The plates had just been cleared from the long dining table in Draven Villa. Laughter from the twins still echoed in my ears as they bickered about who deserved the last piece of dessert, though Marina had already split it neatly for them. The warmth of this house—something I had never known before—wrapped around me like a blanket, soft and suffocating at the same time. For the first time, I had a mother who fussed over whether I ate enough vegetables and a father figure who checked twice that my chair was comfortable.
It should have been perfect. It should have felt like home.
Yet when I stepped into the quiet of my bedroom, closing the door behind me, silence fell heavy. I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, when my phone suddenly lit up.
Hugo.
My chest tightened. I hadn't called him in three days. Three whole days where I drowned in this newfound family, forgetting that somewhere out there, someone was waiting for me.
