Lynda felt it before she saw it. Lukas was giving her more space, more than he had in weeks, allowing her to move around the house without stiff silence or sharp questions. But the freedom was not real. It was soft on the outside, heavy beneath. She felt him watching her from corners, from quiet pauses, from the way his eyes followed her even when he pretended not to.

Still, she tried to breathe. For once, she was not breaking apart every minute. Oliver had brought her a tiny, surprising ...