He began avoiding her touch. When she kissed his cheek, he stiffened; when she reached for his hand at the table, he withdrew. Claire looked hurt but said nothing. Daniel told himself it was safer this way. Why hold onto affection when betrayal might already be living in his house?
At work, even casual conversations turned sour in his head. A colleague joked about “work spouses,” and Daniel forced a laugh, secretly imagining Claire laughing with someone else in that same easy way. Paranoia shadowed every thought, every word. The DNA test result became his only lighthouse in the storm.