begun searching for betrayal.
But the marriage was only ten days old, and she knew very little about the years of his life that had come before her.
For the first time since the beach, she wondered whether the calm she had found with Kenji had been real—or simply the calm of a story she had not yet learned to question.
Chapter Six: The Morning Everything Changed
Two mornings later, Yuki woke before Kenji.
Rain tapped against the windows, and the house was unusually quiet.
She made coffee, opened the curtains, and waited for the familiar sounds of Kenji moving around upstairs.
They did not come.
Instead, she heard the front door close.
She looked at the clock.
It was earlier than usual.
Through the window, she saw Kenji walking toward the street with a dark folder tucked beneath his arm. He paused near the gate, looked back at the
