Lena.
The house felt different with Ava staying in it.
By the second day, a quiet but noticeable shift had settled over everything. Helen and Julian still moved through the rooms like people trying to learn a house they were supposed to already know. Their steps were careful, their expressions often distant, and every conversation still carried that polite, slightly hesitant quality of people who were trying their best to belong somewhere they no longer fully recognized.
Oliver remained controlled and watchful, spending most of his time either helping Julian with the photo albums or keeping a close eye on the interactions between everyone else. Ava, for her part, had settled into the guest room without making a fuss. She made herself useful in small, thoughtful ways — preparing tea, he
