Chapter 1068

The river made its usual soft hush against the rocks, birds wheeling above in lazy circles, as Jude sat on a mossy boulder with his hands buried in his hair. The island was quiet, deceptively so, the way it always was before things began to change. He had spent the entire morning pretending to forage, but his eyes were not on the forest floor. They followed movements, Rose's, Layla's, Zoey's, each too perfectly timed, like dancers in a strange choreography only they understood. It wasn't the closeness that disturbed him. His wives had always shared affection, even playfully blurred the lines between love and desire, especially during lazy afternoons or stormy nights. That wasn't new. But this, this was deeper, thicker, a thread of something that didn't feel like them at all.