BRIANNA’S POV
(YEARS LATER)
The sun was warm against the glass windows. I could hear the sound of laughter echoing down the hallway—innocent giggles that belonged to two little girls who had no idea what their parents had gone through to give them this peace.
“Catch me if you can!” Aria shouted, running hrough the hallway with her curly brown hair bouncing wildly behind her. Her sister, Zuri, chased after her.
“Girls!” I called. My voice was raised in a mock-scolding tone as I stepped into the hallway with a brush in one hand and a couple of hair ties in the other. “You’re going to mess up your dresses!”
“But Mommy,” Aria said. Her brown eyes were wide and pleading, “Zuri said I look like a chicken when I run, and I had to prove her wrong!”
Zuri grinned, clearly unrepentant. “She d
