So it begins.
Claire has breakfast with one extra person at the table.
Ethan has been coming back to Maple Ridge every day, and she barely reacts to it. She doesn't ask why. She doesn't tell him to leave. She doesn't initiate conversation during meals either.
Ethan eats without appetite, his attention fixed on the woman sitting across from him. From the moment Claire comes downstairs and offers a brief, polite "good morning," she doesn't say another word. She doesn't look at him once.
Two days now.
He had assumed that returning home, sharing breakfast with her every morning, having lunch and dinner together when his schedule allows—this would make her happy.
Or maybe... she just isn't showing it?
Maybe she wants to talk but doesn't know how to start either.
With that settled, he de
