Gavin’s POV
I watched them. Diana gestured wildly with her fork as she told some story about Melissa’s childhood, her face brightened with joy. Jason leaned back in his chair with that cocky grin, saying something quietly that made Melissa kick him under the table. She laughed so hard her eyes watered, her hand pressed to her stomach.
I didn’t speak. I didn’t even know what to say so I just looked at them.
This…this warmth, this easy affection, this lightness…it was foreign to me. I’d grown up in silence and violence, in a world where family meals were strategy sessions and laughter was weakness.
But watching them now, I understood what I’d been missing my entire life. What I’d been fighting for. It gave me strength to do what I knew I had to do very soon.
Diana caught my eye and smil
