The shift was subtle, but I felt it immediately.
Nathan was still there—still present, still helpful—but something had changed. The ease between us, the quiet warmth that had once flowed so naturally, now felt carefully measured. His smiles didn’t linger as long. His voice stayed polite, controlled. As if he were standing just a step back from where he’d been before.
And it unsettled me more than I cared to admit.
The morning passed quietly. Miriam busied herself in the kitchen, humming under her breath as she worked, while Neil tinkered outside, occasionally muttering at the garden lights. I tried to lose myself in small tasks—organizing books, wiping down surfaces that didn’t need cleaning—but my attention kept drifting back to Nathan.
He was in the study, fixing something on the she
