Yuko immediately stood, took the tray from her with a quiet "Thank you," and moved back to the bed. She sat carefully on the edge—close to me now, but still mindful of the others—and blew gently on the first spoonful, cooling it with soft puffs of breath.
Her cheeks pinked as she felt all the eyes in the room on her—Julie, Lorena, Sarah, Marina, Gabriela, Samantha—all watching with varying degrees of amusement and warmth.
"Quickly heal yourself…" Yuko murmured, voice barely above a whisper as she brought the spoon to my lips. "Otherwise… Haruna might not forgive me…"
I took the bite—warm, savory—then looked around at the circle of women.
"Aunt Julie…" I said clearly, addressing the room. "Please don't let Haruna know anything about this. It won't be good for her to know about Yuko… and this was just a misunderstanding. I don't want her dragged into guilt or drama."
Julie nodded immediately—serious, maternal.
