Chapter 79

• Tessa's POV:
• Back in the house, the wooden spoon clinked gently against the inside of the ceramic bowl as my mother stirred the soup she was making, porridge with fresh vegetables. The aroma of cooking oil, peppers, and something nostalgic wrapped around me like a thick blanket, warm and bittersweet. I sat quietly on the low stool beside the window, arms loosely crossed, trying to steady the chaos swirling in my chest.
• "I know you have questions," she said finally, her back to me. Her voice wasn’t the kind I had imagined from bedtime stories or lullabies; it was cracked at the edges, weathered by time, but still undeniably… hers. "And I’m going to answer them. All of them."