Elara's POV
The phone call with Cora was brief and surprisingly unemotional.
"Mom, are you mad?" Cora asked, her voice small but not particularly remorseful.
"About what?" I responded, sorting through documents for tomorrow's tech expo.
"About me going with Dad and Aunt Vivi without telling you."
I paused, pen hovering over my notepad. A year ago, this would have devastated me. Now, I simply felt detached.
"Were you safe?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Did you have fun?"
"So much!" Cora's voice brightened instantly. "Aunt Vivi taught me how to swim underwater without holding my nose, and Dad let me stay up late watching movies!"
"Then I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," I said simply.
A beat of silence followed. Cora seemed thrown by my lack of reaction.
"You're not going to lecture me?" she asked, suspicion evident in her tone.
"Would it make a difference if I did?"
"No," she admitted. "But Grandma Eleanor says you might be upset."