Aliyah’s POV

We spent the first hour chatting and laughing. Tracy had prepared games, a “roast the bride” session where everyone shared funny stories about me, keeping it light and kind. One friend recounted the time I had nearly crashed during a race but recovered with pure skill. Another joked about how I had once tried to bake cookies for Elara and ended up burning them to charcoal.

The laughter felt good, healing in a way. It reminded me that I had built a support system beyond ...