When they entered the dining room, Estelle didn’t rush to sit down but waited for Eva and the children to return so she could sit between them, hoping to avoid Cristofer this time. To her surprise, he chose to sit across from her.

In this way, they didn’t sit far away from each other at all. What was worse was that they would look each other in the eye every time they raised their heads, so Estelle focused on her plate, feeling too nervous even to enjoy the smell of the ravioli.

Mrs. ...