Saturday arrived the way important days always do.
Quietly. Without announcement. Aurora woke to ordinary light coming through the curtains and the distant sound of the house beginning its morning and for exactly three seconds she did not remember what the day was.
Then she remembered.
She lay still for a moment.
Then she got up and showered and dressed with the deliberate focus of someone who needed their hands occupied while their mind settled. She chose her clothes carefully. Not the navy dress. Not the burgundy gown. Something quieter. Dark jeans and a soft cream blouse and her hair pulled back simply. She wanted to look like herself. Not a version assembled for an occasion.
She came downstairs at eight.
Damian was already in the kitchen.
He was dressed as she had never quite se
