Chapter 19

Leona‘s POV The next morning, Aunt Elys surprised me. She was standing by the kitchen counter, slicing fruit with careful precision, her posture relaxed in a way that felt deliberate—too deliberate. The sunlight filtered through the curtains and caught in her hair, softening the sharpness she usually carried like armor. “The twins’ father came by early this morning,” she said casually, as if she were commenting on the weather. “He apologized.” I freeze mid-step. "For what?" I asked, though my chest had already begun to tighten. “For everything,” she replied. “For the chaos. For the danger you were exposed to. He said he hopes you’ll continue being friends with Lulu. And with his sons.” I stared at her, searching for something beneath her expression—mockery, calculation, warning. I found none. Only calm. “That’s… not what you said before,” I said carefully. “You told me to stay away from them. You said we weren’t from the same world." She set the knife down and finally turned to face me