I stood motionless beside the kitchen island while adrenaline surged violently through my chest.
Strangely, panic never came.
Something colder arrived instead.
For nearly sixteen years, I worked in commercial property management negotiating lease disputes and liability disasters across central Ohio. My entire career depended on identifying structural weaknesses before everything collapsed publicly.
And suddenly, standing inside my own kitchen, I realized my marriage had been collapsing quietly for months.
The late-night meetings.
The sudden obsession with the gym.
The expensive cologne replacing the cedar scent he wore for years.
The way he flinched slightly whenever I touched him unexpectedly.
I noticed all of it.
I simply refused to admit what it meant.
Warm steam drifted beneath the downstairs bathroom door while Andrew’s voice murmured softly enough that I couldn’t make out words. But his tone carried something unmistakable.
Excitement.
Affection.
Desire.
