The following week became a careful dance of silence and suffocating control.

Alexander never left my side for long. He canceled most of his remote meetings and stayed on the island, watching me with those sharp gray eyes that seemed to see every crack in my soul. The children noticed the tension. Little Alex asked why Mommy wasn’t smiling anymore. Sofia climbed into my lap more often, as if sensing I needed comfort.

I smiled for them. I played with them on the beach. I read bedtime stories with a steady voice.

But at night, when Alexander pulled me into his arms, the truth clawed at me.

One evening, after...