Ariane’s POV

The door opened, and my mother entered with a serious face. “Ariane, we need to talk,” she said matter-of-factly, looking at me intently.

I felt wide awake now; a sense of annoyance and incomprehension was welling up inside me. But there was something in my mother’s gaze that made me momentarily consider listening. Her unexpected presence and concern brought me some relief, but not enough to calm my own pent-up anger.

“Okay, go ahead and tell me what you want to talk about,” I said, reminding myself to stay calm even as my irritation lingered.

Today didn’t seem to be going the way I had planned. But I...