After Diana left that afternoon, Raya was alone again.
The room felt larger without another presence in it.
Too large.
The silence stretched endlessly, wrapping itself around the vastness of the space, white walls, muted gray tones, and the deep blacks that seemed to absorb sound rather than reflect it. Adrian's room had a way of doing that. It never felt warm, but it also never felt chaotic. Everything was in control.
Just like him.
Raya sat on the edge of the couch for a while, staring ahead without truly seeing anything.
Will anything happen when Adrian's mother comes?
The thought surfaced briefly, then faded just as quickly.
No.
She didn't care.
As long as Adrian's mother treated her with basic respect, Raya would do the same. That was how she had lived her entire life, measured, neutral, undemanding. She didn't seek conflict, but she wouldn't kneel for approval either.
That was the best way to live.
Detached, but not cold.
