Chapter 178

The days after that didn’t feel like they were “after” anything anymore.They just… continued.As if whatever line they had crossed had stopped being a point in time and become part of how things moved.—Cami stopped announcing her presence in subtle ways.She didn’t need to anymore.She came in, and the space didn’t adjust to her like it used to.It simply made room.Not because it had to.Because it already had.—That afternoon, Ariana was on the couch with a book she wasn’t fully reading.Mateo sat nearby, quiet in the way he often was when he didn’t feel the need to fill anything.The door opened.Cami stepped in.“Hey,” she said automatically.Not checking the room.Not gauging anything.Just… greeting.Ariana looked up.“Hey.”Mateo nodded.“Hi.”Cami closed the door and leaned her back against it for a second.Like she was taking a breath before stepping fully into the space

Chapter 179

Nothing about it announced itself as a turning point.It just stopped feeling like something that needed to be watched so closely.—Cami came in later than usual that day.Not late in a way that meant anything.Just different enough to be noticed.She stepped inside, closed the door, and stayed there for a moment.Not hesitation.Just awareness.Then she exhaled.“Hi.”Ariana looked up from the couch.“Hey.”Mateo nodded from where he sat nearby.“Hi.”Cami didn’t move further in immediately.Her eyes moved across the room, slower than before.Not searching.Just taking it in.Like she was noticing something she hadn’t had to notice for a while.—“You’re thinking again,” Ariana said lightly.Cami let out a faint breath.“Yeah.”A pause.“But it’s not the same kind anymore.”She finally walked in, dropping her bag by the couch.Ariana watched her sit.Not next to her

Chapter 180

It didn’t feel like arrival anymore. It felt like continuity. Like something that had stopped needing introductions was simply continuing to exist in the same room as them. — Cami arrived without a message that day. Not late. Not early. Just… when she came. The door opened. She stepped in. “Hey.” Ariana looked up from where she was sitting. “Hey.” Mateo nodded. “Hi.” Cami closed the door behind her and didn’t stop walking this time. No pause in the entry. No moment of recalibration. Just movement into the space like it was already hers to move through. — She dropped her bag, then sat down on the couch immediately. Not distance. Not closeness. Just placement. Ariana noticed it, but didn’t comment. Because it didn’t feel like something new anymore. It felt like something that had already been accepted. — Cami exhaled slowly, leaning back. “I didn’t think about anything on the way here,” she said. Ariana glanced at her. “Nothing?” Cami shook her head. “No

Chapter 181

It didn’t announce itself as change. But something still shifted. Not in the structure of what they had built— in how lightly they held it. — Cami arrived the next day without the usual rhythm they had all unconsciously settled into. No steady timing. No predictable entrance. She came in later than expected, the kind of later that would have once been noticeable. Now it wasn’t. Not because it didn’t matter. But because it didn’t signal anything anymore. — The door opened. She stepped in. “Hey.” Ariana looked up. “Hey.” Mateo nodded. “Hi.” Cami closed the door behind her, then paused longer than usual. Not uncertainty. Just… observation. Something about the room felt slightly different to her today. Not the people. Not the space. The weight. Or the lack of it. — “You’re both quieter,” she said finally. Ariana glanced at her. “We are?” Cami nodded. “Yeah.” A pause. “It’s not bad.” She walked in and set her bag down. Then didn’t sit immediately. Tha

Chapter 182

The next few days didn’t undo anything. They just made everything slightly more precise. — Cami’s presence changed in a way that wasn’t obvious at first glance. She still came. Still sat. Still spoke with them like she always had. But there was a new kind of awareness in how she moved through it. Like she was no longer just inside the moment— she was observing herself inside it too. — That afternoon, she arrived earlier again. Not the same timing as before. Not the recalibrated pattern from the day prior. Something new. Ariana noticed it without attaching meaning to it. Mateo did too. But neither of them treated it like deviation. Just variation. — “Hey,” Cami said as she walked in. Ariana looked up from the couch. “Hey.” Mateo nodded. “Hi.” Cami closed the door behind her, then stood still for a moment. Not hesitation. Just a pause that felt more internal than external. — “I think I figured out what I was doing,” she said. Ariana tilted her head slightl

Chapter 183

Nothing snapped back into place. Nothing drifted apart either. It just continued—now with more definition than before. — Cami didn’t arrive at the same time anymore. That was the clearest change, though it didn’t feel like a disruption. More like she had stopped orbiting the space on a fixed schedule and started entering it when she naturally reached it. — That afternoon, she came in quietly. No greeting right away. No immediate acknowledgment of the room. She closed the door, stayed still for a second, then exhaled like she was settling into herself before stepping into them. “Hey,” she said finally. Ariana looked up. “Hey.” Mateo nodded. “Hi.” — Cami walked in slowly this time. Not hesitant. Just deliberate. Her bag went down in its usual place, but she didn’t sit immediately. Instead, she stood near the couch, hands loosely at her sides. “I noticed something today,” she said. Ariana shifted slightly. “What kind of something?” Cami thought about it. “Some