Larissa thought she was seeing things when she saw Kevan through the peephole of the door. She wondered why was he here instead of at Roland’s funeral service. She opened the door with confusion and asked after sizing up Kevan from head to toe, “Do you need something?”
He appeared unusually calm, and there was not a hint of sadness in his deep-set eyes, as if he was unaffected by the passing of his grandfather.
She was about to give him her condolences, but she swallowed back her words since there was no need for them in his case.
"My mom said you went to the funeral," Kevan watched her carefully. She looked normal, not as heartbroken or lost as Aster had described, which put his mind at ease.
Larissa hummed in acknowledgment and waited for him to continue.
"A lot was going on at the time, so my mom didn’t have time to see you off. She’s very sorry about it." He couldn’t sell Aster out, so he made up an excuse, and continued, "I’m here to thank you and apologize on behalf of her."
"It's alright, she was being too kind." Larissa smiled.
Kevan smiled back and chuckled. "As long as you're not bothered by it."
The two fell into an awkward silence, and locked eyes for a moment before Larissa asked, "Are you alright?"
Kevan lowered his gaze, trying to hide his emotions, and said in a light and hoarse voice, "I don’t feel much. As far as I know, the day my grandfather passed away was the first time I saw him."
In other words, his grandfather was a complete stranger to him. Larissa was at a loss for words. Words of comfort were unnecessary, and other topics were inappropriate in this situation.
"Do you need to see your grandfather now?" she tried to change the subject.
Kevan was quite reluctant to go. He would only be subjected to the scrutiny of the Rogers family and he had to constantly keep his guard up to avoid exposing his flaws. It was just too tiring.
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