He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, she rushed on, as if worried he was too polite to tell her the truth.
"I'm still learning," she said, her voice gathering strength, her hands curling lightly in her lap. "Trying to understand you better. We didn't grow up together, like you did with Arthur and Somto. Or even Stephanie and Nicholas. I didn't have a lifetime to figure you out."
She lifted her chin then, meeting his gaze with a quiet determination that stunned him.
"But we're family now," she said firmly. "And every day, I'm consciously trying to understand you more. Little by little." She took a slow breath, as if to steady herself. "I know one day, we'll be much closer than you are to any of those people who grew up with you."
Her voice softened at the end, threaded with something fragile but unshakable.
"Because I'm willing to understand my big brother."
For a long moment, the room felt hushed around them.
