Fifteen minutes later, the prepared lunch was all laid out on the table.
Madeleine glanced over at the dishes and picked up a piece of sweet and sour spare ribs, placing it in the man's bowl.
"Elliot, the sweet and sour pork rib is delicious. Try it," she said.
Elliot didn't even acknowledge Madeleine. His attention was entirely focused on Shawn sitting next to him.
He noticed that Shawn's eyes were fixed on the sweet and sour fish dish, so he picked up a piece of fish for him.
"Try this. It's good," Elliot said to his son.
"Thank you, Daddy," Shawn replied with excitement as he happily ate his father's offering.
Madeleine quickly followed suit by picking up a piece of meat for Shawn as well.
"This crispy pork is your favorite. Eat more," she urged her son with affectionate words.
"Thank you, Mommy!" exclaimed Shawn before continuing to eat his meal with gusto.
Seeing that the man sitting across from her remained entirely unmoved, Madeleine pursed her lips and picked up another bite of celery.
"The celery today is quite good. Elliot, you should give it a try."
Elliot gave Madeleine a faint glance and let her place the food onto his plate. However, he never touched anything in that plate again.
Rachel, sitting beside them, watched her sister constantly attending to Elliot, and he didn't refuse. The nervousness in her heart had dissipated quite a bit.
She looked up and saw Madeleine giving her a signal with her eyes.
Rachel immediately understood, feigning discomfort as she rubbed her forehead. "Sis, I'm not feeling too well. I can't eat."
"Do you want me to call a doctor to take a look at you again?"
Madeleine looked at her younger sister with concern, her face filled with worried expression.
Rachel forced herself to appear energetic, weakly shaking her head. "No need, I'll just go upstairs and rest for a bit."
"That's okay then; let me know if you need anything." Madeleine expressed concern before watching Rachel walk upstairs, then turning back towards Elliot with worried eyes. "Rachel has been struggling mentally since being traumatized recently."
Upon hearing this, the intensity in Elliot's eyes deepened, but he still didn't say anything. He absentmindedly picked up some green vegetables and placed them in the child's plate.
"Eat more vegetables to get your vitamins."
"Thank you, Daddy."
The little one thanked him obediently and then scooped up some cold dishes for his father.
"Daddy, this is really tasty. You should try it too."
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