Chapter 33

I sat at the kitchen table, my back straight, and my eyes fixed on the textbook in front of me. The house was quieter than usual, my parents moving around in their respective corners like the distant figures they always were. I could hear the faint murmur of her mom’s phone call from the next room, discussing something important about her job, while my dad was out in the backyard, watering the garden.

Everything seemed... peaceful. Or at least, it should have been. But beneath the surface, I felt the strain of it all. Like a tightly wound cord that could snap at any time.

My mom breezed into the room, glancing at the table where I had spread out my schoolwork. “I see you're really taking your studies seriously these days,” she said without much warmth. “As you should. Keep it up and make us proud like your brother, instead of whatever it was you used to do.”

That was it. No nod of approval. No smile, no praise, just the confirmation that I was doing exactly what I should. As expect