Isabelle’s POV
The sky had darkened into velvet blue by the time the kitchen settled. Most of the kids had wandered off to the movie room, curled up in blankets, their laughter echoing softly through the corridors of the orphanage.
Dinner had been a hit — there wasn’t a single crumb left behind — and Zahra was at the sink, her sleeves rolled up, hands submerged in suds as she scrubbed the last of the dinner plates.
Scarlett had passed out in my arms not long after licking every last bit of fruit off her spoon. I’d laid her down gently in the cot beside her mother’s bed, kissed her tiny forehead, and pulled the soft pink blanket over her little body.
Now, I stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching Zahra in silence for a moment. Her shoulders moved rhythmically, and even in her qui
