The days became longer. Or perhaps they only felt longer because Silas was no longer there to divide them.
Expansion was not a small word. It was not a decorative ambition that people mentioned casually over dinner. It meant contracts, negotiations, investors, security concerns, structural planning, legal documentation, human resources, risk management, market forecasting, and endless meetings that stretched late into the night.
Silas began leaving before sunrise.
At first Ayla would wake up to the sound of the bathroom door closing softly. Then she would hear the faint rustle of fabric, the low click of his watch clasp, the muted sound of the main door.
She started setting alarms earlier just to see him before he left.
Some mornings she managed to walk into the kitchen in her pajamas, hair still messy, and catch him drinking black coffee in silence.
"You are leaving already?" she would ask softly.
"Yes."
"You will eat outside?"
"Yes."
She would nod.
"Drive carefully."
