nced at the te of sesame leaves on the table and raised a brow. “You like these?”

    “Mhm. They’re really tasty.” Sloane licked her lips, savoring the vor.

    Without a word, Lucas picked up the whole te and handed it to her.

    Sloane’s eyes went wide. “Molly said we’re not allowed to eat them yet…”

    “So what? We’ll sneak it. She’ll never notice.” With that, Lucas grabbed her hand and dashed out of the kitchen.

    A little whileter, Molly returned and noticed a te was missing. “Huh? Where’d my sesame leaves go?”

    Far from the kitchen, Lucas and Sloane finally stopped. He handed her the te. “Go on. Eat.”

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    12:07 Wed, 10 Septtu.