Naomi's POV
The morning after Beatrice made her quiet announcement by the window, I gathered the courage to tell the others.
Raymond and Alexander were both in the living room, nursing coffees in thick silence. The kind of silence that felt heavy with thoughts unspoken.
I stood near the window, rubbing my palms together, then spoke.
"She wants to go away for a while."
Both their heads turned toward me at once.
Raymond narrowed his eyes. "Go where?"
"She doesn’t know yet. Just… somewhere. Somewhere she can breathe."
Alexander shook his head. "She just lost her husband. We can’t let her wander off alone."
"She needs us right now," Raymond added, sitting up straighter. "She shouldn’t be alone in a hotel room or some far-away cottage."
I took a breath. "I said the same thing to myse
