They had no idea what was coming next.
But one thing was certain: nothing about this year would be ordinary.
After Nora's mom got a last-minute call about a business trip to Switzerland, her suitcase was packed in record time. She dropped Naya and Nora off at Grace's house with a quick kiss, a hundred warnings, and zero clue of the awkward storm about to unfold.
---
At Grace's Mansion
As soon as the gate opened, Naya's eyes widened.
"Woah..." she breathed, staring up at the massive house like it might start floating. "This is... bigger than yours."
Nora blinked. "Don't remind me. Grace isn't rich—she's movie villain rich."
They were barely at the front steps when the door opened, and Grace herself swept out in a silk robe and slippers that looked custom-made.
"Nora! My favorite hurricane!" Grace pulled her in for a hug.
"Aunt Grace! I missed you!"
"You've grown," Grace said dramatically, pretending to inspect her. "And this must be Naya."
Naya gave a shy smile. "Yes, ma'am—I mean, Grace."
"Oh, Nora's been talking about you for years," Grace said, pulling Naya into a warm hug too. "She said you're basically her other half."
Nora beamed, and Naya smiled—but her eyes were still sneaking glances around the house like she couldn't believe it was real.
"Where's Emily?" Nora asked, looking around.
"She's here! Emily, Nora's here!"
Thundering footsteps came down the stairs. "Nora!!" Emily squealed, hugging her tightly.
"I missed you, chaos goblin."
"Same!" Emily said, then spotted Naya. "And you're the legendary bestie!"
"Guilty," Naya said with a small laugh.
But before the conversation could go any further—
"Wait." Nora frowned. "What about your son? The one you always talk about?"
"Oh—Lucien?" Grace smiled. "He's upstairs. Mary! Can you tell Lucien to come down?"
Naya turned her head so fast it almost snapped.
Nora's heart dropped into her stomach.
"Lucien?" Naya repeated quietly.
"Yeah," Grace said casually. "Did I never mention his name?"
Before anyone could respond, footsteps echoed down the hallway.
And then he appeared.
Lucien.
Same messy dark curls. Same calm expression. Same person who had gently rejected Naya in front of half the school—and whose rejection had been filmed and posted online by Jessica for the world to see.
Naya's stomach flipped. Her brain screamed. Her face? Completely frozen.
Nora, standing beside her, stared like she'd seen a ghost.
"You—" she blurted.
"You're her son?" Naya finished in a whisper.
Lucien's steps slowed slightly. He looked at them—first at Nora, then Naya. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. His face was unreadable.
"Lucien, meet Nora and her friend Naya," Grace said brightly, clearly unaware of the emotional bomb that had just gone off.
Nora and Naya stood there like mannequins.
Naya forced a nod. "Hi."
Lucien gave a quiet, polite "Hey," and then looked away, like this was just any other introduction.
The silence that followed was thick. You could slice it with a spoon.
"You... know each other?" Grace asked slowly.
"Yes," Nora said, voice tight.
"School," Lucien added flatly.
"That's nice," Grace said, still not picking up on the tension in the air. "See? Everyone's already friends."
Naya's voice was quiet. "Yeah. Totally."
Nora glanced sideways at her, and Naya didn't have to say anything—her face said it all.
This was going to be a long stay.