“Avery,” I said, acknowledging her, and she gave a small nod, pressing her lips together.

    But it was thest girl who caught my attention the most. She was sitting slightly apart from the others, her posture rigid, hands folded neatly in herp. Dark brown hait fell past her shoulders, and when she lifted her head, I caught sight of her striking violet eyes. Lucas didn’t introduce her right away, and for a second, I thought she might introduce herself, but she didn’t. She just stared at me, hesitant, unsure, maybe even scared. Which wasn’t umon seeing as that she couldn’t be older than twelve.

    Lacas cleared his throat. “And that’s Violet.”

    She flinched slightly at the sound of her name, as if it startled her, but she nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. “Hi.”

    That was it. Just one word, barely audible, and she lowered her gaze again.

    I nced around the group, taking them all in. They all looked uncertain, ufortable in their own ways, even Ashton, despite his confidence. None of them seemed like they wanted to be here, but for some reason, we all were. I turned back to Lucas, who was watching me carefully, like he was waiting for me to react, to say something, to make this easier for everyone.

    My mind raced with questions, but I didn’t know when I will be able to ask any of them. The silence started to get ufortable and the questions burned its way past my lips, but I mped them together, so as not to mistakenly offend someone.

    I sat stiffly at the long dining table, my fingers curled against the fabric of my dress as I listened to Lucas speak. His voice was calm, measured, as though he had rehearsed this conversation in his head long before now.

    “You need to be ustomed to your siblings, Aurora,” he said, meeting my gaze with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher. “You will all be together from now on. After all, we are one, big, happy family.”

    I nced around the table, taking in the unfamiliar faces of the other children. Some older, some younger, all of them carrying the same features as me. The aar was thick with something unspoken, an invisible weight pressing down on all of us. My stomach twisted with unease, but I forced myself to keep my souer steady as I asked, “Do we all have different mothers?”

    The moment the words left my mouth, the room fell into a suffocating silence. Forks paused midair, spoons ttered lightly against tes, and I could feel the way their eyes darted toward Lucas, waiting for his response. He didn’t look surprised, only exhaled softly before answering. Yes, Aurora. Each of you has a different mother.”

    1 frowned. Something about the way he said it, so matter-of-factly, sent a chill through me. “But you and my mother-

    She was the only woman I ever loved, Lucas interrupted, his tone final. The way he said it, the weight behind those words, made my breath hitch. There was a something there, something lingering just beneath the surface, but before I could push further, the others exchanged nces, their expressions wark,

    That was when I know. This wasn’t just about me. This wasn’t just about some unconventional family arrangement. Lucas gathering children of different age, brom different women it was as simple as it seemed

    There was something mor, something dah lurking beneath the surface of all of this, and box the first time, I wondered if I truly wanted to us the

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