The evening air settled softly over the compound, carrying the faint smell of jasmine from the garden. Lynda sat on the veranda steps, her hands folded loosely over her knees, staring at the fading light. The quietness was both a relief and a weight; even without Lukas watching her every move, she could feel the invisible tension lingering in the corners of the house.

Her mind wandered, as it often did lately, to those brief glimmering moments with Marcus, snapshots of laughter in sparkling ...