Chapter 13 – Too Light
651 Words
The change was subtle.
At first.
Nia woke up earlier.
Moved easier.
Spoke… lighter.
The house noticed.
Staff exchanged quiet glances.
Small things.
Unusual things.
“Good morning,” she said one day, passing through the hallway.
The maid paused.
“…Good morning, ma’am.”
Nia smiled.
Not forced.
Not sharp.
Just… easy.
That alone was enough to feel wrong.
By the third day—
Marcus noticed.
“Something’s off,” he muttered, watching Nia from across the room.
Ryan didn’t respond immediately.
His eyes stayed on her.
Observing.
She was laughing.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
“That’s not normal,” Marcus added.
Ryan nodded slightly.
“Yeah.”
They watched her a little longer.
“She’s trying to act happy,” Marcus said after a moment.
Ryan shook his head.
“…Nah.”
Marcus glanced at him. “Nah?”
“That’s not acting,” Ryan said quietly. “That’s something else.”
That didn’t sit right.
Because Nia—
Didn’t do “light.”
Didn’t do “easy.”
She did control.
She did distance.
This?
This wasn’t her.
Later that evening, they found her alone in the living room.
Nia sat back comfortably, one leg crossed over the other, a glass in her hand—but untouched this time.
Her expression?
Relaxed.
Too relaxed.
Marcus didn’t waste time.
“What’s going on with you?”
Nia glanced at him, raising a brow slightly.
“What do you mean?”
Ryan stepped in beside him, his gaze steady.
“You’ve been different.”
Nia let out a soft breath, leaning back slightly.
“Is that a problem?”
“It depends,” Marcus said. “Is it real?”
A small pause.
Then—
Nia smiled faintly.
“I just want to be happy.”
The words were simple.
Almost convincing.
But Marcus didn’t buy it.
“That’s it?” he asked. “You just woke up and decided that?”
Nia shrugged lightly.
“Something like that.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“That’s not how it works.”
Nia’s smile didn’t fade.
“Maybe it is for me.”
Silence.
Marcus stepped closer.
“You don’t go from falling apart to this overnight.”
Nia’s gaze flicked to him.
Still calm.
Still steady.
“Why does it bother you?” she asked.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Marcus replied. “It concerns me.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“I’m fine.”
Ryan spoke again, quieter this time—but sharper.
“No, you’re not.”
That lingered.
For a second—
Just a second—
Something flickered in her eyes.
Then it was gone.
“I said I just want to be happy,” she repeated.
Marcus exhaled slowly, frustration creeping back in.
“And we’re saying something doesn’t add up.”
Nia stood up smoothly.
Conversation over.
“Then keep trying to figure it out,” she said.
Her tone wasn’t harsh.
But it was final.
Ryan watched her closely.
“You hiding something?”
She paused.
Just slightly.
Then turned back to them.
“No,” she said.
A lie.
Clean.
Simple.
And she walked away.
Silence filled the room again.
Marcus ran a hand through his hair.
“I don’t like this.”
Ryan didn’t look away from where she disappeared.
“Me neither.”
A pause.
“That’s not her,” Marcus added.
Ryan nodded slowly.
“No,” he said.
“That’s not her.”
Across the house—
Nia leaned lightly against the wall once she was out of sight.
Her smile faded.
Just a little.
Her fingers tapped lightly against her arm.
Once.
Twice.
Then she exhaled.
The quiet feeling settled back in.
Soft.
Easy.
But somewhere deep beneath it—
Something else shifted.
Because the truth was—
They were right.
Something was different.
And it wasn’t as simple as she made it sound.
- Writer
