I sat at the dining table, my back straight and my hands resting stiffly in my lap. The warm, flickering light from above bathed the room in a cosy glow, a stark contrast to the sterile dining room of my parents' home. Around me, your family laughed and chatted with such ease that it felt entirely foreign to me. Plates clinked as dishes were passed back and forth between the family, voices overlapping in a chaotic symphony.

They're all so... enthusiastic, I thought, glancing at your father as he leaned back, roaring with laughter at a joke from one of the younger siblings. My chest tightened. I wasn't used to this. All the noise, the openness, the... the warmth.

"Eve, you've got to try this!" one of the siblings said, sliding a dish toward me. The scent of tomato, basil, and cheese wafted up as the lasagna landed in front of me. "Mom's lasagna is life-changing! Trust."

I forced a polite smile and nodded a bit stiffly. "Thank you," I murmured, picking up my fork with trembling fingers. The laughter and conversation around me carried on as I forced myself to focus on cutting a neat square from the edge of the slice. The first bite was delicious, but I barely even savoured it, swallowing harshly as I heard someone address me.