The Hart mansion fell into a heavy silence once Mila and Chloe left.
Only Raya, Kiera, and Juliana remained — and the tension was sharp, like something precious was about to be lost.
Raya's voice was the first to cut through it.
"Are you happy now?" she asked, her eyes locked on Juliana.
"I just wanted..." Juliana began, but her voice
trembled.
"Wanted what?" Raya didn't raise her voice. If anything, the edges of her tone loosened, like fabric worn thin from being touched too many times. "You can speak," she murmured. "I'm listening."
Kiera jumped in before Juliana could. "Sera, listen... your mom just… she has been worried. You've been acting… different. So she just wanted to..."
Raya turned her gaze to Kiera.
No fire. No accusation.
Just the kind of exhaustion that comes from being exhausted for far too long.
"If you don't know me well enough by now," she said quietly, "then… that's fine."
She looked away from Kiera and back to Juliana,
