DAMIEN'S POV
He came home at six to the smell of food.
Not Mrs Chen's cooking....he knew Mrs Chen's cooking, could identify it from the hallway. This was something else. Something coming from the kitchen that smelled like the specific combination Mei used when she was making the dish Aria had mentioned once that her mother always cooked when something was worth celebrating.
He stood in the kitchen doorway.
Mei was at the stove. Aria was beside her, sleeves pushed up, following instructions with the focused expression she wore when she was learning something new and taking it seriously. Mrs Chen was sitting at the kitchen island watching them both with the air of a woman who had been displaced from her own kitchen and had decided to be gracious about it.
None of them had noticed him yet.
