At night, Mia knocked on Ava's door to inform her about dinner, and Ava readily declined with the excuse that she wasn't feeling too good and needed to rest. She didn't want to see Damian. Not tonight. Not after everything that happened. Her mind was still too unsettled, her thoughts too loud, and the last thing she wanted was to sit across from him pretending everything was normal.
Mia nodded and left quietly, closing the door behind her. She didn't ask further questions. She never did. She understood boundaries more than anyone.
The moment Mia reached the bottom of the stairs, she went straight to Charles, who was standing in the hallway waiting for instructions as usual. She delivered the message respectfully, and Charles went on to deliver it to Damian, who was already seated at the dinner table waiting for her to arrive before he started eating, a habit he seemed to have developed without even noticing.
But the chair opposite him remained empty.
