Orders were placed, drinks were brought over, and while Corvine skimmed through his phone with that distant, guarded calm he always carried like armor, Seraphine used the moment to properly get acquainted with the family sitting across from them.
The woman straightened in her seat, smoothing imaginary creases from her blouse before offering a warm, practiced smile.
"I'm Mila Hawthorne," she said, and Seraphine immediately noticed how different she looked compared to the other day.
She looked brighter now, lighter somehow, like a weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders, and Seraphine realized it had nothing to do with the absence of sunglasses and everything to do with the improvement in her son's condition.
