Kelvin was never meant to be part of tonight.He had come for an unfinished business with Liam’s father, a deal still hanging between them.

But instead of leaving once it was done, he lingered, easing into the celebration as though he belonged.

That it happened on this night, of all nights, felt cruelly poetic.

The garden pulsed with warmth and chatter. My mom and Liam’s mom had already found each other, deep in the kind of instant bond only future grandmothers could forge.

Within ...