The air in the room grew heavier as Emilia finished serving tea and took a seat.
She sat with her back straight, hands folded in her lap, her expression caught between composure and the faint tremor of someone bracing themselves to rip open an old wound.
Because she was… she wanted to be open about what she had experienced, after all these were people she could trust.
She took a deep breath, her eyes sweeping the faces around her.
Hilda was here — a woman she saw as a second mother.
When Elga was absent, Hilda had stepped in without hesitation, caring for her like she was her own.
That warmth, that sense of safety, was something Emilia had quietly leaned on for years and made her see Hilda as someone very thrustworthy.
Elga, of course, was more than just the woman who gave her a roof.
