Chapter 164

The restaurant was picked by Ava Nelson. Being a local, she found a spot known for its regional dishes, and honestly, the food slapped—so good that even Grace, the picky eater of the group, ended up scarfing down two bowls of rice. Ava was a ball of energy, totally the life of the party. Somehow she had a way of making everyone loosen up, even the quiet girls started chatting more with her around. It felt like Ava and Grace had an unspoken agreement—they didn’t pry into Maria's personal life. They just asked about North City and some tourist highlights, and when they found out she'd lived in Seryndal for five years, they got curious and asked more about that. Maria answered patiently, without skipping a beat. Dinner turned out to be surprisingly chill, and it was mostly thanks to Ava. Maria found herself liking her more and more, even considering if she should recruit her to come work in North City. She could totally help Ava land a better-paying job and skip all the guesswork along th