A Quiet Certainty

Breakfast was already on the table when Sylvie and Evander walked in.

The smell of coffee filled the room. Fresh bread. Warm butter. Something sweet. Something soft. Normal things. Calm things. The kind of morning Sylvie had not had in a very long time.

Beatrice moved quietly in the background, adjusting plates, pouring juice. She glanced up once, just once, and her eyes lingered a little longer t