She first noticed it that morning when he brought her coffee in bed “just because” on a Wednesday. Kiana opened her eyes, saw her husband standing there with a mug in his hand, and felt something inside her tighten like a guitar string. Darius never brought her coffee in bed, not even during the first year of their marriage, when they were still playing the part of lovebirds.

The most he would do was grumble from the doorway, “Get up, I boiled the kettle.”

“Why are you up so early?” she asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

He smiled too wide. “Oh, I slept great. I wanted to… surprise you.” That momentary, barely perceptible pause before he said “surprise” was what gave him away.