Adam POVThe evening pressed down on the house like a dark cloud that refused to break. Every corner felt heavier with shadows stretching across the floorboards. Even the silence carried weight. It was thick and suffocating, broken only by the occasional clink of dishes in the kitchen.Maya moved through the rooms like she was trying not to exist, her steps softer and her presence smaller. She barely spoke. The laughter that had once curled into the silence so easily was now gone and it was replaced by silence and lips pressed tight.I noticed every shift and every absence.She sat at the edge of the sofa with a book in her lap, her eyes unfocused, not turning the pages. Her gaze kept drifting toward the door like she was rehearsing an exit or something and all I did was stand in the threshold, jacket undone, tie loose, watching her as though sheer will could pull her back to me.Something in her stillness unsettled me. She’d folded into herself, and I didn’t know how to break through
Maya's PovAdam’s study had always been an untouchable place. Or should I just call it sacred? That was like his sanctuary and I only went there when it's important. It looked like it was built for strategy and war.As I approached, coming up the hallway with a tray of tea just the way he liked it- with two cubes of sugar properly staired inside. It was something small, something I liked to do when everything else seemed to tilt out of balance so I thought to do it for him too. The children were upstairs, their laughter echoing faintly through the high ceilings. I should have left the tray on the side table and slipped away before his boys came, but the murmur of voices stopped me.The door was half shut, the lamp casting light across the floor and catching shadows. I knew I shouldn’t listen but how bad could it be? He was my husband. I had no business standing there but when you’ve been painted as the enemy without even knowing it, curiosity is less a choice and more a survival inst
Chapter 77Adam PovI found Maya in the living room, curled on the couch, arms wrapped tight around her body. The lamplight carved shadows across her face and she stared at the pillow on her lap like it could swallow her up.I sat down beside her. Not close enough to touch as I was lost for words. “Maya,” I said finally, my voice rough and unsteady.Her eyes lifted to mine and all I saw was pain. A confirmation that she already knew.Finally, she whispered. “Why custody?”The sound of her words scraped raw against me.I reached out and took her hand in mine.. I hadn’t realized how much I needed the feel of her skin until it was there, anchoring me.“I don't know, I admitted, the word like ash in my mouth. “Yes, Lena has filed. The law… it looks at blood but we'll fight for you.”Her eyes fell shut. When she opened them again, they brimmed. “No, I'm done.”Something cracked inside me at the sound of those words.“No no no.’ I almost yelled, my grip tightening around her hands. “Don’t
Maya's PovBy the time Adam came home, the kitchen gave me comfort I couldn’t find anywhere else. I had thrown myself into the only thing that steadied me aside reading… cooking. Ihad kneaded dough until my knuckles ached, pressing my fears into each fold, forcing myself to focus on the rhythm. Now a loaf baked in the oven, its crust slowly browning, filling the air with warmth. A pot of lentil stew bubbled on the stove, cumin and coriander curling up in the steam.Leila sat at the table, crayons scattered, humming as she drew. Sami sat close beside her. Silent, but his little hand rested near hers. When she nudged a crayon toward him, he traced faint lines, his dark head bent close.I was taking out bowls from the cabinet when Adam walked in. He was unusually late and his jacket draped over one arm and his tie was slightly loosened. His expression as unreadable as always. But his eyes… sharp enough to notice everything.They landed on me and lingered too long. “Rough day?” His voice
Maya's Pov.By late afternoon, the mansion glowed in that golden way that usually thrilled me to watch. Only that today, I wasn't thrilled. The sunlight spilled through the windows, warming the marble floors that usually felt cold under my feet. I had just cleared the last of the lunch plates from the kitchen table and the crumbs from Sami’s barely touched grilled cheese. Lee on the other hand had left tiny crumbs like trophies of her victory over every last bite. I’d managed a few spoons of soup, not because I was hungry but because it seemed wrong to eat nothing at all.They were up trying to take a nap and as the I settled to read a book in the silence, the doorbell rang. I froze, book in hand. No one ever came here unannounced but these days, I had been having frequent ‘unannounced visits’, who would it be this time?Wiping my hands on my jeans, I walked to the door, trying to calm the strange flutter in my chest but when I opened it, it was just a man in a cap standing there and
Maya’s POVThe bed felt larger without him in it. Too large and cold. I stretched my arm across the sheets, expecting the faint trace of warmth he usually left behind, but the space beside me was untouched. The pillow was smooth, the sheets still tucked. He hadn’t just slipped out early, he hadn’t been here at all.A chill crawled through me that had nothing to do with the draft sneaking through the window. Adam’s absence was becoming a language of its own. A silence that said more than words. And yet what kept ringing in my mind wasn’t the empty space at my side, but the look in his eyes last night… That unspoken thing he carried like a weight in his chest but refused to share. He had held me too tightly, as though I were something fragile about to break, and whispered, “I miss you.”The words should have comforted me, but instead they lingered with questions. Did he miss me? did he miss the closeness? the heat of skin against skin? Did he long for me and the escape I offered him wh