However, the sharp taste of the seasoning shattered the emotional moment like a stone cast into still water. Belle nearly spat out the soup, but when she saw Rohan's hopeful gaze, his eyes narrowed as he waited anxiously for her reaction to his first attempt at cooking, she forced a smile and chewed the lumpy cream that tasted oddly like burnt, spoiled milk.
The soup itself was far too greasy, and when she finally managed to swallow it, a bitter aftertaste clung stubbornly to her tongue, one that no amount of lemonade could seem to wash away.
"Is it that bad?" Rohan asked, noticing how she gulped down the cup of lemonade as if trying to wash something unpleasant from her mouth. But his wife was far too lovely, and too kind, to criticize his cooking. She smiled sweetly and shook her head.
