A Work In Progress

At eighteen, Reina is used to telling small lies that make life easier. At work, she speaks casually about living with her mother, offering just enough detail to avoid questions and sympathy. Her coworkers accept it without a second thought. No one sees the reality she goes home to each night: a tense living situation with a volatile roommate and a life built entirely on survival.
Quiet, observant, and fiercely independent, Reina keeps her head down at her job, determined not to stand out. But her boss, Heather, begins to notice the exhaustion behind Reina's politeness and the way she flinches at kindness. When Reina's home life starts to unravel, Heather steps in, offering her a safe place and unexpected stability.
As Reina adjusts to living under Heather's roof, she's introduced to a world she never knew she was missing-routine, patience, and care given without strings attached. Heather slowly becomes more than a boss, guiding Reina through everyday moments and life lessons she was never taught, filling a role Reina never thought she was allowed to want.
But safety brings its own challenges. With her guard lowered, Reina is forced to confront emotions she's buried for years and a past she refuses to speak about. As she faces new trials and painful setbacks, Reina must decide whether she's strong enough to stop pretending-and brave enough to let someone truly see her.

Just when Reina believes she is meant to face everything alone, she discovers that family doesn't always look the way she was taught it should. In a place she never expected, among people she never planned to need, Reina finds belonging-not because she is broken, but because she is chosen.