Throughout it all, Rowena remained composed, distant, and polite. She helped when asked and stepped back when she wasn’t needed. Her behavior never crossed into cruelty, yet it never softened either, maintaining the careful emotional line Ashley had come to expect.
Ashley began to read quiet judgment into that neutrality. What once felt merely reserved now seemed pointed, intentional. Each comment and measured response felt like confirmation of criticism. Rowena never voiced anything, but Ashley constantly felt something hovering in the background.