The house was quieter than usual, but not in the peaceful way he’d come to appreciate. This was the kind of quiet that settled under his skin, made his shoulders tight, made the walls feel closer than they were.
The twins were sprawled across the living room floor, coloring in their sketchbooks, completely absorbed in a world of castles and dragons. Crayons rolled lazily across the rug, their soft voices mixing with the faint hum of the dishwasher. It was domestic. Familiar.
It should’ve calmed him.
Sebastian sat slouched on the couch, a book in his hand, pages half-turned but unread. His eyes hadn’t made it past the same line in twenty minutes. The words blurred, their meaning lost to the noise inside his head.
Isabelle was gone.
With Marcus.
For the weekend.
She hadn’t told him wh
