The room was quiet after the bowl was set aside.
San Na slowly pulled her hands back and stood up. She did not look at Mo Ying. Her face was calm, but her eyes were cold.
"So," she said, breaking the silence, "is this what you wanted? To force me to eat so you can feel better about yourself?"
Mo Ying frowned. "I told you to sit because you needed food."
She laughed softly. There was no joy in it. "You didn't do it for me. You did it because guilt finally caught up to you."
"That's not true," he said, his voice firm.
San Na turned to face him at last. "Then tell me," she said. "Why now? Why today? I starved for years in this house. I waited for letters that never came. I waited for a husband who never looked back. Where was your concern then?"
Mo Ying's jaw tightened. "I was at war."
"And I was your wife," she shot back. "Left behind. Forgotten."
Silence fell between them again, heavy and sharp.
