Chapter 89 –Lunch at home
Lucian
The twins woke before the alarm, as usual. I heard them before I saw them two sets of feet pattering down the hall, giggles spilling into the quiet house. The smell of butter and sugar already drifted from the kitchen.
Rina was there, sleeves rolled, her hair twisted in a lazy knot. She looked so ordinary it almost hurt like the world hadn't tried to break her once. The griddle hissed; sunlight poured through the window over the marble counter.
"Daddy!" Lila shrieked when she saw me. "Mommy says if we eat all the pancakes, we'll grow taller than you."
"Impossible." I lifted her onto the counter; she squealed. Isla followed, flour on her cheek like war paint.
Rina smiled, but it was the careful kind the smile of someone holding her breath behind it. When she turned toward the sink I saw the faint tremor in her hand, the quick swallow before she spoke.
I slid beside her. "why are up this early?You didn't sleep well."
