JAMES’ POV

The bathroom doors opened and Melissa stepped out, steam trailing behind her as she reached back to shut them. The faint scent of her expensive body wash filled the room almost immediately. I lay stretched across the bed, phone in hand, scrolling without really paying attention to anything on the screen.

Something felt off.

Melissa never took her bath this early unless she was planning to go somewhere. On days she stayed home, she usually waited until later, threw on something light, barely touched her makeup, and spent the rest of the day lounging around like the house itself was built for her comfort alone.

Today was different....