Orion’s POV
"I want to go home now," Aria mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper.
For the past ten minutes, she had done nothing but stare blankly at her plate, occasionally stirring her food without actually eating any of it. Her posture was slumped, her entire demeanor weighed down by an invisible burden.
The three of us sat around the dining table in a heavy silence. Amanda caught my eye and gave a subtle shake of her head, a silent plea for patience, just as I opened my mouth to scold my little sister for acting like a sulky child.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair, scrubbing a hand over my face. "I'm not forbidding you, Ari," I said gently. "But I can’t take you back myself. I still have a lot of work that needs to be finished before tomorrow."
Her swollen, tear-reddened ey
