Chloe Ashford had been raised to notice details.
The way a fork was placed at dinner. The quality of a wine vintage. The subtle shifts in a man's attention that signaled trouble.
Julian had changed.
It started three weeks ago — small things at first. He checked his phone constantly, his thumb hovering over the screen, his jaw tightening at whatever he saw.
He became irritable, snapping at servants, at colleagues, at Chloe herself when she asked about his day. Worse? He stopped touching her.
They'd been together for two years — an appropriate match, high society approved, their families intertwined. Julian had never been passionate, but he'd been attentive. Present. He'd take her hand at events, kiss her cheek, escort her to bed with mechanical politeness. Now, nothing.
Chloe sat acr
