Sierra stood between Elliot and Edric, a bright smile on her face, looking pleased and triumphant.
Rosetta glanced at her briefly, then looked away before replying in an icy tone, "What I do has nothing to do with you."
Sierra's expression fell and she lowered her head, murmuring apologetically, "I'm sorry, Rosetta, I didn't mean to pry. I shouldn't have asked."
Long accustomed to her act, Rosetta turned and walked away.
Elliot frowned, looking at Rosetta and said in a low voice, "Sierra genuinely cares about you. There's no need to be so cold."
Edric added, "Yes, she has good intentions, Rosie. You shouldn't act like this."
Both spoke up on behalf of Sierra, as though Rosetta was some sort of a villain in a story that had done something unforgivable.
This was not the first time she had seen such a scene, though.
Once, whenever anyone bothered her, Elliot and Edric would support her unhesitatingly.
She remembered a dinner party when the Sterling family's son, ignoring the fact that she had a cold, persistently pressured her to drink.