Xavier was surprised to see her tears. He quickly approached her and touched her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Of course, she was not okay. What a dumb question, he thought to himself. However, what prompted her to cry all of a sudden?
"I am fine, I am fine." Elena stepped back and wiped her eyes from her tears. She walked to the stove to see the pan and pretended nothing happened. "Smells really nice. I am hungry."
Xavier looked at the woman to see if she would cry again. Then he walked to her and took the ladle from the counter and stirred the pan. He wouldn't probe if she didn't feel comfortable sharing her feelings.
"You should sit, I will serve the food soon," he said, pushing her shoulder to sit at the dining table in the middle of the open kitchen. Elefna refused. She didn't want to be a freeloader or burden, so she decided to make herself useful.
"Let me set the table," she said stubbornly. "I don't want to trouble you too much."
