Willow told Zane everything that evening.
Not dramatically. Not defensively. She waited until Zana was asleep and the house had settled into its familiar quiet before sitting across from him at the kitchen table. The laptop remained closed at her side, unnecessary now. Her hands were folded loosely in front of her, not in restraint, but in intention. She had learned the difference.
She began with the meeting itself. The questions the bank had asked. The hesitation that had followed her answers. The careful language that signaled interest without commitment. She described the way the conversation had shifted once structure entered the room, how approval had become conditional rather than exploratory. She told him about Miles' presence without embellishment and without interpretation, and about the way the banker had framed it afterward as though nothing unusual had occurred.
She did not editorialize. She did not seek reassurance. She let the facts stand on their own.
