Nick and Amelia stayed rooted to the spot, frozen in the hallway long after Mrs. Zhao had stormed off, leaving an uncomfortable silence in her wake. Nick's gaze was fixed on the floor, and though he hated to admit it, his mother's behavior had him questioning everything. But looking over at Amelia, he could tell she had braced herself for this. She had prepared for a reaction exactly like this one. It made him feel even smaller somehow, as if he hadn't anticipated the heartbreak she knew was coming.
"Amy…" Nick's voice came out low and apologetic, cutting through the silence. "I'm… I'm sorry about my mom."
Amelia forced a smile, giving him a gentle shake of her head, as if to say, *I already knew.* "Let's just wait for the test results from my family," she murmured, her voice steady. Yet Nick could hear the pain buried beneath that calm, an ache she was refusing to let surface.
