But inside her, everything had changed.
She was ready.
That evening, Darius started the conversation about money again, this time more carefully, avoiding sharp corners.
“Hey, have you thought about opening a CD?” he asked, poking his fork at his pasta.
“The interest rates are good. It’s a smart move.”
Kiana shrugged.
“I thought about it, but I haven’t decided yet. What if the card gets stolen or the account is hacked? There are so many scams these days.”
He smirked.
“They won’t steal it.”
“What makes you so confident?” she wanted to say.
Because, Darius, your mother is going to try to steal it.
But she kept silent, only looking at him with a long, calm gaze.
He was the first to look away.
The night was quiet.
Kiana lay listening to the trees rustling outside the window and a distant car horn on the interstate.
Darius’s breathing was steady, almost silent.
She knew he wasn’t asleep.
She felt it.
And she knew that everything would change very soon because in five years of marriage, she had learned to read him not just through his eyes and tone.
She had learned to anticipate.
And the premonition now was so clear she wanted to laugh.
Well, let them try, she thought.
She would wait.
The morning started with a phone call.
Kiana had just gotten out of the shower when she heard Darius’s phone ringing in the entryway.
He grabbed the receiver quickly—too quickly—and his voice sounded guarded.
“Yeah, Mom. Hey.”
Kiana wrapped herself in her robe and listened.
The walls in their modest apartment building were thin.
