–Livana–
I arrived just in time. After a warm bath, I slipped into my usual home satin dress—soft as a whisper—and adorned my head with the Tahitian pearl headband Damon had given me. For years, I thought it was from my mother. It's been ages since I last wore it. After she died, I couldn't bear to touch the gifts she once gave me. They felt like relics of a life I'd lost—tiny fragments of warmth wrapped in ribbons of grief.
I still pretended to be blind around my in-laws and grandparents, a habit that kept me invisible in plain sight. But with my husband and my sister, I could finally breathe. I headed downstairs to meet Damon, perhaps to show him the headband that once belonged to the girl who played both love and deceit like a melody.
"Liva!" Laura quickly stood. "The twins are busy playing and crawling in the crib. Do you want to take your baby?"
"No. I think Sky is getting cozy with you."
