Aiden shook his head softly at his mother and sighed, "We were not pretending to be happy. We were genuinely happy."

"Yeah," Bryan and Kira murmured, concurring with what Aiden had said.

"That is what I don't understand," Elara said to them, the confused expression still etched on her face. "How can you be happy? This is very sad news. Extremely sad, and even I, myself, am still trying to wrap my head around the whole situation. So, how?"

"Mum, I understand you completely," Kira said. "I also ...