The night was thick with quiet, the kind that only seemed to settle in when everything in the house was still. Ryan Ashworth lay on the edge of the bed, staring at the ceiling, his body aching from the day's training. Jane Blackwood, lying beside him, had her back turned, her soft breath steady against the quiet room. The pale glow of moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting a faint light over the polished furniture and the meticulously arranged room.
Ryan shifted slightly, the feeling of the bed beneath him too soft, too comfortable after the grueling exercises he'd gone through. He glanced at Jane. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her grey eyes—unmistakably sharp—were closed, but he knew she wasn't asleep.
"Jane," he murmured, his voice breaking the silence between them.
She stirred slightly but didn't turn to face him. "What is it, Ryan?"
He hesitated before speaking again. He had been thinking about it all day, ever since the earlier training with Mei Lin. The way she had withdrawn from him, almost as if she were keeping her distance intentionally. It had been subtle, but it was there.
"Have you noticed anything different about Mei Lin lately?" Ryan asked, his tone casual but his eyes focused on Jane's profile, searching for any sign of a reaction.
Jane's body went still, her back rigid. There was a moment of silence that stretched far too long before she spoke, her voice quiet and controlled, betraying nothing. "Different? In what way?"
Ryan felt the sharp edge of her words, but he pressed on. "She's been... distant. Not like before. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I'm not the only one who's noticed. She's pulling away, especially after that day we were training together."
Jane's silence was louder than anything she could have said. He could almost feel the tension building between them, a storm that hadn't yet broken. Finally, she spoke, her voice colder than before, almost detached.
"Mei Lin has her reasons," she said, her words clipped.
Ryan frowned, unsure of what she meant. "What do you mean? You haven't noticed it? She... she seems more distant now. Like she's avoiding me. And even when we were training, it didn't feel the same."
Jane turned slightly, her eyes narrowing as she met his gaze for the first time since he had spoken. Her expression was unreadable, but there was a glint in her grey eyes that made Ryan uneasy.
"You're wrong," she said, her voice a little firmer now. "Mei Lin is just focusing on your training. She has no interest in you."
Ryan blinked, confused by her sudden defensiveness. "I didn't say she had an interest in me. I just... I don't know. It felt different."
Jane's lips pressed into a thin line. She shifted, sitting up a little straighter in the bed. Her gaze turned to the window, and Ryan could see the sharpness in her features, the subtle twitch of her jaw that indicated her annoyance.
"Ryan," she began, her voice low and steady. "You think she's acting strange because of you, don't you?"
He opened his mouth to respond, but Jane held up a hand, silencing him. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Mei Lin is loyal to me. She's been through enough to know her place."
Ryan couldn't understand why Jane seemed so defensive, so guarded. It didn't make sense. Mei Lin had always been the one to push him harder, to challenge him. But now, there was something more to it—something different in the air between them, and Ryan couldn't shake the feeling that Jane knew more than she was letting on.
"I'm not saying she doesn't respect you," Ryan replied slowly, his voice more measured now. "But the way she's been acting, it's like she's... keeping a distance. Like she's shutting me out."
Jane's gaze softened, but only slightly. Her grey eyes flickered as she let out a breath, her shoulders dropping just enough to show the weariness that had begun to take hold. "Maybe it's not her pulling away. Maybe it's you who's the problem, Ryan."
Ryan blinked in surprise. "What?"
"You've been thinking about her more than you think," Jane continued, her voice gaining an edge as her eyes fixed on him, no longer calm but sharp with something that made Ryan feel suddenly vulnerable. "I saw it the moment you two started training together. I noticed the way you were with her, the way you laughed together."
Ryan swallowed, the words catching in his throat. I'm married to Jane. I've made that commitment, he thought. And Mei Lin and I? It's only a teacher-student relationship. She's just been helping me with the training. Nothing more, nothing less. But even as he thought this, he couldn't shake the feeling that there had been something more between him and Mei Lin—something that had sparked from the intensity of their training, from the way they had pushed each other.
"I wasn't—" he began, but Jane silenced him with a sharp look.
"Don't lie to me," she said coldly. "I've seen how you look at her, how you two exchange those little smiles. Do you think I don't know? Do you think I don't notice when you're thinking about someone else while lying next to me?"
Ryan's chest tightened. She knows, doesn't she? he thought. The weight of her accusation pressed down on him like a heavy stone. But I haven't been thinking about Mei Lin that way. I haven't!
"I never meant to hurt you," Ryan said, his voice hoarse. He tried to make her understand, but the words felt hollow.
Jane's eyes were hard now, her gaze unwavering. "You're wrong, Ryan," she whispered, her voice dangerously calm. "I've seen how much attention you've given her, how you've let your thoughts wander to her. You've been wondering about another woman, in our bedroom. Do you think I don't see that?"
The words hit him like a slap. Ryan opened his mouth to explain, but the words were stuck. There was nothing he could say that would undo the damage already done.
Jane continued, her voice quiet but filled with an intensity that made Ryan feel like he was being caught in a riptide. "You're mine, Ryan. And if you think for one second that I'll let some... girl come between us, you're mistaken. You're in my bed, with me. I'm the one you should be thinking about. Not her."
Ryan's heart raced in his chest. I'm in her bed. I'm her husband, he reminded himself. But the guilt gnawed at him. He had never once let his thoughts wander to another woman like this before. Mei Lin was only someone he had trained with—someone who had pushed him to become stronger. But Jane's words were like a flame, burning through his defenses, making him question everything.
"Jane..." he whispered, his voice unsteady. He tried again to reach for her, but she pulled away, her gaze fixed on him, and there was nothing but coldness between them.
Her lips curled into something bitter, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Don't bother, Ryan. You don't need to say anything. I know exactly where your thoughts have been."
Ryan sat there in silence, feeling the weight of the situation settle on him like a thick fog. His heart ached, but there was nothing he could do to change what had already been said. His mind screamed at him to fix things, to make them right, but every time he tried to open his mouth, Jane's glare silenced him.
The conversation didn't end, not yet. It couldn't. But for now, the night stretched on, and Ryan was left wondering how he had ended up here—caught between the woman he had once trusted and the silent distance of a training partner who now seemed like a distant memory.