Bonita pulled her mother into the room and shut the door behind them.
"Boni?!" Maria gasped, her voice trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"What scene were you about to create out there, Mom?" Bonita snapped. "Grandma probably hates you already because of your bad deeds!"
Maria staggered back, stunned. "I... I thought you stood by me. But... Boni…"
Her voice cracked under the weight of disappointment.
Bonita's anger faltered, replaced briefly by guilt—but not enough to soften her stance. "Just stay here and calm yourself down. We're not ruining dinner because of your drama."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and closed the door firmly behind her.
Inside the room, Maria sank to the edge of the bed, shattered by her daughter's rejection. She wiped her tears slowly, her face twisting into something darker—resentment.
"So this is what love gets you?" she muttered to herself, bitter. "Mandume, I raised you. I loved you. And yet you cast me aside the moment Star came along. Before her, you always defended me when Mom criticized me… but now? Now you stand with her."
She rose to her feet, her voice trembling with rage.
"And Mom… all it took was four days with Star, and your love shifted. Just like that. All your affection, all your emotions—handed over to her."
Maria walked to the window, the shadows of the night catching the glint in her eye.
"I swear, I'll make you all see who Star really is. I'll open your eyes. I'll make you hate her. I'll remind you that I—Maria Davids—am not naive or weak. Tomorrow, everything changes."
Meanwhile, Bonita returned to the dining room.
"Is Mom okay?" Mandume asked quietly.
"She's probably just stressed," Bonita replied.
"I'm sorry for her behavior, Granny," she added, turning to Christine.
Christine waved it off. "Don't worry, child. Like I told Mandume—it's between us. You need not carry her burden."
Star glanced at Bonita suspiciously, her instincts unsettled. Mandume noticed the look and shifted uncomfortably. Bonita felt the weight of it too. The guilt burned under her skin.
"She has every reason to doubt her," Mandume whispered under his breath. "Everything Bonita does now looks staged in Star's eyes."
After dinner, Star and Bonita quietly cleared the table, washing dishes in silence. Then, one by one, the household retired for the night.
Star slipped outside to her familiar spot beneath the sky, the stars glinting overhead.
"Every day feels like a century in this house," she whispered. "But still, thank you… You saved me and my baby today. You saved Mendu and me in the forest too. I owe you."
She pressed a hand gently over her belly.
"But... will this mutism ever end? Whenever I rewind those terrifying memories… I freeze. I blank out. Will I ever be whole again?"
The stars blinked in silent witness.
"I want to expose Madam," she whispered. "I'm afraid of my father's invitation. What if it's a trap? What if he… kidnaps me?"
She paused, the breeze wrapping around her like a cloak.
"And Mandume… will you give me the chance to open his eyes before it's too late? Please."
Elsewhere, Bonita sat alone, dialing Tiffanie over and over.
No answer.
"Tiff… you were the sister I never had," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Now I feel like I lost you. You won't even give me a chance to explain."
Tears streamed freely down her face.
"I cry like a baby every night. I look for pieces of you in Star, but I can't find them."
She dialed again. No answer. Maybe it was the network? She stepped onto the balcony, staring into the night.
Later that night, Mandume returned from his grandmother's room, having told her about the forest events. He walked to Star's room, but it was empty. As he turned to leave, her phone rang on the nightstand. A new number.
He hesitated, then picked it up, listening for a voice.
"Hello, Star?" a girl's voice said.
Mandume paused. "Uh… Star's asleep. I'll tell her to call you tomorrow."
"…and who are you?" the voice asked, confused.
"A friend… I'll tell her you called."
He was about to end the call when the girl suddenly said:
"Mandume. It's Leila"
He froze.
"…Who's Leila?" he murmured to himself as he hung up.
Back outside, Star caressed her belly.
"I can't wait to feel your little kicks every day. Tomorrow, we start our ANC. You and I—we're going to be healthy and safe."
Mandume's hands suddenly joined hers.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For keeping me calm. When we don't talk about the trauma, it doesn't trigger me."
"It's nothing," he said gently. "I did what I had to. For my queen."
Star smiled softly.
"Why are you still up?" she asked.
"And you? Out here talking to the stars again," he teased, glancing up. "Ah… I get it. You came to see those guys."
"Yeah," she chuckled. "I was just about to leave."