Talia noticed something was wrong before Samir even admitted anything, and what bothered her wasn't visible detail or dramatic symptom, but way he avoided own body, as if each movement required calculation so no one noticed cost he was paying for existing there. He spoke firmly when needed, kept chin raised during meetings, held gaze of who challenged him, yet fingers trembled when free from attentive observers, and that tremor wasn't fear; was wear.

She observed this while he ...