Rowan noticed it in the timing first.
Not in a way that could be named immediately. Not something obvious enough to question out loud. Just a small shift that did not fit the pattern he was used to.
Dinner was no longer aligned with his schedule.
It was there when it was meant to be there, prepared, precise, untouched by any need to adjust for him. If he arrived late, it remained as it was. If he arrived early, nothing changed.
He sat at the table one evening, glancing briefly at the second setting across from him.
Empty.
That was not unusual. What was unusual was that it did not feel like a delay. She was not running late. She was simply not coming.
He picked up his phone. No message, no explanation. He set it down again.
The next day, he noticed it in his schedu
