But the feeling of walking on eggshells never quite left. She grew careful with words, practiced in smoothing over her own reactions. When she forgot something small, he would mention it twice more that week, joking about her “scatterbrain” in front of others. It sounded playful. It settled like a stone in her.
The first real crack came on an ordinary Tuesday. Damien’s phone lit up on the counter while he showered, a name she didn’t recognize pulsing on the screen. She wasn’t the sort to pry, she told herself. Her hand picked it up anyway, almost of its own accord.