Emotional distance didn’t arrive loudly.It slipped in slowlybetween unanswered glances,between mornings without coffee together,between nights where doors closed a little too firmly.Elara noticed it first.Adrian stopped waiting for her in the kitchen. Meetings ran later. Conversations became shorter. Safer. He spoke to her the way he spoke to executives now—measured, careful, distant.Professional.Which was exactly what the contract demanded.So why did it feel like rejection?She sat on the edge of her bed one evening, scrolling through her phone without really seeing anything. A notification popped up.Unknown Contact:Hi. This is Ethan. Adrian’s legal advisor. We met briefly at the gala.She frowned. Ethan.Tall.