MEI'S POV
It wasn't supposed to end up like this.
She'd come to the estate for Aria. That was the reason she always came....to see her daughter, to have lunch, to sit in the garden and drink tea and watch Aria move through this house like she belonged in it, which she did, which still sometimes caught Mei off guard in a way she couldn't fully explain.
She'd had lunch with Aria and Damien and Alexander, all four of them at the garden table with Mrs Chen bringing things out and the afternoon being exactly the kind of afternoon that would have been impossible to imagine a year ago. Then Damien had gotten a call and gone inside. Then Aria had gotten a message from Morrison about a patient query and gone inside too.
Mei had started gathering her things.
Then Mrs Chen had appeared with a fresh pot of tea and set it on the table.
Alexander was still in his chair.
He looked at the tea.
Then he looked at her.
Neither of them said anything.
Mrs Chen went back inside.
