Ella's POV
"Baby?!"
The word echoed in my head. Vincent never called me that. Not once in the year we were married. Something was definitely wrong.
He took the bag from Alex without a word, and Alex—who looked thoroughly unsettled, murmured a quick goodbye before retreating down the hallway. The door closed behind him with a dull thud.
Vincent turned slowly, his gaze dropping to the small plastic bag in his hand. I had completely forgotten about it. It was nothing—just sample beauty products a work friend was promoting—but the way his eyes lingered on it made it feel like evidence of a crime.
"Why are you acting like this?" I asked, keeping my distance, my back brushing the edge of the counter.
"Acting like what?" he replied calmly.
He set the bag on the couch, then reached into his coat and pulled out a packet of cigars. He stared at them for a second, his jaw tightening, before shoving them back inside his pocket like he'd lost the appetite for them.
"I don't know…"
