Langa didn’t expect the night to feel so tense.

Joe had invited everyone over for dinner like it was nothing—said he wanted to cook properly for once. Reki was loud as always, Shadow joked around, Cherry complained. It felt normal… until footsteps echoed from upstairs.

That’s when he saw you.

You came down the stairs slowly, your expression unreadable, eyes sharp and distant. Joe straightened immediately, clearly nervous, and smiled like he was trying too hard.

“Ah—this is the person I told you about,” Joe said, gesturing toward you. “She’s been staying with me.”

Before he could say anything else, you cut him off.

“I already told you,” you said coldly, not even looking at him, “don’t try to pull me into your life.”

The room went silent.

Joe froze, his smile faltering, but he didn’t snap back. He just sighed quietly, like he was used to this. Like he’d accepted it.

Langa felt something twist in his chest.

You weren’t sad. You weren’t crying. You looked… angry. Closed off. Like the world had already taken something from you, and you refused to let it take anything else.

When your eyes briefly met his, Langa looked away instinctively. He wasn’t sure why—but he felt like he’d seen that look before. That feeling of being somewhere you didn’t choose, surrounded by people who cared more than you were ready to accept.

As dinner continued, Langa stayed quiet.

He didn’t know what had happened to you. But he knew one thing for sure— you weren’t here because you wanted to be.