The look on her mother’s face stayed with Sienna for the rest of the day.
It had been brief. A flicker of something behind her eyes when she found them in the hallway. Nothing was said. No questions were asked. But the air in the house felt different after that. Heavier. Like the walls themselves were listening.
Roman noticed it too.
They barely spoke for the rest of the afternoon. Her mother stayed in the living room, scrolling through her phone and making small talk. Roman retreated to the study. Sienna stayed in her room, heart restless, body still aching from earlier.
By nightfall the tension had grown unbearable.
Her mother went to bed early, claiming a headache. The master bedroom door closed. The house settled into silence.
Sienna waited twenty minutes.
Then she left her room
