"So…then why do I feel that my wife still looks troubled?" he asked quietly.
Evelyn hesitated.
The silence stretched.
Then, slowly, she lifted her gaze again.
"Axel…" Her voice carried hesitation, uncertainty, and quiet courage. "You're still hiding something from me, aren't you?"
Axel froze, but only for a second. Then his familiar calm and composed nature returned, and it returned without a hiccup, as though the question had never unsettled him for a second.
"What do you mean?" he asked calmly.
Evelyn studied him carefully before finally answering, "This isn't just about friendship fading because your father married Amanda," she said softly. "And my father isn't angry simply because he lost a friend."
Axel's fingers tensed.
Evelyn noticed everything. She leaned slightly closer, her voice quieter but firmer. "There is something else."
He said nothing.
The silence between them grew sharp, charged with tension neither could ignore.
