Chapter 187: Nathaniel Notices the Distance

Nathaniel noticed the absence before he understood its shape.

Elena Whitmore had not vanished. She still appeared at required functions. She still occupied her seat at foundation events and advisory councils. Her posture remained flawless. Her expression remained pleasant. But the gravity that once bent toward him had shifted.

She no longer looked for him when she entered a room.

Nathaniel was trained to observe systems under stress. He saw patterns where others saw coincidence. Elena’s withdrawal registered as a deviation. Subtle. Controlled. Intentional.

At a charity forum in Virex City, she arrived after him and did not acknowledge his presence beyond a nod. No lingering glance. No calculated proximity. She took a seat beside an ambassador’s wife and remained there,