The storm had shifted. It wasn’t the explosive, violent kind anymore. Daniel had gone quiet again, but this quiet wasn’t weakness—it was strategy. I felt it in every careful glance, every measured word. He was no longer just angry. He was preparing.
And that terrified me more than anything.
The First Crack
It began subtly.
The housekeeper, Mrs. James, arrived one morning and wouldn’t meet my eyes. She usually greeted me warmly, always with a smile, but today her face was tight, her voice clipped.
“Mr. Daniel asked me to focus on the study today,” she said, almost as if she were avoiding me.
I frowned. “Is something wrong?”
She hesitated. For a moment, I thought she might speak, but then she shook her head and hurried down the hall.
Adrian leaned against the doorway, watching her go
